Purpose The growth of e-commerce is accompanied by an increasing distribution of parcels in cities resulting in externalities like traffic congestion or emissions. As a consequence, different delivery concepts like bike deliveries or delivery points have been suggested. Naturally, companies will only accept these changes, if they do not result in higher costs. However, it is difficult to predict the impact of a certain delivery concept in a certain city. This leads to the research question, how different delivery scenarios for a certain area can be assessed and compared, especially if some of them have not been implemented. Methods Using a case study, we demonstrate how the effects of different delivery concepts can be quantified with the help of a simulation study. We take care to accurately model the delivery processes and utilise a real-world dataset and realistic cost values. On the basis of these inputs, we simulate and analyse the current state-of-the-practice in the distribution of e-commerce goods in Antwerp and compare it to possible`what-if' scenarios. Results The results highlight that the investigated delivery concepts can benefit either the companies or the quality of life in the city. Operational costs of companies can be reduced by stimulating customer self-pick-up, while externalities decrease with the implementation of a cargo bike distribution system. Conclusions We demonstrate that both operational and external costs can be minimised, if involved stakeholders from industry and the public look for sustainable delivery solution jointly.

Supply chains, logistics and freight have been facing increasingly complex challenges posed by transitions in economic structures, urbanization, city design and transport systems, as well as by the externalities associated with logistics activities in urban areas. This has driven a great deal of research recently. Yet, there are no sufficient contributions clarifying the current state of thought in this field. This article critically reviews the literature highlighting current approaches in the field. The objective of the article is threefold. First, to provide a framework with geographical and functional elements of urban logistics. Second, to identify the scope of the literature, vested into a typology. And third, to define the terms that may embrace the various analytical interests of the urban logistics field, namely city logistics, urban goods distribution and last mile logistics. The aim is to contribute to organize the current and future thought in the field of urban logistics.

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Purpose: Policy implementation in the logistics sector might drive unexpected side-effects which sometimes undermine the performance of key economic activities of logistics operators, especially in areas such as transport service, sustainability of operations, etc. Especially for the latter, there is a lack of understanding how the sustainability performance if retail logistics solutions is impacted on by policy implementation and, in turn, by operators' responsive measures. This paper conducts a sustainability analysis of concrete innovative and already tested retail logistics solutions addressing the research question "what are the effects of retail logistics solutions on total costs and sustainability performance?" Methods: The analysis relies on the development and application of an indicator-based framework based on the key sustainability components (economy, environment, society) and enriched by the addition of the transport component. The framework assesses three different scenarios together with a business-as-is one: Urban Consolidation Centre, Tethering and Shared Bus accompanied with a Strengths-Weaknesses analysis. Data are provided by an international food retailer operating within the city of Antwerp, Belgium, but conclusions can be generalized due to wider applicability of measures and solutions examined. Results: External costs analysis shows that higher degree of internalization is achieved in the line-haul transport. Within an urban context, the measures that do not require significant initial investment and broad interventions are assessed as the most sustainable in our analysis. Tethering is the solution that indicates the highest sustainability score. Conclusions: The impact of innovative and already tested solutions relies on a variety of factors: organizational, urban context, type of goods transported, engagement of stakeholders, etc.. In any case, innovation is crucial for urban retail logistics impacting on transport service, society, economy and environment. Any new retail business model should be designed with respect to cost efficiency and through a socially acceptable transition path.

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