Characteristics and Typology of Last-mile Logistics from an Innovation Perspective in an Urban Context

In this article, characteristics – which can have significant impacts on economical and ecological performance from a logistical point of view - of the last-mile part of the supply chain will be identified and analysed, with a focus on urban areas. This process will be done from an innovation perspective. In the first part of the paper, the “problematic nature” of urban distribution and the last mile, will be described more in detail. Furthermore the different typologies to classify the different last mile delivery methods are shown. The focus in this article will be on the business-to-consumer (B2C) market. When assessing the B2C market, several innovative best practices will be mentioned, for example the introduction of collection points. In the second part of the paper, the aforementioned problems of the last mile will be used to analyze the last mile in an attempt to list up the significant characteristics. The term “characteristics” needs to be interpreted in the last-mile context as “a distinguishing feature that can have important effects on the efficiency and cost structure of the last-mile part of the supply chain”. These characteristics/determinants will be listed using academic literature sources. Product types/groups will be used to classify the different characteristics into a last mile typology. The authors will try to answer the question which characteristics must companies and the public authorities (for policy measures) take into account when implementing innovative concepts in last-mile logistics in order that efficiency gains, cost reductions and environmental improvements could be optimised?