Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the barriers for and their impact cooperation and coopetition for sustainable distribution of Municipality goods in three selected cities. Design/Methodology/Approach: This thesis is based on a qualitative approach using a multiple case study as data collection strategy. The population building up three cases consists of ten Swedish mid-sized cities with an urban consolidation center. Of these are the three cities Växjö, Kalmar and Borlänge sampled and both the municipality and two locally active freight forwarders (one RFP-winner and one non-RFP-winner) per city are interviewed. These interviews aimed at identifying barriers to cooperation between municipalities and freight forwarders and barriers to coopetition between private freight forwarders for a sustainable distribution of municipality goods. The secondary data is based upon three literature streams: Sustainability, Distribution in Urban Environments and, Cooperation and Coopetition. Findings: The results indicate that the main barriers to cooperation from a freight forwarder perspective are incorrect or missing data in the RFP, price for municipality goods distribution and prohibition of goods consolidation. The main barrier to cooperation, fossil fuel free trucks, is a potential future barrier. The main barriers to coopetition are higher costs, lack of trust and price. These barriers have mainly an impact on the economical sustainability but can, and in some cases, will have effects on the other TBL-aspects. Research Limitations/Implications: The findings of this thesis provide the municipality with knowledge about barriers from the perspective of the freight forwarders which can aid construction of future RFPs. It also provides both municipality and freight forwarders with knowledge of the potential future barriers which could affect ongoing cooperation. Lastly it provides involved actors with knowledge of barriers hindering a coopetition approach in distribution, enabling the next step of solving the barriers. The value of this thesis is the knowledge of the implications as well as the combination of the three chosen literature streams which have not been researched in this context previously

Os sistemas de comunicação óptica por espaço livre, comumente denominados sistemas FSO (Free Space Optics), servem para estabelecer enlaces de comunicação do tipo wireless, ponto-a-ponto, a uma elevada taxa de dados e com alcances que podem variar de algumas centenas de metros a alguns quilômetros. O interesse pela tecnologia FSO tem sido estimulado pela necessidade de se fornecer soluções complementares às tradicionais (e.g. fibra óptica e RF) visando a atender à crescente demanda por conexões de banda larga. Algumas de suas aplicações mais importantes são a conexão de redes locais de computadores, a conexão de estações rádio base de telefonia móvel às centrais e o acesso de última milha. Embora a tecnologia FSO venha sendo empregada em pequena escala no Brasil, vislumbra-se o potencial de maior aplicação desta tecnologia em um futuro próximo, razão pela qual se propõe este estudo, focado no projeto de sistemas FSO. A principal contribuição deste trabalho é demonstrar uma possível solução para a realização de um enlace óptico operando em espaço livre, destinado a conectar duas redes locais de computadores Ethernet Rápida (100 Mbps). As seguintes atividades foram desenvolvidas: estudo das questões mais relevantes pertinentes ao projeto de sistemas FSO; projeto, construção e caracterização eletro-óptica de circuitos; montagem e demonstração do funcionamento de uma versão de testes do sistema, realizadas em laboratório; estudo de características associadas à transferência de radiação óptica de transmissor para receptor, envolvendo o balanço de potência para estimativa do alcance do enlace, sob condições atmosféricas ideais. Como resultado, obtivemos um sistema de comunicação do tipo full-duplex, operando no comprimento de onda de 850 nm em formato de modulação OOK, a uma taxa de dados efetiva de 125 Mbps. Com base na experiência obtida, melhoras ao sistema são sugeridas no final do trabalho. / Free space optical communication systems (FSO systems) provide wireless, point-to-point communication links at high data rates, at maximum distances ranging from hundreds of meters to several kilometers. The growing interest in FSO technology arises from the necessity of providing complementary and alternative solutions to those already adopted (eg. fiber optics and RF), aiming to satisfy the increasing demand for broadband connections. Some of its most important applications are connecting local area networks (LANs), backhauling wireless networks and providing last mile access. Although today FSO is not widely adopted in Brazil, the technology has the potential for being adopted in a greater scale in the near future, which is the reason we propose a study focused on issues related to the design of FSO systems. This work\'s main contribution is to demonstrate a possible solution for the construction of a FSO system intended to connect two Fast Ethernet LANs (100 Mbps). For this purpose, the following activities were developed: study of the main aspects related to FSO system design; design, construction and electrooptical characterization of circuits; mounting and demonstration, in the lab, of a test version of the system; study of characteristics related to radiation transfer from transmitter to receiver, involving the use of the link power budget for an estimation of the maximum distance achievable under ideal atmospheric conditions. The result is a full-duplex communication system that employs the 850 nm wavelength in OOK modulation format, operating at an effective bit rate of 125 Mbps. Based on the knowledge achieved, improvements to the system are suggested at the end of this work.

This thesis deals with light utility vehicle design (class N1). Apart from designing vehicle’s appearance, other goals such as finding suitable usage of this electric vehicle type or adapting design to user’s needs and new technologies available were set. Usage of light e-van as a last mile delivery vehicle is proposed and following design process takes this purpose into account. Reasoning behind determining decisions is also given in this thesis. Final design stands out with original shaping, while possibilities of colour and graphics make it easily distinguishable among other vehicles. Design also suggests multiple changes in ergonomics of the vehicle, focused mainly on driver’s comfort and overall adaptation to selected vehicle’s use.

The steady growth of the e-commerce sector and the associated logisticalchallenges in the last mile, as well as the equally increasing expectations ofconsumers for parcel delivery call for innovation in the last mile. Drones androbots seem to be a reasonable alternative delivery option to meet thesechallenges. Before these technologies are used as means of transport in the lastmile, it is necessary to investigate whether it will be accepted by potentialconsumers. This thesis aims to identify the factors influencing conumser’ acceptance ofautonomous delivery vehicles for delivery in Germany. To determine thebehaviour of potential consumers, the Technology Acceptance Model wasextended by several factors from different acceptance models that seemedrelevant from a consumer perspective. In order to investigate consumer acceptance, a quantitative approach wasconducted using questionnaires. The propsed hypotheses were tested usingstructural equation modelling. Further, a multi-group analysis was conducted toindentify sociodemographic differences. The results show that price sensitivity, perceived usefulness, hedonic motivation,and perceived ease of use influence the behavioural intention of consumers inGermany to use autonomous delivery vehicles, whereas privacy security andfacilitating conditions do not have a significant effect. Further no significantdifferences were found in the multigroup analysis.

Title: Emergency Supply Chains during a pandemic - Stockpiles and Last-Mile distribution Rationale: Disasters come in many shapes and sizes in terms of its nature and its destructiveness. A commonality amongst disasters is that they all cause widespread damage and extensive human suffering. A recent event that has brought attention to pandemics is the outbreak of the novel coronavirus COVID-19. With pandemic outbreaks being a statistical certainty according to WHO officials and historical references point to extensive damage caused by previous pandemics, proper emergency supply chain protocols are called for in order to secure the supply of vital resources. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how stockpiles and last-mile distribution has been applied within emergency supply chains in previous disasters. This in order to collect and process knowledge as to how emergency supply chains can be used within a pandemic outbreak. Objective: The objective of this study is to answer the following question:  “How can stockpiles and last-mile distribution within an emergency supply chain be used to order to increase the availability of vital resources during a pandemic outbreak?” Method: This study takes a qualitative approach with a hermeneutic standpoint. Combined with an inductive reasoning the study aims to serve the above stated purpose and objective. Scientific literature will be sampled and thoroughly examined to provide a theoretical basis for the empirical data that will be collected in latter stages of the study. The empirical data that will be collected is exclusively qualitative in nature and consists of field reports, new articles, statements and other form of publications. The theoretical and empirical data will then be analyzed in order to serve the purpose and achieve the study objective. Measures such as authenticity and good ethical practices have been taken in order to ensure study quality.  Conclusions: Valuable knowledge can be extrapolated from previous disasters that have practiced the use of emergency supply chains and preparedness based stockpiling. This knowledge can be applied to disasters of pandemic nature such as the novel coronavirus.  Keywords: Emergency supply chain (ESC), Preparedness, Response, Stockpile, Vital resources, Social important activities, Collaboration, Last-mile distribution (LMD).

Det ständigt växande e-handelssegmentet ställer helt nya krav på transporter inom sista milenleveranser. Sista milen är ofta förknippad med negativa externaliteter som buller, trängsel ochutsläpp och dessutom låg kostnadseffektivitet. Sista milen är därför en del i logistikkedjan somhar stor förbättringspotential. Det har därför på senare tid uppkommit en del innovationer inomsista milen som ska kunna öka effektiviteten och minska de negativa externaliteterna.I denna studie har vi, med hjälp av virtuella fokusgruppsintervjuer, undersökt åtta individersinställning till tre olika innovativa leveransmetoder; crowdsourcing, paketskåp och smarta lås.Vi har även undersökt vad det är som påverkar denna inställning och antagandet av dem, samt vilka förväntningar som individerna har på nya leveranssätt. Till vår hjälp har vi bland annat haft teori kring hur individer antar nya innovationer, vad en tjänsteinnovation är samt tidigare forskning om våra undersökta leveranssätt. Fortsättningsvis har vi även haft teori kring upplevd risk och vad som skapar värde för kunder. Med hjälp av dessa teorier kunde vi i analysen besvara våra frågeställningar. Det visade sig att deltagarna generellt sett har en negativ inställning till crowdsourcing och smarta lås som leveranssätt. Beträffande paketskåp fanns en generellt sett positiv inställning. Det var också det leveranssätt som många deltagare provat tidigare. De är generellt sett nöjda med de leveranssätt som redan existerar och därför är intresset för innovativa leveranssätt inte så stort. Vid diskussioner gällande samtligaleveranssätt fördes resonemang kopplat till värde och risk. Beträffande både inställningen tillinnovationerna och förväntningarna på dem uppfattar vi det som att relativa fördelar,komplexitet och kompatibilitet spelar stor roll vid antagande av innovationer. Även recensioneroch “word of mouth” har visat sig spela in. / A continuously growing B2C e-commerce sector creates new challenges and a differentdemand in the transport sector, especially in the final step of a logistic supply chain - the lastmile delivery. Furthermore, the last mile is also known as the least cost effective part of alogistic chain as well as the part that is associated with negative externalities like congestion,air pollution and noise pollution, especially in urban areas. Considering this, the last mile is apart with high potential of improvement. This is also why last mile delivery innovations arestarting to show up on the market.With the help of virtual focus group methodology, we have in this study aimed to investigateeight people’s attitude towards three last mile delivery innovations; crowdsourcing, parcellockers and smart locks. We have studied things that can have an affect on this attitude and the adoption of innovations, but also what expectations the customers have on last mileinnovations in general. To be able to analyze our data, we have used a variety of theories,including Diffusion of innovations theory, and theories regarding customer value, risk andservice innovation. Regarding our three service innovations, we have also included previousresearch concerning those.Our research showed a negative attitude towards crowdsourcing and smart locks, and a positive attitude towards parcel lockers, which also was the innovation that a lot of our participants had tried. In general, all participants were satisfied with existing delivery methods, why the motivating factors for using the innovations are few. Discussions regarding customer value and risk were influential in our results. We also found mutual factors in what affects attitude and expectations, factors like complexity, compatibility and relative advantages. Furthermore, reviews and word of mouth also seem to have an affect on their attitude towards the innovations.

Background In the context of booming e-commerce and associated logistics flows, there is a considerable challenge to support the future of volumes, specifically more towards home deliveries by logistics service providers (LSP). There are means of addressing this challenge by identifying the key factors that influence consumer behaviour and lead to better adoption by meeting their convenience through right self collection end points setups thus decreasing the logistics costs, meeting sustainability targets and also efficiencies for logistics service provider operations. Purpose The purpose of this study is to study and investigate the convenience factors of self-collection endpoints and associated levels that influence consumer preferences for logistics services to use self-collection last-mile endpoint in Sweden and also associate with observed behaviour across different demographic segments. Methods For research, quantitative research was done using conjoint analysis. Data was collected using a questionnaire sent in Google forms from volunteers, designed through an orthogonal designed based profile to rate the relevance and interest it generated. Results were based on 161 respondents' feedback on 16 such profiles (autogenerated in the SPSS platform). Analyses on existing historical parcel data of the logistics service provider along with the demographic data to build decision-tree models which supports determining the crucial attributes which influence home deliveries and also identify the potential site for trialability by LSP to support better decision-making aligned with the new Innovation diffusion into usage. Conclusions The research has shown that the collection distance is the most crucial convenience factor which can drive/steer consumers to use self-collection endpoints by being relevant in the context of convenience factors to be considered as an alternate to home delivery, followed by handling time. Respondents were willing to compromise on home deliveries if distance was within their expectations, such as <300m from the study conducted. During the thesis work, decision-tree models have also been developed, which has shown relationship/dependency between demographics to different delivery methods like home vs. service points across different geographies and factors influencing it. It has been further observed that different influencing attributes play a significant role across geographical type of delivery locations, such as urban, sub-urban volume data.

The growing population of cities and the rise of e-commerce are increasing the transportation of both goods and people. This can generate problems such as traffic jams, increased pollution, and lower living standards for citizens. To reduce the negative impacts, a change in last mile mobility could be made, replacing traditional combustion vehicles with electric ones or, ideally, with bikes and cargo bikes.  This thesis examines the case of the Swedish cities of Gävle and Uppsala, trying to explain how the last mile affects the lives of their inhabitants, if and why electric vehicles and cargo bikes are implemented (or not), and how authorities can promote their use. For this purpose, after a literature review, some questions were developed, and seven city managers were interviewed: five from Gävle and two from Uppsala.  The study shows that city managers are aware of the impacts that the last mile, and mobility in general, has on its inhabitants, and of the need for a shift towards a more sustainable mobility. Despite this awareness, policy makers are not doing everything possible to accelerate the transition. According to city managers, both the public and private sector advocate more for a change of energy source (from combustion to electric vehicles) rather than a model change using bikes. In addition, the study shows the opportunities that the new model based on non-traditional vehicles can offer and the barriers that prevent its implementation. Finally, different measures that could make cities more sustainable are proposed.

Environmental issues are a vital concern in today’s world. The Swedish government and local businesses are developing a sustainable business and eco-friendly environment for city inhabitants. Last-mile pickup and delivery services are a key concern, which significantly impacts the environment and society. The Norwegian/Swedish parcel delivery company Bring, the reusable waste management company Ragn-Sells, the city of Stockholm, the research institute Sustainable Innovation, and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology are jointly working together in the Intercitylog2 project with a vision to handle better last-mile pickups or deliveries that are jointly serviced by small electric vehicles from an urban micro terminal. This thesis addresses the optimizations of simultaneous pickup and delivery operations using homogeneous vehicles and considering vehicle capacity, time windows and environmental constraints. A mathematical model is developed to address the problem using an exact commercial solver. The quality of the solutions has been evaluated with real pickup and deliveries of the participating company. The primary objective function is formulated to minimize the travel cost by finding the shortest path, and the results are compared with current routing operation data. KPIs are developed and evaluated based on the facts and figures from the obtained results of the experiments. The two scenarios, big vehicles and small vehicles are also developed and evaluated to find the best route optimization opportunity for the companies. The results show that the optimized operation could decrease delivery distance by 36.72% and 37.13% and delivery time by 43.65% and 47.08% for big and small vehicles operations, respectively, compared to the current routing operations. A round trip can complete within a defined time frame to avoid the battery running out during a route. Energy constraints demonstrate that using electric vehicles considerably reduce significant amounts of CO2 emission from the environment. / Miljöfrågor är en viktig fråga i dagens värld. Den svenska regeringen och lokala företag arbetar tillsammans för att utveckla ett hållbart företagande och miljövänlig miljö för stadens invånare. Last-mile hämtning och leveranstjänster är en viktig fråga, som avsevärt påverkar miljön och samhället.Det norsk/svenska paketleveransföretaget Bring, återanvändbara avfallshanteringsföretaget Ragn- Sells, Stockholms stad, forskningsinstitutet Sustainable Innovation och Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan arbetar tillsammans i Intercitylog2-projektet för en vision för att bättre hantera last-mile pickuper eller leveranser som gemensamt betjänas av små elfordon från en urban mikroterminal. Detta examensarbete behandlar optimering av samtidiga hämtnings- och leveransoperationer med homogena fordon och med hänsyn till fordonskapacitet, tidsfönster och miljömässiga begränsningar. En matematisk modell utvecklas för att ta itu med problemet med en exakt kommersiell lösare och kvaliteten på lösningarna har utvärderats med verklig upphämtning och leveranser från det deltagande företaget. Den primära målfunktionen är formulerad för att minimera reskostnaden genom att hitta den kortaste vägen, och resultaten jämförs med aktuella ruttoperationsdata. KPI:er utvecklas och utvärderas utifrån fakta och siffror från de erhållna resultaten av experimenten. De två scenarierna, stora fordon och små fordon, är också utvecklade och utvärderade för att hitta den bästa ruttoptimeringsmöjligheten för företagen. Resultaten visar att den optimerade driften kan minska leveransavståndet med 36,72% och 37,13% och leveranstiden med 43,65% och 47,08% för stora och små fordonsoperationer, jämfört med nuvarande ruttoperationer. En tur och retur kan genomföras inom en definierad tidsram för att undvika att batteriet tar slut under en rutt. Energibegränsningar visar att användning av elfordon avsevärt minskar betydande mängder CO2-utsläpp från miljön.

In light of the growing e-commerce and rising population in cities, along with the ongoing climate crisis, the efforts to improve transportation options are intensifying. Thus, the field of last-mile delivery, i.e., the last stretch of transportation to an end customer, is becoming an increasingly researched topic. Innovative delivery solutions, leveraging novel technology or business concepts, are quickly becoming a necessity to retain customer satisfaction while performing sustainable and cost-efficient deliveries. Facing the challenges associated with the last mile is especially arduous in the context of large goods, i.e., packages which are significantly larger than parcels that would fit in a regular mail or post box, and may include furniture, home appliances and other bulky tools. Despite that large goods delivery comprises a large market, there is limited research on how novel last-mile delivery innovations, mainly discussed for application on parcels, can be deployed for larger items. This thesis is an explorative and qualitative study which starts in a background of important trends in transportation, and moves on to provide an analysis of three cities (Barcelona, San Francisco and Seoul), as well as a fourth city (Stockholm) that is both analyzed and considered for implementation. This is done in the form of a case study where data is collected from a literature review as well as interviews with representatives from the company IKEA. Various last-mile delivery concepts are explained and analyzed with Rogers’ diffusion of innovation framework. The research generated insights on how a mixture of different solutions have emerged on the studied markets, mainly based on social, technological and regulatory factors. Although most of them would be theoretically usable for medium to large goods in the future, there are different obstacles to a commercial-scale adoption today, with technological and regulatory maturity being main hurdles. Parcel deliveries play a part in driving customer expectations forward, forcing large goods retailers to evolve their deliveries in order to not lose business. Ecosystems of delivery solutions are likely to emerge in the future, catering to customers’ flexibility demands. In terms of concrete solutions, e-cargo bikes, pick-up points and neighbourhood deliveries are identified as appropriate for the current market state of Stockholm and related third party agreements, physical properties and platforms are discussed in the context of implementation. Additionally, suggestions for future research is to consider further models for generalizing implementation requirements, along with deepening the analysis of last-mile delivery ecosystems by looking into actors for the suggested solutions. / I och med ökande e-handel och stigande befolkning i städer, i kombination med en pågående klimatkris, intensifieras ansträngningar för att förbättra existerande transportalternativ. Därmed ökar mängden av forskning som fokuserar på last-mile delivery (ungefär sista milen-leverans), med andra ord den sista biten av en transportsträcka innan en vara når slutkunden. Innovativa leveranslösningar, som drar nytta av ny teknik eller nya affärsmodeller, håller snabbt på att bli en nödvändighet för att upprätthålla kundnöjdhet, samtidigt som leveransers kostnadseffektivitet och hållbarhet måste säkerställas. Utmaningarna som är associerade med sista milen är särskilt svårlösta när det kommer till stort gods, vilket är kollin som är signifikant större än vanliga paket som skulle få plats i en brevlåda eller postbox, och inkluderar bland annat möbler, vitvaror och andra skrymmande varor. Trots att leverans av stort gods utgör en omfattande marknad så är den befintliga forskningen begränsad vad gäller hur nya last-mile-innovationer kan användas för stort gods; detta diskuteras framförallt i samband med vanliga paket. Denna uppsats är en explorativ och kvalitativ studie som tar avstamp i en bakgrund som beskriver viktiga transporttrender och vidare analyserar tre städer (Barcelona, San Francisco och Seoul), samt en fjärde stad (Stockholm) som både analyseras och diskuteras för potentiell implementation. Detta utförs i form av en fallstudie där datan inkluderar en litteraturstudie samt intervjuer med representanter från företaget IKEA. Flertalet last-mile-leveranskoncept förklaras och analyseras med Rogers’ teori för innovationers spridning. Studien gav insikter om hur en blandning av olika lösningar har uppkommit på de undersökta marknaderna, i huvudsak beroende av sociala, tekniska och legala faktorer. Fastän de flesta i teorin skulle kunna appliceras på medelstort till stort gods i framtiden så finns det idag olika svårigheter som bromsar införandet av dessa på en kommersiell skala; teknisk och legal mognad verkar vara de huvudsakliga hindren. Paketleveranser spelar en viktig roll i att driva på kundernas förväntningar, vilket tvingar försäljare av stora varor att utveckla sina leveranser för att inte tappa sin omsättning. Ekosystem av leveranslösningar kommer troligen att utvecklas i framtiden för att möta kundernas krav på flexibilitet. Vad gäller konkreta lösningar identifieras elektriska lastcyklar, upphämtningsställen och grannskapsleveranser som passande för dagens Stockholm, och följande tredjepartsavtal, fysiska egenskaper och plattformar diskuteras i implementationssammanhang. Fortsatt föreslås framtida studier att överväga ytterligare modeller för att vidareutveckla och generalisera implementationskrav, samt att fördjupa analysen av ekosystem relaterade till last-mile-leveranser genom att undersöka involverade aktörer för de föreslagna lösningarna.