THE LAST MILE
“The last mile is the last part of a business-to-consumer (B2C) parcel delivery to the final consignee who has to take reception of the goods at home /at a cluster/collection point.”
Fig. Supply Chain’s Basic Structure
(Source: Own reproduction based on De Smedt, Gevaers (2009))
Most supply chains generally follow the below mentioned standard structure: first, the raw materials go to the processing industry. After that they are stored in a warehouse. From that point onwards, distribution of the goods are done in two ways: first, the traditional system with retail shops and supermarkets, and other a system with direct-to-consumer deliveries. The supply chain’s last mile part is considered as the supply chain’s last…show more content… This will be described in the following paragraphs, starting with the description of the last mile’s types / typologies.
Typologies of last-mile deliveries
For analyzing the last-mile’s characteristics, a typology to describe and classify last-mile’s sub-flows is required. In past literature, last mile typologies have been mentioned in different ways.
Boyer, Frohlich & Hult (2005)‘s typology is used in some articles and academic papers which divides the last-mile into four sub-types: semi-extended supply chains, fully extended supply chains, decoupled supply chains and centralized extended supply chains.
This typology uses matrix with two variables: delivery type and order fulfilment.
Fig. Typology for the Last…show more content… When looking to the goods’ different reception type by the consignee, the below diagram gives a good overview of the reception’s different types. .
Fig. Reception method’s type in the last-mile
The term “characteristics” need to be interpreted in the last-mile context as a distinguishing feature which can affect the efficiency and cost structure of the last-mile part of the supply chain.
Last Mile Stakeholder identification, requirements, objectives and interest
Several stakeholders are generally associated with freight delivery. However for reducing evaluation complexity and provide clarity, RUSSO and COMI (2011) identified the following main stakeholders and their interests.
• End – consumers which include the inhabitants (residents, employees or business people) with main interest to minimize the barrier caused by the goods transportation.
• Transportation operators with main interest in the lowest cost delivery meeting the customer needs with short lead time and high