Carbon Dioxide Benefits of Using Collection–Delivery Points for Failed Home Deliveries in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Unlike much of the previous research on this topic, which assesses the economic consequences of failed deliveries to the home, this study examines the issue of failed delivery from a carbon-auditing perspective. It considers the potential environmental savings from the use of alternative forms of collection and delivery over traditional delivery methods for failed home deliveries. With a spreadsheet carbon audit model, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for a failed delivery are calculated on the basis of a typical van home delivery round of 120 drops and 50-mi (80-km) distance. Three first-time delivery failure rates (10%, 30%, and 50%) are assessed. The additional CO2 from a second delivery attempt increases the emissions per drop by 9% to 75% (depending on the delivery failure rate). The vast majority (85% to 95%) of emissions emanating from a traditional failed delivery arise not from the repeat van delivery but from the personal travel associated with the customer's collecting a missed redelivery from the carrier's local depot. A range of collection–delivery points (CDPs) (supermarkets, post offices, railway stations) were all found to reduce the environmental impact of this personal travel. Post offices (currently operating a CDP system through the U.K. Royal Mail's Local Collect service) yielded the greatest savings, creating just 13% of the CO2 produced by a traditional collection by car from a local depot. Overall, the research suggests that the use of CDPs offers a convenient and more environmentally friendly alternative to redelivery and customer collection from a local parcel depot.

Simulation of B2C e-commerce distribution in Antwerp using cargo bikes and delivery points

“…For instance, in a survey-based study, the author found that the e-commerce-related increase in freight transport was higher than the corresponding decrease in customer trips [9]. In general, the effects of e-commerce on transport are still uncertain and have been the focus of research during the last years [3,4,10]. Browne [11] argues that the traffic volume due to home deliveries is affected by several factors, such as the customer behaviour, the consolidation of deliveries and the number of returned goods.…”

“…Especially with the rise of e-commerce shopping, an increasing number of people order products online and have them delivered at home. Nowadays, this B2C distribution of parcels accounts for 56% of all shipments in e-commerce [1] and, thus, B2C e-commerce has been identified as a major challenge in the urban logistics literature [2][3][4][5][6]. The growth in parcel transportation is accompanied by an increase in externalities like emissions, which affect the quality of urban life in a negative way.…”

Boxed up and locked up, safe and tight! Making the case for unattended electronic locker bank logistics for an innovative solution to NHS hospital supplies (UK)

“…Studies by Song et al ) and Edwards et al (Edwards et al 2009;Edwards et al 2010) provide strong evidence to suggest that implementation of locker bank facilities at work locations would provide significant cost savings to carriers and customers in terms of reducing the travel associated with failed firsttime delivery attempts and the collection of items from couriers depots.…”

“…Studies by Edwards et al (2009);Edwards et al (2010) and Song et al (2009) have demonstrated the significant savings in operating costs and carbon emissions can be achieved with unattended collection-delivery points in the context of home deliveries. Results from these studies indicated annual savings of between £2,778 ($4,123) and £6,459 ($9,585) in carrier's transportation costs and reductions in emissions of between 3.8 and 8.7 tonnes (4.18 to 8.59 tons) of CO2 as carbon ).…”

“…The concept provides individuals / companies with a locker bank as an alternative delivery address (Edwards et al 2010). Each locker bank: comprises numerous secure boxes, equipped with wireless communications (3G) to send notification of confirmed deliveries to recipients.…”