Compared to the highly developed logistics industry in USA, the Chinese logistics industry is still underdeveloped because of poor infrastructure and ineffective management capability. In terms of these realities, the most important bottleneck of the Chinese logistics industry is the last mile delivery problem, which holds the highest cost in the whole logistics process. To find ways to solve the problems with last mile delivery has become significant and urgent for Chinese logistics service providers. The purpose of the study is to deepen and enrich the knowledge on last mile logistics in China. This is carried out with the help of the case companies SF Express and Property Management Company together with an investigation of last mile delivery alternatives in China. Related to the research question, a case study was carried out focusing on one business process. The data collection methods used include: interview, telephone or email contact, and survey. Intelligent locker and the pick-up delivery solution could solve last mile logistics problems by different ways, especially with specific limitations in Chinese market. These delivery alternatives are highly possible to be adopted and generalized by different logistics service providers in China if not concerned about the cost or density of orders. The current business mode of supermarket in China cannot fulfill the demand from an overwhelming number of customers. Costs for both pick-up stations are acceptable, and the cost is a positive factor for pick-up station mode. The higher density of orders, the higher possibility of different time-window may require, and high competitive advantage of intelligent locker can be achieved. The high density of orders for intelligent locker is a positive factor. The cost for intelligent locker is a very negative factor, which seriously limits the popularization of this delivery alternative. Keywords: Last mile logistics, Intelligent locker, Pick-up station, Delivery alternatives

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.

Over two decades, digitalization has grown considerably and gained momentum around the world. The majority of the world's population uses digital services such as Internet, smartphones and computers. The growth has changed the market, which has led to increased delivery of packages to customers or to wholesalers. Last mile Logistics has had a major impact in digitalization as the purpose is how efficiently packages are delivered to the customer.The purpose of this study was to understand the applications of digitalization on last mile logistics through e-commerce in different industries.For the purpose of the study, data collection of scientific articles and interviews was accomplished. The study consists of five interviews with five different case companies that works with digitalization focusing on the last mile logistics.These interviews highlighted how dependent companies are currently out of digitization in last mile logistics, it was also emphasized how large investments companies make regarding jobs with constant improvements in order to meet customers' needs.In the study's conclusions, it was possible to understand how different businesses implement digitization in different ways, and how these different companies apply digitization on their last mile logistics through e-commerce.

Abstract: Efficient last-mile transportation is a continuous difficulty for businesses, particularly in e-commerce, necessitating the development of creative solutions. This thesis investigates the use of mobile warehouses in mid-sized urban and rural areas to help with this problem. The study begins by emphasizing the importance offlawless delivery as well as the role of warehouses in supply chains. Mobile warehouses emerge as a possible solution, addressing constraints related to these regions' low population density, purchasing power, and market dynamics. The methodology includes a review of the literature on mobile warehouse solutions and the introduction of a generalized cost function model for estimating last-mile logistics costs. The model, which is adaptable to different vehicle types, is applied to Dalarna County in Sweden, considering delivery routes and stops. The findings spotlight the efficacy of mobile warehouses, notably mobile trucks, for last-mile delivery in Dalarna County. Interpretation of results from simulation scenarios emphasizes the importance of route optimization. While the study acknowledges its limitations, it underscores the potential benefits of adopting mobile warehouses, both in practical and theoretical terms. These findings resonate as valuable insights for businesses and the logistics industry, especially in the dynamic landscape of e-commerce. The study illuminates the way forward, emphasizing the critical role of adaptive, geography-specific solutions, such as mobile warehouses, in enhancing last-mile delivery efficiency.

Purpose: The increasing importance given to sustainability issues by governments, companies, consumers, suppliers, researchers, students and the authors of this paper in addition to the scarce empirical studies on the topic of sustainable last mile logistics operations in the food retail industry in Sweden provides relevance to the choice of topic. This paper presents an exploratory single-case study on a Swedish food retailer with a strong sustainability-oriented decision-making body, and will seek to understand how they manage to adopt best sustainable practices and which drivers and most responsible for it. Objective: The aim of this study is to present through an empirical study, how food retailers operate their last mile logistics operations according to the triple bottom line approach, contributing to this young field where a profusion of data to confirm the existing theory remains deficient. Furthermore, the focus is placed on the different drivers for food retailers to adopt sustainable practices in their transportation operations from the distribution warehouse to their stores located in urban areas. Approach: A Swedish food retailer that strives for best practices will be studied in order to obtain key empirical data, which will allow the authors to compare theory and empirical data.  The study will focus on the sustainability-oriented operations approach in the Last Mile Logistics of the chosen retailer and observe the different drivers regarding their operations following all aspects of the triple bottom line. A single-case study analysis of a leading company in terms of sustainability-driven operations will provide more insight on how this “category” of food retailers manages to operationalize their environmental-friendly culture and strategy for inbound Last Mile Logistics successfully, without losing their competitive edge and remaining economically sustainable. Findings: After juxtaposing the secondary data issued from the existing theories on sustainable LML in the food retail industry to the primary data obtained from Axfood, a Swedish food retailer, the results have demonstrated that a business cannot neglect economic drivers to be financially sustainable, (cost optimization, enhanced efficiency, etc.) it remains important and cannot be overridden to enable a shift towards optimal sustainability practices in LML operations. However, the drivers that have proven to make the cut in order to succeed in achieving best sustainable practices are; a highly proactive management, stakeholder pressure (particularly consumers and NGOs amongst others) and innovative technology (including those that imply a short-term economic trade-off for long-term greater good to the TBL dimensions). Keywords: Sustainability; Sustainable practices; Last Mile Logistics; Sustainable Last Mile Logistics; Triple Bottom Line; Food Retailers; Food Retail Industry; Drivers.

Cargo cycles can play a considerable role in mitigating the negative impacts of urban freight transport while still ensure that the material needs of the city are fulfilled. Their small size, lower operating costs, smaller carbon footprint, lack of tailpipe emissions, and manoeuvrability in congested areas are considerable advantages over traditional urban freight vehicles. However, the advantages of cargo cycles are not inherent in every urban environment and under all conditions. This problematics is in general insufficiently researched and more context specific knowledge is needed. Thus, this study investigates the obstacles and facilitating factors for utilising cargo cycles in urban freight transport in Stockholm, Sweden. To investigate these context specifications, case study approach was employed and consisted of qualitative content analysis, semi-structured interviews, and observations. This study argues that in Stockholm, contradictory forces affect the utilisation of cargo cycles in urban freight transport. On one hand, the facilitating factors are mostly associated with measures of sustainable urban freight transport and sustainable development in general: reaction to traffic situation; strategic orientation of the city; public-private partnership; and bicycle infrastructure. On the other hand, path dependence of the city connected to traditional urban freight vehicles (vans) symbolises obstacles: the absence of direct planning for cargo cycles; lack of recognition; and inconsistency of bicycle infrastructure.

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.