Design and management of smart last-mile delivery systems

电子商务正在蓬勃发展，交付正在成为产品供应的关键组成部分。销售的繁荣导致每天运送的货物数量前所未有。最后一英里交付是交付过程中的最后阶段，当产品被运输并交付给客户时，它可能占运输货物总成本的41%。今天，技术进步迅速，想法商业化通常很快，其影响比以往任何时候都更加明显。这种显著改变运营和商业模式的技术被称为“颠覆性技术”。在最后一英里交付中出现了几种新的技术和商业模式，以满足日益增长的需求，如众包、电动汽车、无人机的使用、自动交付机器人和包裹柜。这些技术中的每一种都有自己的特点，需要仔细对待，以了解和衡量社会效益。为此，该研究计划的长期目标是通过数学建模和数据科学研究最后一英里交付系统中的颠覆性技术对企业，家庭和政府的影响。该计划的愿景是指导决策者积极主动地对技术进步采取行动，以加强积极影响并减轻其不利影响。为达致此总体目标，本集团将研究各种业务模式，以改善现行营运惯例，并减轻其对社会及环境的不利影响。特别是，该研究计划的短期目标包括调查（1）众包作为最后一英里交付的新形式，（2）15分钟城市背景下的超快最后一英里交付，（3）城市地区公共交通的货运模式，（4）自动驾驶汽车在最后一英里交付中的使用，以及（5）城市中心的替代燃料技术。

E-commerce is thriving and delivery is becoming the key component of the product offering. The boom in sales has led to an unprecedented volume of goods being shipped every day. Last-mile delivery constitutes the final stage in the delivery process when a product is transported and delivered to a customer and it can comprise up to 41% of the total cost to move goods. Today, the advancements in technologies are rapid, commercialization of ideas is generally fast, and their impacts are more pronounced than ever. Such technologies that significantly alter the operations and business models are called 'disruptive technologies'. Several novel technologies and business models have emerged in last-mile delivery to address the increasing demand such as crowdshipping, electric vehicles, use of drones, autonomous delivery robots, and parcel lockers. Each of these technologies has its own peculiarities that require careful treatment in order to understand and measure the societal benefits. To this end, the long-term objective of this research program is to investigate the impacts of disruptive technologies in last-mile delivery systems on the businesses, households, and governments through mathematical modeling and data science. The vision of the program is to guide decision makers to proactively act on technological advances to reinforce positive impacts and mitigate their adverse effects. To achieve this overarching goal, various business models will be investigated to improve the current operational practices and to alleviate their societal and environmental adverse impacts. In particular, the short-term objectives of the research program include investigating (1) crowdattendance as a new form of crowdsourcing in last-mile delivery, (2) ultrafast last-mile delivery in the context of 15-minute city, (3) freight mode of public transportation in urban areas, (4) use of autonomous vehicles in last-mile delivery, and (5) alternative fuel technologies on urban city centers.