The journey towards a sustainable and resilient last-mile logistics

Poor design and management of the last-mile freight distribution may bring negative effects, as the increasing level of CO2 emissions and pollutants. Many logistics companies and policymakers have set ambitious climate and sustainability goals as a mixture of environmental, social, and operational targets. However, currently, there remain barriers to reach a sustainable and resilient urban freight distribution. In the field of City Logistics, our research investigates through a multidisciplinary approach that considers both the business and operational models, the competitiveness of alternative distribution systems, aiding stakeholders in hitting these goals. The application of our approach on real data from the City of Turin puts into highlight the superiority of the consolidation approach over the classical single-tier approach. Besides, the research provides a thorough analysis of some emerging business models and aspects of the on-demand economy, as the integration of multiple delivery options, including zero-emission vehicles, the consideration of customers' preferences in terms of delivery timeslots, and the new paradigms as the uberization of the last-mile. The managerial insights coming from this work will be part of the new Logistics and Mobility Plan that will be deployed in 2022 in the Piedmont region.