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

Boglárka Eisinger Balassa (), Réka Koteczki, Bence Lukács and László Buics
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Boglárka Eisinger Balassa: Department of Corporate Leadership and Marketing, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Széchenyi István University, Egyetem tér 1, 9026 Győr, Hungary
Réka Koteczki: Vehicle Industry Research Center, Széchenyi István University, Egyetem tér 1, 9026 Győr, Hungary
Bence Lukács: Vehicle Industry Research Center, Széchenyi István University, Egyetem tér 1, 9026 Győr, Hungary
László Buics: Department of Corporate Leadership and Marketing, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Széchenyi István University, Egyetem tér 1, 9026 Győr, Hungary

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 12, 1-16

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 CO 2 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 CO 2 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 CO 2 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 CO 2 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.

Keywords: renewable energy system; environmental assessment; discrete event simulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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