Methodology for Prioritizing Best Practices Applied to the Sustainable Last Mile—The Case of a Brazilian Parcel Delivery Service Company

Abstract

The ever-increasing impacts of the last mile delivery sector on the environment and the quality of life of the urban population, such as increased congestion, demand best practices to be incorporated by companies to reduce impacts such as emission of air pollutants and Greenhouse Gases (GHG) and depletion of natural resources, among others. However, a myriad of strategies has been developed for this purpose but there is a lack of methodologies that allow the choice of the best ones for a specific case. Therefore, this study looks for those best practices to be employed through an innovative methodology that consists of SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), a map of strategies of the delivery service, and using the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), with the differential of considering the peculiarities of each company. The results applied in a Brazilian last mile delivery service company show that best practices such as route optimization, implementation of new infrastructure and business models for urban deliveries, and use of information systems for fleet tracking and monitoring contribute significantly to improving performance indicators and achieving the sector’s goal to become more sustainable, and especially meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 8, 9, 11, and 17.

Ship-from-store omnichannel using a 4pl digital platform

“…This performance indicator was the most expressive and directly impacts the customer experience since the customer always looks for the best price (Buldeo Rai et al, 2019;. For Assis et al (2022) the reduction of the freight price potentially increases the attractiveness of the online sales channel, because it becomes a competitive element. In this research we achieved results that prove this evidence.…”

“…The Brazilian last mile scenario is complex (Assis et al, 2022;Sa et al, 2022;Zeimpekis et al, 2022) because there are long distances to be traveled between Brazilian states when only one distribution center is used (Mesquita et al, 2022). Thus, a retailer that does not have stores in each Brazilian state and the ship-from-store strategy implemented, needs to use other transportation strategies to try to promote express delivery to the customer.…”

Best Practices to Support the Transition towards Sustainable Logistics from the Perspective of Brazilian Carriers

“…[20,44] Use of different types of vehicles to carry out deliveries and collections Employing various types of vehicles for deliveries and collections involves the utilization of smaller vehicles to fulfill these tasks, thereby reducing delivery time and catering to customer demands in areas where medium and large vehicles are restricted due to traffic constraints. [3,6,20,27,30,45] Use of cleaner energy sources Alternative energy sources encompass the use of cleaner energy sources and more energy-efficient vehicles, resulting in low or zero emissions across all modes of transportation and propulsion systems. [3,6,20,29,40,46] Use of low-rolling resistance tires Low-rolling resistance freight vehicle tires refers to the adoption of tires that are designed to offer less resistance to vehicle movement on the road surface.…”

“…Companies that adopt sustainable logistics practices can stand out in the market, attracting customers and investors who are concerned with environmental and social issues [6]. Therefore, the implementation of best sustainable logistics practices is a key issue to be overcome for companies in various parts of the world, including Brazil, that envisage becoming more competitive and sustainable in the long term.…”

Los indicadores de Desempeño de la Distribución Urbana de Mercancías: Un Análisis Bibliométrico

“…La demanda de entregas en la última milla ha experimentado un notable incremento en el mercado actual, generando desafíos significativos en términos económicos y ambientales [1,2]. El comercio en línea ha sido uno de los grandes impulsores de este incremento, lo que ha resultado en una mayor frecuencia y flexibilidad de los envíos y entregas a pequeña escala.…”