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Browsing by Author "Silva, Vasco Nunes Loureiro"

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  • Framework de Tomada de Decisão para Last-Mile Sustentável
    Publication . Silva, Vasco Nunes Loureiro; Amaral, António Manuel Pereira da Silva
    The e-commerce growth, propelled by factors like globalization, urbanization, or the COVID-19 pandemic, has been raising the demand for logistic activities. This affects the entire supply chain, especially the last-mile, as it is considered the most ineffective part of the supply chain and a source of negative externalities. Although various solutions promise to alleviate these problems, understanding them and selecting the best has proven to be difficult due to conflicting criteria, multiple perspectives, and trade-offs. The vicissitudes of complex and sensitive urban contexts like historic centers also contribute to this difficulty. This work contributes an integrated framework that may assist the involved stakeholders in decision-making. To this end, this work is based on a three-part methodology. The extensive systematic literature review developed provided an integrated overview of this fragmented research area. This review confirmed the multidisciplinary nature of the topic, as there is an increasing number of studies conducted under very different perspectives. Furthermore, it was found that the economic dimension is the most considered; the most polluting countries contributed little to the research; and the solutions involve trade-offs. The literature review supported the definition of the hierarchical model that structures last-mile operations in historic centers. This model was evaluated by interviewing a group of experts. After integrating the experts’ feedback, the model was quantified by the same experts according to an AHP-TOPSIS approach. This quantification had as a case study the historic center of Porto, Portugal. The experts considered the three sustainability dimensions identically important. Air pollution was the most valued sub-criterion whereas Visual pollution was the least. All last-mile solutions considered in the model achieved similar results, therefore suggesting a combined distribution strategy. Nevertheless, the use of parcel lockers is the most favorable solution and seems adequate in Porto’s historic center.
    2022Master thesis Open access Show more