Academic literature on the topic 'Smart locker solutions'

Nowadays the issue of reducing environmental pollution is on the agenda of all countries. Among the areas that have huge negative consequences for nature, logistics and supply chains take their place. Today, there are many concepts and scientific currents that recognize the need to account for the environmental component in urban logistics. Environmental aspects are used when evaluating the efficiency of investment projects, developing new models of vehicles, calculating taxes and insurance payments, and when searching for the best delivery schemes. The goal of the work. Taking into account the world experience in research on the chosen topic, the purpose of this study is to consolidate the world's successful experience in environmentally friendly urban delivery and assess their applicability in Ukraine. Technologies and methods that allow reducing the negative impact of motor vehicles on the environment include: The technology of off-peak delivery, which allows you to improve the speed mode of the car. With off-peak delivery, the probability of traffic jams is minimized, which makes the speed of movement the maximum permissible in the city (and, accordingly, the most environmentally friendly). Although night delivery is currently not possible in Ukraine due to the curfew, late and early delivery is still available, allowing you to successfully bypass traffic jams. Use of consolidation centers. The economic idea of consolidation of freight transportation is to use the effect of scale - the greater the carrying capacity of the vehicle, the lower the specific costs for transportation of a unit of production. Currently, the construction of the consolidation center is being evaluated from the point of view of the impact of the supply chain on the environment. At the same time, the existence of a consolidation center near or within the city allows to organize delivery by vehicles with zero or low level of environmental pollution. Use of Parcel Delivery Lockers. Delivery lockers are usually installed in places where the maximum flow of residents is concentrated, which makes it possible to create additional comfort for users due to the possibility of choosing the point closest to their own home or place of work. This method eliminates up to two thirds of harmful emissions into the air. The number of post machines and the area covered by them increases year by year, which allows us to talk about the success of this technology. According to the results of 2022, such major players of express delivery as "Nova Poshta" (now “Nova”), "Ukrposhta" and "Meest" will continue to work with post delivery lockers in Ukraine. Use of more environmentally friendly types of transport. The use of hybrid, electric or non-motorized vehicles is increasingly used in last-mile logistics. Electric vehicles, mopeds, two- or three-wheeled bicycles with a large trunk or cargo body can be considered environmentally friendly types of urban logistics. Such vehicles have practically zero emissions of harmful substances, they are much more maneuverable and do not require a lot of space for unloading, loading and parking. Implementation of zones with low (zero) air pollution. Zones with zero or low emissions have long been used in developed countries. There are no generally accepted technologies for calculating the territory that requires restrictions on the movement of transport, as well as for calculating the cost of such movement. Usually it depends on the will of the local authorities, the wishes of the residents and the well-being of the region. Prohibition on the use of motor vehicles. Some local authorities introduce a complete ban on the use of motor vehicles within certain parts of the city. Usually these are historical centers with dense buildings and a large number of tourists. Sometimes such drastic measures are combined with night delivery technology. If this is not possible, the only alternative is delivery by small, usually two- or three-wheeled, zero-emission vehicles. Improvement of traffic management. Competently designed organization of road traffic can reduce the pressure on the environment. The use of an intelligent transport system in smart cities allows you to perform important tasks like detection of transport accidents; automated control of the ramp, traffic lights and parking, etc. Improvement of road conditions. This refers to the quality of the road surface, markings, cleanliness of the road surface, etc. Improvement of road conditions indirectly affects the improvement of environment of the region. Summing up the results of the research, successful global practices in environmental friendly urban logistics are highlighted, which are applied and have prospects for application in Ukraine. It was concluded that there is a huge potential of using world experience in urban logistics of Ukraine. This will bring Ukrainian logistics and urban supply chains to a new level, increasing the level of health and general satisfaction of the citizens.

The rapid emergence of e-commerce in Vietnam has resulted in significant pressure on freight traffic and the environment, particularly in urban areas. Automated delivery stations (ADSs), also known as smart lockers or parcel lockers, offer a promising solution to improve the sustainability of last-mile delivery systems. However, the adoption of such a sustainable alternative by Vietnamese customers is inadequately understudied. This study primarily aims to investigate factors impacting Vietnamese customers’ acceptance of these automated delivery points. Utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM), a survey following convenience sampling was carried out in Vietnam to assess recent experiences at automated delivery stations. The results showed that innovativeness and location convenience positively influenced consumer intention to use ADS, while perceived time pressure had no impact on consumer intention to use automatic delivery systems. This study provides valuable insights to e-commerce companies to customize their services to match customer preferences, which will optimize last-mile delivery options and thereby promote sustainable practices.

Growing competition, changing customer needs, and growing environmental protection requirements mean companies are forced to change their approach to business. Traditional product sales are being replaced by systemic solutions focused on meeting specific customer requirements while reducing negative impacts on the environment. One such solution is the Product-Service System (PSS). This allows manufacturers to offer their products’ functionalities and features through related services. By extending the life of products, promoting the reuse of materials, and reducing the amount of waste, the implementation of PSS strongly supports sustainable development. The paper focuses on a new product group—garage boxes (GB). It discusses a new PSS business model that responds to the needs of people living in blocks of flats with no tenant storage lockers or rooms in the basement. The new business model sells the function (storing various possessions) and eliminates problems faced by tenants due to the lack of sufficient storage space. It provides customers with high-quality GB for as long as they need them. Customers can pick and choose equipment with additional services depending on their needs. The idea of the model is the outcome of a nationwide study carried out in Poland on a group of 500 residents of blocks of flats and consultations with manufacturers, homeowner associations, wholesale and retail traders, and the financial sector. The study provided us with information and data that provided a comprehensive picture of the problem of the absence of storage lockers or rooms for residents and the needs connected with GB. The results of the conducted research indicate that the developed business model responds to the diverse requirements of residents and supports sustainable solutions. It is an alternative to the lack of a storage unit assigned to each apartment. The business model developed in the paper is highly innovative and comprehensive. This makes it an attractive solution for residents of apartment blocks, and its implementation can significantly reduce the environmental impact.

Cloud computing is transforming networking landscape over the last few years. The first order of business for major cloud providers today is to attract as many organizations as possible to their own clouds. To that end cloud providers offer a new generation of managed network solutions to connect the premises of the enterprises to their clouds. To serve their customers better and to innovate fast, major cloud providers are currently on the route to building their own "private Internets", which are idiosyncratic. On the other hand, customers that do not want to stay locked by vendors and who want flexibility in using best-for-the-task services spanning multiple clouds and, possibly, their own premises, seek for solutions that will provide smart overlay connectivity across clouds. The result of these developments is a multiplication of closed idiosyncratic solutions rather than an open standardized ecosystem. In this editorial note we argue for desirability of such an ecosystem, outline the main requirements and sketch possible solutions. We focus on enterprise as our primary use case and illustrate the main ideas through it, but the same principles apply to various different use cases.