Sustainability Aspects of Drone-Assisted Last-Mile Delivery Systems—A Discrete Event Simulation Approach

Abstract

The goal of this article is to examine the advantages and disadvantages of the application of drones in last-mile delivery systems from a sustainability point of view regarding CO2 emissions and energy consumption. As commercial drones are developing rapidly, the application of such tools in the field of last-mile delivery and transportation can offer many opportunities to increase service flexibility, reduce delivery time and decrease CO2 emissions and energy consumption. In this article, a discrete event simulation is applied to examine how the assistance of drones in parcel delivery services can influence the sustainability aspects of such services regarding CO2 emissions and energy consumption in an urban environment. Based on factory parameters, a vehicle-based delivery scenario is compared to a drone-assisted scenario under ideal conditions. According to the results, within the simulation parameters with the assistance of drones, a decrease in CO2 emissions and energy consumption is possible in last-mile delivery services, but more environmental, technological and financial limitations should also be addressed and incorporated to determine whether such a development is worthwhile from a last-mile delivery company’s point of view.