Last-Mile Delivery: A Process View, Framework, and Research Agenda

Abstract

The expansion of e-commerce has increased scholarly interest in Business-to-Customer (B2C) last-mile delivery (LMD). LMD occurs in a unique logistical context and presents many new, evolving challenges worthy of scholarly investigation. While most LMD studies emerged after 2018, existing literature reviews predate the “boom.” Current reviews have focused at the macro-level, considering LMD secondarily within broad topics like omni-channel or micro perspectives that address granular issues like transportation within LMD. The majority of studies have focused on analytical models that investigate different concerns compared to conceptual and empirical studies. Our study examines an up-to-date sample of 104 articles in LMD literature from a process, meso-level perspective. We develop a framework, classifying studies around pre-delivery, delivery, and post-delivery activities that produce valuable insights linking these activities. We synthesize the prior literature and offer a research agenda that incorporates different stakeholder perspectives and identifies methodological opportunities. The analysis reveals several areas of future research that were validated and enhanced by practitioner interviews.