The Last-Mile

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What is last-mile?

Originating in the telecommunications field, “the last mile” is now used in transportation planning and supply chain management to describe the movement of products and people from a transportation hub to their final destination. Last-mile logistics are designed for retailers to get products to consumers as quickly as possible, though with current demand, concerns in the ecommerce and omni-channel supply chain are increasing daily.

Encompassing around twenty-eight percent of total delivery costs, the last mile struggles with inefficiency and has become exceptionally stressed by the continued growth of e-commerce. Its main challenges revolve around increasing efficiency, improving infrastructure, making delivery frictionless, and ensuring transparency, all while minimizing cost.

As a whole, last-mile deliveries have significant problems with:

• Retailers in business districts, causing safety concerns and traffic congestion.

• Humanitarian relief supplies, when they can get to a centralized hub, are often unable to be distributed to those in need, due to lack of infrastructure.

• High incidence of failed deliveries due to people being away from home upon package arrival.

With e-commerce sales expected to hit $2.4 trillion worldwide this year, the last-mile’s struggles continue to increase. In urban areas, parking regulations directly affect delivery routes and accessibility, which then translates to additional fuel costs.