Strategies for Identifying Outlier Parcels in Urban Deliveries
An Explorative analysis
S. Sun (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
Lóránt Tavasszy – Mentor (TU Delft - Transport, Mobility and Logistics)
Merve Seher Cebeci – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Transport, Mobility and Logistics)
F. Schulte – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Transport Engineering and Logistics)
J.H.R. Van Duin – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Transport and Logistics)
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Abstract
This study presents two novel strategies for identifying outlier parcels in urban deliveries, focusing on cost and environmental impact. With the growth of Business-to-Customer (B2C) e-commerce, the logistics industry faces increased pressure to improve last-mile delivery (LMD) efficiency. Outlier parcels, characterized by higher costs and emissions, pose significant challenges to logistics service providers (LSPs). Using the Marginal Cost Method and the COFRET method, this study develops cost-based and emission-based identification strategies to help LSPs address inefficiencies. The elbow point method is introduced to set objective thresholds for identifying outliers. Results from simulations in the South Holland region reveal significant differences in outlier parcel distributions across various carriers. Additionally, a sensitivity analysis assesses the impact of carbon pricing on parcel identification. The findings provide actionable insights for LSPs to optimize delivery operations and achieve sustainability goals. Future work will explore the application of these methods in different regions and consider alternative delivery methods for handling outlier parcels.