Background: The last-mile logistics of the supply chain is often the most expensive part for an e-commerce retailer. It is also according to Lim and Srai (2018) where the consumers are the most demanding. It is no longer exclusively the e-commerce retailers’ job to choose the delivery method of the parcel they are sending out to their customer. As a consumer in Sweden today, you will often get the option to choose how you want your online order to be delivered. The result of consumers wanting to have more of a say in how their parcel is delivered is that the carrier companies now compete for the opportunity to deliver parcels (Post- och telestyrelsen 2020).  Purpose: This master’s thesis has as a purpose to investigate what reasoning there is behindthe choices the actors in B2C last-mile delivery make when it comes to their offerings ofdelivery options, and their chosen strategy. As e-commerce retailing has grown in hugeproportions during the last decades, there will also be a focus on what the industry mightdevelop into, as this will have an impact on the actors in the industry. There is a lack of insightinto the subject of this study, i.e. how e-commerce retailers and parcel carriers tackle theconstantly changing world of last-mile logistics. To help answer the purpose of the master’sthesis, literature on last-mile parcel delivery was compiled together with theories such as agencytheory, co-opetition, dynamic capabilities, and transaction cost analysis. Research questions: What should the different actors in B2C last-mile delivery take intoaccount when developing their parcel delivery strategy? What will the future of B2C parceldeliveries look like according to the different actors in B2C last-mile delivery? Methodology: The study used a qualitative method with an abductive reasoning. Thequalitative method that was used for collecting the data was qualitative semi-structuredinterviews. As this master’s thesis has a focus on the actors in B2C last-mile delivery, theinterviews were conducted with professionals within the e-commerce retailing, parcel carrier,and last-mile logistics industry. Conclusion: The study then concludes that the e-commerce retailer will try to adapt theirdelivery offerings based on what the consumers wish, and to be able to do this, the e-commerceretailer need to be flexible in their offerings. The parcel carriers need to keep in mind that theyhave a dependency towards the e-commerce retailers. The option of co-opetition is alsosomething that they should consider. It is important for the last-mile logistics companies to beaware of all this as they are working with both e-commerce retailers and parcel carriers. Thefindings of the study show that many believe that the future of parcel delivery will be to useparcel lockers. What needs to be kept in mind is that it is important for the consumer to be ableto choose when, where, and how their parcel is delivered. This master’s thesis can be used bye-commerce retailers, parcel carriers, and last-mile logistics companies, to gain insight intowhat the parcel delivery market looks like today, and what is important for all actors on it.

Optimizing city logistics is a topic of great importance for big cities today. Even though the environmental- and economical consequences of the increasing goods transportation fleet has been present for quite some time, actions from affected stakeholders has not been taken until just recently.  In this brief 9 week project the aim has been to,  from a design point-of-view, in this complex topic, give a suggestion and raise a discussion onto how goods transportation in cities can be made in the future.  The basic idea is to get the consignments as close to the consignees and their travel patterns as possible. Public transportation networks are an existing grid where people are moving around and can potentially be used for combined transport of goods and people. The outcome of this concept is focusing on light parcel delivery towards private consignees, due to the increasing e-commerce trend. By using small transporter vehicles connected to buses, light parcels can be distributed throughout a city and easily accessible for consignees at the bus stops.  The transporter vehicle developed through this project aims to conceptualize connectivity and integration between mobility and parcel delivery services, to ease the every day life of urban citizens as well as decrease the environmental- and economical impacts which the distribution vehicle-fleet of today entails.  The design of the transporter vehicle is an interpretation of how a autonomous distribution vehicle can look like in a future city environment where the integration of public-utility-vehicles is of greater importance.

In recent years, companies such as Amazon and DHL have started to develop alternative last-mile delivery options because of the growing trend in e-commerce. Last-mile deliveries refer to the terminal to customer deliveries and have become increasingly challenging to manage, as traffic congestions in cities has risen. Therefore, companies have begun searching for alternative delivery methods, such as autonomous drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The purpose of this thesis is to investigate drones in the current literature on last-mile delivery. First, by conducting a systematic literature review on the current literature available in two major databases. Second, by analyzing the collected literature sample and presenting it through a descriptive analysis focusing on bibliometrics and a thematic analysis that identifies emerging themes for drivers for drones’ application in last-mile delivery, barriers for drones’ application in last-mile delivery, and approaches for implementing drones in last-mile delivery.                        Drones’ application in last-mile delivery has the potential to reduce cost, decrease delivery time, reduce emissions, and reduce energy consumption. However, barriers that hinder the implementation, such as governmental regulations, need further consideration for the implementation to occur. Some evident gaps can be found related to the barriers. Both managers and researchers might find the thesis useful, as it provides a holistic view on the subject, with theoretical, managerial, and societal implications being presented.