Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

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.