Definition and classification criteria of logistics services for elderly

Abstract

An ageing population is a natural and inevitable phenomenon that constitutes an opportunity for the development of the logistics services industry. This is related to the fact that a new demographic profile of the world is determined by a growing number of customers — seniors – with special needs that generate the demand for services such as carriage and home delivery of food and medicines. Therefore, considering the growing demand for logistics services intended for older adults, there is a justified need to develop theoretical knowledge in this area. The paper aims to define a logistics service dedicated to an elderly person as the ultimate recipient as well as to identify the classification criteria of such services. The first part of the article is based on a literature review and presents definitions of a service and a logistics service according to various researchers. It also identifies different classifications of logistics services. These theoretical aspects provided a basis for authors to propose the notion of a logistics service and a catalogue of criteria for systemising logistics services dedicated to older adults. Logistics services for the elderly may be grouped according to classification criteria applicable to what is widely understood as logistics services in source literature. The classification criteria are the type of service, the immateriality of service, the frequency of contacting the customer, the type of purchaser market, the degree of service customisation, the type of a relationship between the service enterprise and the customer, and the place of service provision. Nonetheless, due to the customer-oriented approach in logistics, the authors proposed the classification criteria of these services with regard to age, financial situation, needs, health, expectations, hobby, skills and problems of older adults. Such an approach to classification is determined by considerable inherent diversification of the discussed group of customers as well as a specialised catalogue of logistics services. The classification of logistics services may contribute to the improved design of such services.

Foresight as a Tool for the Planning and Implementation of Visions for Smart City Development

“…Together with a growing popularity of the smart city concept, there appear numerous new projects based on innovative technologies helping cities to solve the emerging problems of technical infrastructure [1,2], pollution and environmental protection [3,4], waste management [5,6], spatial development [7,8], logistics and urban transport [9,10], ageing society [11,12], poverty [13,14] and low levels of involvement of residents in public affairs [15,16]. After all, many of them fail to satisfy their initial objectives due to the fact that they are not adapted to the complexity, diversity and uncertainty characterising contemporary cities [17].…”

Determinants of Courier Service Quality in e-Commerce from Customers’ Perspective

“…Courier service, which is a special kind of service within TSL sector, has recently become a critical link in logistics supply chains of many trading, manufacturing and service companies (Jarocka and Wang, 2018). Recently courier, express and parcel market (CEP) has developed dynamically worldwide and this trend will be maintained in the coming years.…”

Smart city concept in the light of the literature review

“…• environmental pollution (Caparros-Midwood et al, 2019;Alam et al, 2019;Munoz-Pandiella et al, 2018;Kosheleva et al, 2018); • urban logistics (Nataraj et al, 2019;Firdausiyah et al, 2019;Bjørgen et al, 2019;Cleophas et al, 2019;Faramehr et al, 2019;Mesjasz-Lech, 2014;Tomaszewska & Florea, 2018); • technical infrastructure (Petrova & Prodromidou, 2019;Faramehr et al, 2019;Pham & Phan, 2018;Juget & Ryckewaert, 2018); • waste management (Bugge et al, 2019;Amritha & Kumar, 2019;Dlamini et al, 2019;Scorţar et al, 2010); • aging population (Jayantha et al, 2018;Fang & Lai, 2018;Onoda, 2018;Greenfield, 2018;Jarocka & Wang, 2018); • stratification of wealth levels, areas of poverty (Muktiali, 2018;Lanjouw & Marra, 2018;Ma et al, 2018;Aguilar & López, 2016); • low level of citizen participation in the management of public affairs (Mavrodieva et al, 2019;Sou, 2019;van Holm, 2019;de Castro Pena et al, 2017). Knowing the identified challenges and the expected increase in the number of urban residents around the world, there is an increasing need for new and innovative ways to manage the complexity of urban life.…”