Last mile logistics in smart cities: An IT platform for vehicle sharing and routing

Abstract

Due to the current remarkable growth of e-commerce, the last mile logistics has become a relevant problem. In this paper, the main issues of the last mile logistics in a smart city context are introduced. We propose a solution based on a shared Information Technology (IT) platform that needs no material investments. The principle of resource pooling is applied to the sharing of heterogeneous vehicles in the urban network. In particular, an IT platform powered by an optimization algorithm is proposed to allow couriers to make their deliveries more efficiently, that is, to reduce the total distance covered by the vehicles. This was achieved through the development of four software modules: an ETL, an optimizer, a web application and a map displayer. First results are promising, but further investigations should be done in order to evaluate more accurately the expected benefits and the possible positive externalities such as improvement of air quality in the city.