دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی شبیه سازی توزیع تجارت الکترونیکی B2C در آنتورپ با استفاده از دوچرخه های باری - اشپرینگر 2017

Abstract

Purpose The growth of e-commerce is accompanied by an increasing distribution of parcels in cities resulting in externalities like traffic congestion or emissions. As a consequence, different delivery concepts like bike deliveries or delivery points have been suggested. Naturally, companies will only accept these changes, if they do not result in higher costs. However, it is difficult to predict the impact of a certain delivery concept in a certain city. This leads to the research question, how different delivery scenarios for a certain area can be assessed and compared, especially if some of them have not been implemented. Methods Using a case study, we demonstrate how the effects of different delivery concepts can be quantified with the help of a simulation study. We take care to accurately model the delivery processes and utilise a real-world dataset and realistic cost values. On the basis of these inputs, we simulate and analyse the current state-of-the-practice in the distribution of e-commerce goods in Antwerp and compare it to possible `what-if’ scenarios. Results The results highlight that the investigated delivery concepts can benefit either the companies or the quality of life in the city. Operational costs of companies can be reduced by stimulating customer self-pick-up, while externalities decrease with the implementation of a cargo bike distribution system. Conclusions We demonstrate that both operational and external costs can be minimised, if involved stakeholders from industry and the public look for sustainable delivery solution jointly.

6 Conclusion

In this paper, we have investigated the cost structure of different scenarios for urban B2C distribution in Antwerp. We generated demand on the basis of a real-world dataset and computed delivery routes with realistic cost values. By the comparison of different scenarios, we found that external costs, related to the transportation with delivery vans, account for 18%–28% of the operational costs. Also, we showed that the parcel delivery market is unbalanced in the sense that small LSPs have higher operational costs per delivery than a large LSP. Those operational costs can be reduced by stimulating self-pick-up, at the expense of rising external costs. Reversely, a bike delivery system can significantly reduce external costs but slightly increases the costs of LSPs. Consequently, neither self-pick-up nor bike deliveries alone seem to be beneficial for all stakeholders. However, a combination of both concepts, fueled by the implementation of additional DPs, represents a B2C delivery system that improves the quality of life in Antwerp and is also appealing to LSPs. The efficiency of such a delivery system could be further enhanced if, for instance, multiple LSPs collaborate and execute and plan the last-mile delivery jointly to make use of the economy-of-scales effect that we observed.

These results highlight the importance of looking at urban B2C distribution from a global perspective. Several stakeholders are involved that follow different goals and strategies. Public authorities have no incentive to support the introduction of self-pick-up and, likewise, an LSP will be rather unwilling to consider a bike delivery system when facing higher variable costs. However, these arguments arise from an isolated perspective, and they change if stakeholders look for alternatives jointly.