Evaluating Sustainable Last Mile Delivery Solutions: A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

Abstract

The rapid growth of e-commerce and urbanization has caused significant last-mile delivery (LMD) challenges, requiring the implementation of sustainable solutions. To address this issue, this study proposes a new multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework using the Best-Worst Method (BWM) to evaluate and rank different LMD alternatives according to 13 sustainability criteria of economic, technical, environmental, and social aspects within the context of the Netherlands. This method uses structured pairwise comparisons with experts’ perspectives to derive the relative importance of all criteria and the performance scores of all alternatives, ensuring a consistent decision-making process. Results indicate that economic and technical factors are valued higher than environmental and social considerations. Parcel lockers emerged as the most sustainable solution, followed by convenience store pickup, green vehicles, and crowdsourced delivery. The study also proposes several policy and managerial recommendations to help policymakers, logistics providers, and urban planners develop strategies that balance sustainability goals.