This doctoral thesis represents pioneering research in integrating Smart Mobile Lockers
with City Buses (SML-CBs) for e-commerce last-mile delivery, a novel concept rooted
in the sharing economy. It explores the innovative use of underutilized urban bus capacities
for parcel transportation while incorporating smart parcel lockers to facilitate
self-pick-up by customers. Comprising six chapters, the thesis delineates its background,
motivations, contributions, and organization in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 presents a comprehensive review of the recent literature on last-mile freight deliveries, including a bibliometric
analysis, identifying gaps and opportunities for SML-CBs intervention. In Chapter
3, using survey data, we conduct empirical analytics to study Canadian consumers’
attitudes towards adopting SML-CBs, focusing on deterrents such as excessive walking
distances to pick-up locations and incentives led by environmental concerns. This chapter
also pinpoints demographic segments likely to be early adopters of this innovative
delivery system. To address the concerns over walking distances identified in Chapter 3,
Chapter 4 presents a prescriptive model and algorithms aimed at minimizing customer
walking distance to self-pick-up points, considering the assignment of SML-CBs and customers.
The case study results endorse the convenience of SML-CBs in terms of short
walking distances. To systematically assess the sustainability benefits, a key motivator
identified in Chapter 3, Chapter 5 includes analytical models for pricing and accessibility
of SML-CBs. It also employs a hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to
analyze the sustainability performance of SML-CBs. It establishes system boundaries,
develops pertinent LCA parameters, and illustrates substantial greenhouse gas (GHG)
savings in both operational and life cycle phases when SML-CBs are utilized instead of
traditional delivery trucks. The dissertation is concluded in Chapter 6, summarizing the
principal contributions and suggesting avenues for future research. This comprehensive
study not only provides empirical and analytical evidence supporting the feasibility and
advantages of SML-CBs but also contributes to the literature on sustainable logistics
and urban freight deliveries. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This doctoral thesis represents pioneering research in integrating Smart Mobile Lockers
with City Buses (SML-CBs) for e-commerce last-mile delivery. It explores the innovative
use of underutilized urban bus capacities for parcel transportation while incorporating
smart parcel lockers to facilitate self-pick-up by customers. Comprising six chapters,
the thesis delineates its background, motivations, contributions, and organization in
Chapter 1. Chapter 2 presents a comprehensive review of the recent literature on lastmile
freight deliveries. In Chapter 3, we study Canadian consumers’ attitudes towards
adopting SML-CBs, focusing on deterrents such as excessive walking distances to pickup
locations and incentives led by environmental concerns. To address the concerns over
walking distances identified in Chapter 3, Chapter 4 presents models and algorithms for
operating SML-CBs. Chapter 5 presents an assessment of the sustainability of SML-CBs.
The dissertation is concluded in Chapter 6, summarizing the principal contributions and
suggesting avenues for future research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/29674 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Liu, Si |
| Contributors | Hassini, Elkafi, Business |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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