Methodology for Prioritizing Best Practices Applied to the Sustainable Last Mile—The Case of a Brazilian Parcel Delivery Service Company

Abstract

The ever-increasing impacts of the last mile delivery sector on the environment and the quality of life of the urban population, such as increased congestion, demand best practices to be incorporated by companies to reduce impacts such as emission of air pollutants and Greenhouse Gases (GHG) and depletion of natural resources, among others. However, a myriad of strategies has been developed for this purpose but there is a lack of methodologies that allow the choice of the best ones for a specific case. Therefore, this study looks for those best practices to be employed through an innovative methodology that consists of SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), a map of strategies of the delivery service, and using the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), with the differential of considering the peculiarities of each company. The results applied in a Brazilian last mile delivery service company show that best practices such as route optimization, implementation of new infrastructure and business models for urban deliveries, and use of information systems for fleet tracking and monitoring contribute significantly to improving performance indicators and achieving the sector’s goal to become more sustainable, and especially meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 8, 9, 11, and 17.

1. Introduction

Urban logistics, pointed out as the last stage of supply chain management [1], although playing a role of fundamental importance in meeting the demand of urban businesses and consumers for products and services, has been having a strong impact on the sustainable development of cities [2] since the urban environment is faced with more traffic, congestion, accidents, and environmental pollution (air, visual, and noise) [3].

In this context, one of the biggest challenges of urban logistics is the high cost of last mile delivery (the process of delivering goods from the distribution center to homes or supermarkets, i.e., to the end customer) [4], mainly due to the traditional method of delivering parcels to the end customer that involves the use of many vehicles of different sizes, as a result of the ever-increasing dispersed demand, small order sizes, and delivery time expectations of consumers [4,5].

In addition, trucks remain the dominant mode of transport for last mile delivery [6]; however, they cause significant environmental impacts, such as high levels of air pollutants, Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, and noise [3]. There is also an increase in visual pollution as a result of intensified traffic congestion [2].

Further intensifying last mile parcel delivery, several parts of the world have seen skyrocketing growth in e-commerce in 2020 due to the physical presence restrictions in place in many countries aiming to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic [7]. E-commerce reached a revenue of USD 4.28 trillion in 2020, which represents a worldwide growth of 27.6% over 2019 in a survey conducted with 32 national markets [8]. Furthermore, according to DHL [9], estimated worldwide e-commerce sales reached a value of USD 4.48 trillion in 2021.

Thus, last mile delivery companies need to establish strategies (defined hereafter as best practices) to minimize the impact of their activities on the environment and quality of life of urban populations, preferably by reducing the costs of their processes. Therefore, in this regard, the paper addresses the following research question: developing an innovative methodology for prioritizing best practices that fits and best contributes to the achievement of strategic objectives, from a sustainable perspective, of last mile parcel delivery companies, since there is a lack in the literature of methodologies that consider the peculiarities of the parcel delivery company and the region under case study, with aims to identify best practices to become more sustainable.

The proposed methodology makes use of SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis and the development of a strategic map of the delivery service from the use of the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for prioritization of best practices.

To analyze the usefulness of the proposed methodology, the Brazilian Post and Telegraph Company (Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telégrafos, in Portuguese), or simply Correios, is used. This company is a federal public company that distributes parcels throughout the country, as well as providing other support services to the government in all spheres and to the population. It is noteworthy, however, that although the proposed methodology has been applied in a last mile parcel delivery company, the sequence of stages and subsequent application is easy to follow and, especially, it can be replicated in the context of sustainable business models.

Furthermore, this study is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, more specifically to: SDG 8 (‘Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all’), SDG 9 (‘Building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization and fostering innovation’), SDG 11 (‘Making cities and facilities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable for humans’), and SDG 17 (‘Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development’) [10], although all other SDGs can still be indirectly addressed.

For this study, it is worth noting that this study has as a limitation the internal evaluation of the parcel delivery segment that considers only the last mile of the company Correios, although the developed method can be applied to other realities and indicators selected from qualitative criteria.

To fulfill its objectives, in addition to this introductory section: Section 2 presents a brief theoretical background on the applications of the methods used in this study; Section 3 addresses the methodology developed for prioritizing best practices; Section 4 describes the case study and applies the methodology developed in the study for determining and prioritizing best practices; Section 5 analyzes and discusses the results; and, finally, Section 6 presents the final considerations, including proposals for future work.

2. Theoretical Background

Prioritization of best practices is an important action for companies due to the limited availability of resources, which need to be allocated appropriately to achieve the objective of improving corporate sustainability performance [11].

Through the literature review, it was possible to identify research with similar objectives to the present study, where the use of the SBSC model, AHP method, maturity model, and SWOT analysis stand out, as well as verifying a gap in the literature regarding the development of equal methods focused on prioritizing best sustainable practices for last mile parcel delivery.

2.1. SBSC Model

BSC (Balanced Scorecard) is a strategic management model, which defines strategic objectives and performance indicators aligned with the organization’s mission and strategy [12]. It is originally defined from the following four perspectives: (i) learning and growth, (ii) internal process, (iii) customer, and (iv) economic/financial [13], and from the vision of meeting sustainable development by environmental and social perspectives that correspond to the model, which is then called the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) [14].

In the literature, it has been used together with SWOT analysis and the ANP method to measure the performance of a company dedicated to food distribution in the local market [12]. SBSC characterizes the maturity of a company’s value system as well as its sustainability strategy [15] and is not yet widely applied in studies of the last mile parcel delivery segment.

2.2. SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning model used to evaluate an organization, a plan, a project, or an activity through internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external dimensions (opportunities and threats) [16]. It is applied as a qualitative management tool that aims to highlight the positive and negative aspects of different business models in urban freight and parcel delivery according to the views of international courier delivery service companies, traditional subcontractors, green subcontractors, customers, and authorities [17], and also through auxiliary evaluation with the generation of criteria to the selection of the most appropriate solutions for smart delivery in the last mile [18]. Additionally, it is applied to white-label business model proposals compared to the traditional door/mailbox delivery business model from the viewpoint of municipal managers and experts in economic and regional development [19], as well as evaluation from the perspective of consumers of the service characteristics of the company DHL Express [20].

2.3. AHP Method

The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method, developed by Saaty [21], is a decision-making method that uses pairwise comparisons. Logistics-related studies applied the AHP method to select suitable sites for new facilities, as well as to identify the set of criteria and determine the location of last mile delivery centers by evaluating the service provided by the Thailand Post Office and DHL companies [22], and for better locations for the installation of delivery parcel-pickup points for the e-commerce company Ali Baba [23].

2.4. Maturity Model

The maturity model represents the evolutionary path of the implementation process of an action, and has been adopted to evaluate the evolution of the logistics 4.0 concept implementation in transport [24]. It was also used to define criteria and maturity levels to evaluate the crowd logistic business model based on the assessment of 30 delivery companies, such as, among others, Bringbee, Uber, Lyft, Algel, MyWays, Hailo, GetTaxi, myLorry Food Express, checkrobin, mytaxi delivery, mytaxi, blackbay, and MOBMover [25], and to evaluate the level of customer maturity in the use of the click and collect business model [26].

It is worth mentioning that there is a lack of similar articles and other types of studies on the application of the maturity model to transport.

3. Methodology

The methodology development to prioritize the best practices to parcel delivery on the last mile in a sustainable way consists of six steps as described in Figure 1. It should be noted that this developed methodology can be understood as an original contribution to the literature on quantitative strategic management.

Stage 1 corresponds to case study presentation, starting with the description of the company as organizational characteristics represented by the definition of a mission, vision and values, staff, area, and sector of operation, among other information deemed important.

In Stage 2, it is necessary to prepare the strategic map, defined as a chart that logically presents the cause–effect relationship between the strategic objectives correlated to the case study [13]. Thus, the purpose of the strategic map is to define important indicators and targets to achieve the objective established. The strategic map makes up the strategic planning and management system called the Balanced Scorecard (BSC).

To improve the performance of indicators and meet the targets set to achieve the strategic objectives, as well as SDGs associated with the case study described in Stage 2, best practices must be identified in agreement with the company’s internal databases or literature review, and then, selected according to the inclusion criterion defined by the decision-maker in Stage 3.

Subsequently, in Stage 4, the SWOT analysis can be also performed through the company’s internal databases or literature review, considering papers or reports or other sources of knowledge, such as interviews with experts.

In Stage 5, the process of prioritizing best practices occurs through the AHP method. The degrees of importance attributed to the criteria and sub criteria of AHP methodology can be defined by applying questionnaires to specialists. Furthermore, other models can be used to this purpose such as maturity, defined as the classification of the levels of evolutionary change, associated with the phases in which the organizations are in the development of a process [27].

Finally, in Stage 6, the results obtained from the prioritization process of the best practices with the greatest impact is analyzed through the discussion of positive and negative aspects associated with meeting the objectives (strategic, SDGs) and improving the performance of the indicators.

4. Application of the Methodology—Case Study

This section aims to describe the steps of the proposed methodology from the deeper analysis of the issue through an academic approach that aims to report its particularities involving the definition of objectives and solutions.

4.1. Presentation of Case Study

The case study is represented by the parcel delivery service in the last mile of Correios, a Brazilian public company, with 358 years of operation to the year 2021, and with a staff of approximately 100,000 employees and a fleet of approximately 23,400 company-owned vehicles.

The company is present in 99.75% of Brazilian municipalities with an operational capacity to handle approximately 26 million items per day with a delivery rate of 15.2 million postal items daily, of which 13.7 million pieces are mail and 1.5 million are national and international parcels. To ensure this volume of deliveries, all the letter carriers travel on foot, bicycle, car, and boat about 1,300,000 km per day [28].

The company’s mission is to connect people, institutions, and businesses by means of accessible, reliable, and competitive communication and logistics solutions; its vision is to be an integrated physical and digital platform of excellence for the supply of communication and logistics solutions; and its values are integrity, respect for people, responsibility and commitment to results, pride, orientation to the future, adaptability, and continuous learning and integration [29].

4.2. Strategic Map of the Parcel Delivery Service Company

Based on the presentation of the company’s profile, we sought to understand and communicate, in a simple way, the vision, mission, strategies, and goals correlated to the perception of value created by the company through the elaboration of a strategic map.

4.2.1. Identification and Description of Strategic Objectives and Goals

The strategic objectives and goals are drawn according to the mission, vision, and the company’s goal of becoming sustainable based on its commitment to the United Nations Global Compact initiated in 2012 [30]. Additionally, as aligned with the SDG goals 8—“Decent Work and Economic Growth”, 9—“Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure”, 11—“Sustainable Cities and Communities”, and 17—“Partnerships and Means of Implementation” defined by the UPU [31] as of high impact for the Courier, Express, and Parcel (CEP) service sector, as described in

Table 1. SDGs—service sector CEP.

SDG	Goal
8—Decent Work and Economic Growth	Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9—Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure	Building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation
11—Sustainable Cities and Communities	Making cities and facilities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable for humans
17—Partnerships and Means of Implementation	Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

Source: Elaboration by the authors and adapted from UPU [31].

.

The internal objectives defined by the parcel delivery service company are to ensure sustainability, and to seek excellence and growth in competitive markets [32]. It also seeks to provide a reliable service and good connectivity to meet the high demand of the population, as well as ensuring resilient operations to external environmental impacts such as the COVID-19 pandemic [33].

In this context, a literature review was conducted to identify the main objectives of the Courier, Express, and Parcel (CEP) service sector (shown in Figure 2) correlated to sustainable perspectives and to the SDGs. Thus, the results of the literature review seek to answer the following questions: (i) What are the objectives that contribute to sustainable development? (ii) Are the objectives aligned with the others? (iii) Can the objectives be evaluated (quantitatively or qualitatively)?

Documental research was carried out to consult reports of companies in the same segment, such as USPS, the organization responsible for the worldwide coordination of the sector represented by the UPU. Data collection included reports and information from the company under evaluation.

4.2.2. Company Strategy Map for Parcel Delivery Service

Accomplishing the strategic map (Figure 3), defined by the cause-and-effect relationship between the perspectives to meet the objectives and achieve the goals established [13], the performance indicators were defined, associated with each perspective and with the fulfillment of the objectives aligned to the sustainable last mile parcel delivery service, based on the literature review.

In this sense, the indicators defined to meet the learning and growth perspective have the characteristics of measuring the ability, adaptation, and implementation of innovative systems in order to bring competitive advantage to the company [25,27] and improve the level of employees’ knowledge.

To attend to the objectives associated with the internal process, the indicators have as main characteristics: to ensure operational efficiency; help to incorporate innovation in operations and increase productivity [36] to reduce time in transit and occurrence of payment of labor fines due to excessive working hours [39]; and integrate, optimize, and reduce transport activities and consequently their energy use, in a simple and fast way, ensuring the digital and physical security of the delivery service and on-time delivery, especially in the face of external factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic [38].

To meet customer expectations, the indicators should be aligned with the market trend aiming at changes in behavior and meeting customer needs [32], and that they have the ability to improve the level of employees’ training to perform services such as tracking [36] and flawless parcel delivery, minimizing loss and damage [40].

To comply with the economic/financial objectives, the indicators have as essential principles: to reduce operating costs, ensure competitive prices, and generate positive profitability with increased parcel sales [41]; and to create portfolios of new opportunities through new business models [38].

From the environmental point of view, the indicators must: promote the use of technology to save energy use and reduce the emission of Greenhouse Gases (GHG), considered a bottleneck to be overcome [42,43]; take measures to reduce the consumption of more polluting energies and give preference to renewable energy sources [44]; as well as develop the postal infrastructure with the least environmental impact, as with the use of image-focused technology (smartphones) for parcel delivery, saving the use of natural resources [30].

As a means of meeting the social perspective, the indicators main features are to improve the employees quality of life, including health, safety (theft, accident), and well-being and to promote economic development in communities [45].

The indicators of the Digital Index (DI) and the incentive for education are under the perspective of learning and growth. The indicators related to the internal process perspective are represented by the total round trip time (last mile) and the On Time Delivery Index (EPI). From a customer perspective, the indicators related to timely, reliable, and precise deliveries are considered, as well as the Customer Satisfaction Indicator (CSI). The economic/financial perspectives are based on a cost-efficient delivery using revenue and operating costs indicators. The environmental perspective considers CO₂ emissions and the use of natural resources. The social perspective indicators are defined based on the identification of operations with local community involvement and employee safety, as presented in

Table 2. Description of indicators.

Perspective	Indicator	Description
Learning and growth	Digital Index	Identifies the level of digitalization of the company’s channels, processes, and services [38].
	Incentive for education	Corresponds to encouraging staff training, so that they know how to act during the operation of the delivery service [46].
Internal process	Total round trip time	Corresponds to the sum of the transit time [47] and the stop time [48].
	On Time Delivery Index	Evaluates the compliance with the deadlines set for the end customers [38].
Customer	Timely, reliable, and accurate deliveries	Fault-free deliveries such as (i) incorrect address, (ii) refusal to accept, (iii) no consignee, (iv) missing or incorrect documents, (v) later delivery date, (vi) no courier time, (vii) return to the home delivery center. and (viii) parcel delivery with incorrect documents [40].
	Customer Satisfaction Index	Satisfaction of the company’s customers regarding the products and services offered [38].
Economic/Financial	Revenue increase	Income generation from sales [41].
	Cost reduction	Reduction of total logistics costs in the last mile per unit of order delivered [49].
Environmental	CO2 emissions	Traffic-generated CO2 emissions caused by the vehicle fleet in the last mile [50].
	Use of natural resources	Use of energy, materials, water, etc., for last mile delivery [34].
Social	Local community involvement	Implementation, impact assessments, and/or development programs [45].
	Employee safety	The incidence of theft caused by the increased volume of delivering orders [51] and parcels destined for unsecured or poorly secured areas [52].

Source: Elaboration by the authors.

4.3. Identification of Sustainable Best Practices

The best practices applied to logistics can be represented by actions, techniques, or strategies that can be applied in different organizations, economic sectors, supply channel positioning and sizing, and adopted to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operations in order to meet sustainability [53].

As a result, seeking to be more efficient and effective, some approaches, such as lean management, are incorporated as strategies for organizations in order to continuously reduce and eliminate waste and improve efficiency, promoting flexibility and responsiveness in face of current scenarios [54].

In this case, waste represents everything that the customer is not willing to pay for, such as unnecessary transport activity and moving products around [55], and efficiency improvement can be represented by the use of energy more efficiently [56].

The best practices are described from literature review and discrimination on their positive and negative factors. The criteria adopted for the identification of sustainable best practices applied to transport in the last mile are shown step-by-step in Figure 4.

The literature review was conducted based on studies developed by reference organizations such as Best Urban Cargo Solutions (BESTUFS), Factory of Good Practices for Cargo Transportation (BESTFACT), Smart Freight Center (SFC), McKinsey Center for Business and Environment, Brazilian Green Logistics Program (PLVB), Transportation Decarbonization Alliance (TDA), CIVITAS, PWC, and DHL, as well as academic studies by authors such as Holguín-Veras et al. [57].

After identifying in the literature best practices applied to transport and appropriate for the development of a last mile parcel delivery service, a filtering and inclusion step was performed to pick up only the best practices associated with studies focused on solutions and trends to achieve sustainability in last mile, as presented in

Table 3. Description of best practices.

Item	Best Practices	Description	Examples
BP1	Implementation of new infrastructure and business models for urban delivery	Fixed or mobile facilities whose purpose is to reduce the distance and delivery time between the warehouse or distribution center and the end customers [4]	Pick up point or click and collect [50], parcel lockers [58], and neighbor deliveries and crowdshipping [59].
BP2	Use of information systems to track and monitor the fleet	Real-time monitoring system of the vehicle fleet and packages [60]	Global Positioning System (GPS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS) [60], use of Internet of Things (IoT) systems [61].
BP3	Route optimization	Real-time trip planning system that provides suggestions and alerts in case of traffic events or deviations from initial plans [62]	Smart transportation systems, Transportation Management System (TMS) software
BP4	Vehicle occupancy optimization	Better use of the vehicle’s volumetric capacity, considering the layout of the boxes and the delivery sequence [63]	Combining commercial vehicles with spare capacity with customers who need delivery space-load pooling [64].
BP5	Use of different types of vehicles to carry out deliveries and collections (smaller vehicles/modal shift)	Use of a greater variety of vehicles for deliveries and collections [65], due mainly to weight and size regulations of vehicles [66]	Manual or electric cargo bikes [59], electric tricycles, combustion or electric motorcycles, and electric scooters [67]. Drone and autonomous vehicles [68].
BP6	Fleet renovation and modernization	Total or partial replacement of the vehicle or equipment fleet to ensure optimal operating conditions and technological innovations [65]	More energy efficient, in tune with the Air Pollution Control Program for Motor Vehicles.
BP7	Driver training (eco-driving)	Training program to instruct drivers and employees to drive the vehicle smartly [3,69]	Acceleration/deceleration, driving speed, route choice, and idle usage [3,53].
BP8	Use of alternative propulsion systems	Propulsion systems other than conventional [65]	Electric vehicles (light commercial, scooters, motorcycles) [67,70], autonomous vehicles [68], and semi-autonomous [67].
BP9	Use of cleaner energy source	They are alternative energy sources, which in any means of transport and propulsion system, allow low or zero emissions [71]	Natural gas, hydrogen, biofuels, electricity, and solar energy [72,73].

Source: Elaboration by the authors.

.

4.4. SWOT Analysis of Sustainable Best Practices

The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of the sustainable best practices analysis is according to a literature review based on academic articles, reports, and other research sources related to the segment. The strengths are shown in

Table 4. Strengths of best practices.

Strengths	BP1	BP2	BP3	BP4	BP5	BP6	BP7	BP8	BP9
Reduction of delivery cost (fuel consumption, driver) [64]	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Reduction of maintenance costs [74]			✔				✔	✔
Smaller TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) [74]								✔
Increase in sales [75]	✔
Reduction in delivery time [64,76,77,78,79,80]	✔	✔	✔		✔			✔
Reduce mileage travelled [64,81,82,83]	✔	✔	✔	✔
Reduction of the number of trips [64,84]	✔			✔
Access to restricted urban areas [79]					✔
Improve delivery service (punctuality, flexibility, first attempt) [74,75,78]	✔		✔		✔
Improvement of the delivery service quality [81]	✔	✔	✔
Improve energy efficiency [69,85,86,87,88,89,90]						✔	✔	✔	✔
Use of existing technology, market and infrastructure [73,91]									✔
GHG and/or atmospheric air emission reduction [63,72,74,76,81,86,87,91]	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Noise reduction [63,80,92,93]	✔							✔
Increase security (theft) [92,93,94]	✔	✔	✔
Increase safety (road accidents) [60,79,85,95]					✔	✔	✔
Improve quality of life (employee, community) [76,81,95]	✔		✔				✔

Source: Elaboration by the authors.

and represent the advantages and contributions from the implementation of the best practices in the internal dimension.

Meanwhile, the weaknesses (

Table 5. Weaknesses of best practices.

Weaknesses	BP1	BP2	BP3	BP4	BP5	BP6	BP7	BP8	BP9
Increase in fixed cost [64]	✔
Cost with transshipment [79]					✔
High price of alternative fuels (biodiesel) [96]									✔
High initial investment capital [3,74,97,98,99,100]	✔	✔	✔	✔			✔	✔
Inefficiency in fuel reduction (small cities) [101]							✔
Increase in consumer transport activity [4]	✔
Less security for internal operational data [60]		✔
Time spent with recharging [74,100]								✔
Increased transit time [79]					✔
Reduced vehicle payload [74,100]								✔
Less security against theft [102]					✔
Negative influence of external environments (tall buildings, weather) [93]		✔
Significantly shorter steering range compared to conventional propulsion system [103]								✔
Lack of recharging stations (electro stations, CNG, biomethane) [90,103]								✔	✔
Uncertain battery lifetime [74,100]								✔
Uncertainty about after-sales support [74,100]								✔
Geographical and infrastructure limitations (steep roads, potholes) [79]					✔
Engine damage (biofuels) [90,104]									✔
Need for improvements in the distribution infrastructure (electricity, CNG, biodiesel) [105]									✔
Installation of additional systems in vehicles in the case of improving the aerodynamics [106]							✔
Uncertainty about raw material sustainability [73]									✔

Source: Elaboration by the authors.

) represent the disadvantages that disfavor their implementation of best practices.

The opportunities shown in

Table 6. Opportunities of best practices.

Opportunities	BP1	BP2	BP3	BP4	BP5	BP6	BP7	BP8	BP9
Use of existing infrastructure [26,64]	✔
Choose easily accessible and safe locations [26,64]	✔
Offering more attractive prices [26,64]	✔
Flexibility in service delivery [68]	✔
Employing digital solutions and smart technology [61]		✔
Promotion of just-in-time logistics [61]		✔
Fulfillment of restrictive measures [79,98]			✔		✔
Freight sharing loading [98,107]			✔	✔
Increased return load [107]				✔
Increasing the limits of vehicle carrying capacity [107]				✔
Use of more efficient handling systems [107]				✔
Green image promotion [100]								✔
Financial and political subsidies and incentives for the purchase and operation of clean trucks [100]						✔		✔
Technological advances to promote the range [100]								✔
Availability of public charging points [108]								✔
Mass production of vehicles [88]								✔
Development of standards and incentive policies [109,110]						✔			✔
Maintenance of energy security [104]									✔
Driver’s license requirements [95]							✔
Training offer—collaboration between public and private agents [95]							✔

Source: Elaboration by the authors.

describe the benefits for the implementation of best practices originated in the external dimension.

Meanwhile, the threats shown in

Table 7. Threats of best practices.

Threats	BP1	BP2	BP3	BP4	BP5	BP6	BP7	BP8	BP9
Legal requirements [68,99]	✔			✔
Lack of clear regulations [100,111]		✔						✔
Dependence on investment in the sector [111]		✔
Physical and organizational conditions for freight compatibility [99]				✔
Limited vehicle supply on the market [100]								✔
Low petroleum prices and rising prices for other energy sources [100]								✔
Lack of resale market [100]								✔	✔
Infrastructure (unfavorable urban projects as post and absence of charging stations of electricity, NGV) [79,105]					✔				✔
Driver fatigue [79]					✔
Extreme climatic conditions [79]					✔
Accident hazards for delivery drivers [79]					✔
Lack of qualified professionals [95,109]						✔	✔
Reduction of alternative fuel quotas [105]									✔
Risks in the energy market (food security–biofuels; water crisis–electricity) [105]									✔
Dependence on market availability of raw material [105]									✔
Driver unavailability [95]							✔
Lack of financial support [95]							✔
Lack of courses in the region or low quality [95]							✔

Source: Elaboration by the authors.

, portray the difficulties and barriers for their implementation.

4.5. Prioritizing Best Practices

The prioritization of best practices is the fifth phase of the methodology and consists of applying a questionnaire to a group of experts and critically evaluating the results of the SWOT analysis and the maturity level of the company. Figure 5 shows the phases considered in the prioritization phase.

To define the degree of importance assigned to the perspectives and indicators, the group was composed of experts from academia, consulting firms, and private initiatives with more than five years of experience in parcel delivery of the last mile and the sustainability segment.

4.5.1. Definition of Importance of the Perspectives and Indicators

The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) created by Saaty [21] is a method that defines the weights attributed to the perspectives and indicators, through a questionnaire applied to experts using the numerical Saaty scale from 1 to 9. The Saaty scale from 1 to 9 is defined as the following: 1—equal importance, 3—weak importance of one over another, 5—essential or strong importance, 7—demonstrated importance, 9—absolute importance, and 2, 4, 6, and 8 are intermediate values between the two adjacent judgments.

Firstly, a pairwise comparison matrix of the criteria related to the perspectives was performed to calculate the weights assigned to the perspectives and indicators. Then, a pairwise comparison matrix of sub criteria related to indicators was performed [112] according to the example shown in

Table 8. Example of pairwise comparison matrix.

Criteria	C1	C2	Weight Ci	Normalized Weight Cin
C1	1	3	4	0.75
C2	1/3	1	1.33	0.25
Total	-	-	5.33	-

.

The normalized C_i weight of the i-th criteria can be obtained as shown in Equation (1).

$${\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{in}}=\frac{{{\displaystyle \sum }}_{\mathrm{j}=1}^{\mathrm{n}}{\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{ij}}}{{{\displaystyle \sum }}_{\mathrm{i}=1}^{\mathrm{n}}{{\displaystyle \sum }}_{\mathrm{j}=1}^{\mathrm{n}}{\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{ij}}}$$

(1)

After the normalization calculation, the eigenvector is calculated to obtain the maximum eigenvalue of the comparison matrix, λ_max, as presented in Equation (2).

$${\mathsf{\lambda }}_{\max }=\mathrm{Average} \left\{\mathrm{i}=1,\mathrm{n}\right\} \left\{\frac{\overline{{\mathrm{D}}_{\mathrm{i}}}\ast \overline{{\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{in}}}}{{\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{in}}} \right\}$$

(2)

where D_i is the i-th row vector of the judgment matrix, C_in is the vector of the normalized weights, C_in is the i-th component of the vector of the normalized weights.

The Consistency Index (CI) defined by $\mathrm{CI}=\frac{{\mathsf{\lambda }}_{\max }-\mathrm{n}}{\mathrm{n}-1}$ is calculated to evaluate the consistency of the pairwise comparison matrix, whose value must be lower than 0.1. Then, the Consistency Ratio (CR) is calculated by $\mathrm{CR}=\frac{\mathrm{CI}}{\mathrm{RI}}$.

$$\mathrm{CI}=\frac{{\mathsf{\lambda }}_{\max }-\mathrm{n}}{\mathrm{n}-1}$$

(3)

where n corresponds to the number of criteria.

$$\mathrm{CR}=\frac{\mathrm{CI}}{\mathrm{RI}}$$

(4)

where RI is a tabulated value.

When n equals 2, CR is null; when n equals 3, the value of CR must be less than 0.05; when n equals 4, CR must be less than 0.09; and for CR greater than 4, its value must be less than 0.10.

4.5.2. Defining the Impact of Best Practices on Achieving Goal Success

After obtaining the results of the eigenvectors (weights) associated with the criteria (perspectives) and sub criteria (indicators) defined to meet the company’s strategic goal of becoming sustainable and meeting the SDGs, as highlighted by the UPU [31], the eigenvectors associated with the best practices were defined, based on the critical analysis of the SWOT analysis and the evaluation of the company’s maturity level regarding the implementation of best practices.

Based on the literature review, the maturity level of the company regarding the implementation of best practices was classified using a numeric scale from 1 to 5 [27], where:

• 1 represents the very low maturity level, without implementation reports;
• 2 represents the low maturity level where there are reports, but no indication of implementation;
• 3 represents the medium maturity level in the testing phase;
• 4 represents the high maturity level where the best practice is in operation; and
• 5 represents the very high maturity level where there is proof of performance improvement.

In this sense, the maturity levels associated with each best practice were described according to reports and other documents disclosed by the company and classified according to a numerical scale from 1 to 5, as shown in

Table 9. Level of maturity of the best practices in the company.

Best Practice	Description	Level
BP1	In 2020, the company started the operation of neighborhood delivery and the click and collect service. In addition, actions were implemented in the operational processes to improve quality rates, combat the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure customer satisfaction using services such as lockers and crowdshipping delivery.	4
BP2	Implemented in 2019 in 18% of the urban delivery lines of the Transport Management System (TMS) to monitor the delivery time to the addressee Adoption of a vehicle tracking and monitoring system to reduce the risks of crimes against people, assets, and the company’s operations Implementation in 2021 of RFID system for tracking orders in real-time deliveries Implementation of the georeferenced system for more than 1 million objects/day, with registration performed by mail workers, by means of smartphones Implementation of digital pilot project and courses in 2020 of the system of daily registration of trips and occurrences (RDVO) Forecast for 2022 is the implementation of projects to use on-board telemetry in the fleet to obtain information on the location and drivability of vehicles with the aim of increasing efficiency and safety in deliveries	4
BP3	Acquisition of software for routing and monitoring postal freight transport, with the expectation of rationalizing transport resources and contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions in urban transit Expansion between 2019 and 2020 of the routing system by more than 100% of the daily routes between 2019 and 2020, i.e., from 3300 routes/day to 6800 routes/day As a future expectation defined by the entrance of 5G technology, digital evolution and automation is being studied to promote advances in robotization in operational flows, as in the case of the dynamic routing project, which will allow the calculation of distribution routes through algorithms, improving service in the company’s last mile stage TMS courses for managers who manage, record, and monitor trips made by contracted transport lines	5
BP4	In 2019, the company promoted innovation processes by testing solutions to stimulate a culture favorable to innovation such as the project “Utilization of vehicle capacity in the last mile”, carried out in partnership with the Federal University of Santa Catarina (SC)	3
BP5	Implemented electric sidewalk vehicles (VEC), defined as battery-powered rechargeable equipment specially developed to meet a need of the company for its efficiency in the central regions where vehicles available in the market have difficulty parking in central areas of cities, such as Curitiba (PR) and Porto Alegre (RS) Consolidation of the use of bicycles and motorcycles for delivery over shorter distances and to safer locations Carrying out tests of parcel delivery with tricycles in 2014 in small cities located in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais	5
BP6	Acquired in 2020 by the company of 5,345 motorcycles and 1114 vans with a capacity of 600 kg to improve the quality of operational performance and to respect the pollutant emission standards and limits established by the Air Pollution Control Program for Motor Vehicles (Proconve)	4
BP7	Implementation of the practice and inclusion in the range of future projects was not observed in the company’s documentary literature	1
BP8	Testing, in partnership in 2013 with the company Ecostart, with three bicycles and a tricycle powered by lithium batteries Testing in 2013, through a partnership with Ribas Motos Indústrias e Comércio, of four electric scooters with rechargeable batteries to evaluate the efficiency of vehicles in the operation of mail and parcel delivery in the cities of Belo Horizonte (MG) and São Paulo (SP) A test developed between 2014 and 2017 in partnership with the company Renault of two vehicles that were 100% electric, a test developed between 2016 and 2017 in partnership with the company BYD from Brazil of a 100% electric van model BYD T3, and testing the use of electric bicycles to replace the use of motorcycles that cover low daily mileage In 2020, testing of two models of cargo electric bicycles (Long-John and Long-Tail) for company use with the collaboration of the Dream Bike company with a licitation process for the acquisition in states such as Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais	3
BP9	Except for electric vehicles, there is an absence of information on studies focusing on the use of renewable fuels such as solar energy, hydrogen, 100% biofuel (ethanol, biodiesel)	2

Source: Elaboration by the authors from the company’s internal reports.

.

The rules associated with the maturity level, presented in

Table 10. Rules for pairwise valuation—example BP1 over BP2.

Positive Aspects	Maturity Level	Impact
If BP1 and BP2 have strengths and/or opportunities that favor the indicators	And both have equal maturity level (high or very high, medium, low or very low)	The impact between BP1 and BP2 is equal
If BP1 and BP2 do not have strengths and/or opportunities that favor the indicators	And both have equal maturity level (high or very high, medium, low or very low)	The impact between BP1 and BP2 is equal
If BP1 has strengths and/or opportunities that favor the indicators and BP2 does not, or vice versa	And BP2 has a high or very high maturity level and BP1’s maturity level is equal or lower, or vice versa	The impact between BP1 and BP2 is equal
If BP1 and BP2 do not have strengths and/or opportunities that favor the indicators	And BP1 has a higher maturity level than BP2 or vice versa	Impact of BP1 on BP2 or vice versa varies between weak and strong importance on the other
If BP1 has strengths and/or opportunities that favor the indicators and BP2 does not, or vice versa	And BP1 has a higher maturity level than BP2 has a medium maturity level or vice versa	Impact of BP1 on BP2 or vice versa has a weak importance on the other
If BP1 has strengths and/or opportunities that favor the indicators and BP2 does not, or vice versa	And BP1 has a high or very high maturity level and BP2 has a low maturity level or vice versa	Impact of BP1 on BP2 or vice versa varies between strong and demonstrated importance on the other
If BP1 has strengths and/or opportunities that favor the indicators and BP2 does not, or vice versa	And BP1 has a high or very high maturity level and BP2 has a very low maturity level or vice versa	Impact of BP1 on BP2 or vice versa has the absolute importance of the other

Source: Elaboration by the authors.

, have the objective of helping in the process of defining the weights corresponding to each best practice.

4.5.3. Prioritization

After obtaining the eigenvectors for the criteria (Weight_p), sub criteria (Weight_i), and calculating the eigenvectors relating to best practices analyzed for each indicator, a global ordering was made to rank the alternatives [112]. The results are presented in

Table 11. Prioritization and ranking of best practices.

Perspective	Learning and Growth		Internal Process		Customer		Economic/ Financial		Environmental		Social		BP Prioritization (Ranking)
Weightp	0.23		0.15		0.15		0.19		0.18		0.09
Indicator	Digital Index	Incentive to Education	Total Round Trip Time	On Time Delivery Index	Timely, Reliable, and Accurate Deliveries	Customer Satisfaction Index	Revenue Increase	Cost Reduction	CO2 Emissions	Use of Natural Resources	Local Community Involvement	Employee safety
Weighti	0.68	0.32	0.67	0.33	0.69	0.31	0.25	0.75	0.81	0.19	0.80	0.20
BP1	0.26	0.13	0.14	0.30	0.20	0.18	0.28	0.12	0.12	0.08	0.25	0.19	0.18 (2°)
BP2	0.33	0.26	0.14	0.18	0.20	0.19	0.14	0.11	0.11	0.06	0.09	0.14	0.17 (3°)
BP3	0.12	0.15	0.25	0.19	0.19	0.21	0.21	0.25	0.25	0.11	0.25	0.30	0.20 (1°)
BP4	0.04	0.07	0.05	0.04	0.05	0.08	0.08	0.08	0.08	0.06	0.05	0.06	0.06 (7°)
BP5	0.04	0.03	0.22	0.14	0.19	0.15	0.21	0.23	0.23	0.15	0.09	0.12	0.16 (4°)
BP6	0.07	0.07	0.09	0.03	0.07	0.11	0.13	0.11	0.11	0.20	0.07	0.09	0.09 (5°)
BP7	0.06	0.14	0.02	0.07	0.02	0.02	0.02	0.02	0.02	0.10	0.06	0.02	0.04 (8°)
BP8	0.05	0.13	0.05	0.03	0.05	0.05	0.07	0.05	0.05	0.12	0.10	0.04	0.06 (6°)
BP9	0.03	0.02	0.03	0.02	0.03	0.03	0.04	0.03	0.03	0.11	0.03	0.04	0.03 (9°)

Source: Elaboration by the authors.

.

5. Analysis, Discussion of Results, and Contribution of Best Practices

As a result of the ranking presented in Table 11, the top five best practices can be highlighted according to the increasing order of priority. These are route optimization (BP3), implementation of new infrastructure and business models for urban delivery (BP1), use of information systems to track and monitor the fleet (BP2), use of different types of vehicles for deliveries and collections (smaller vehicles/modal shift) (BP5), and fleet renewal and modernization (BP6).

The upstanding result attributed to route optimization implies a very high maturity level due to the evolutionary level of its implementation and the higher degree of importance attributed mainly to the following indicators: (i) employee safety caused to the alignment in real time of the routes with the goal of minimizing theft episodes [113]; (ii) operating cost reduction, including delivery and maintenance cost [62,84]; (iii) CO₂ emission reduction by consuming less fuel and reducing the distance traveled on delivery stretches [67,84]; and (iv) total round trip time, consequent to creating realistic routes with more predictable delivery times [82].

Furthermore, the route optimization is related to the incentive of continuous improvement, by means of offering TMS courses to managers and other employees and the creation of future expectations with the implementation of 5G technology. It also implies a digital evolution and automation that will enable the calculation of delivery routes by algorithms, improving service in the last mile stage. However, APTEAN [84] highlights the initial investment between tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars in large fleets depend on the level of sophistication, being the main barrier that must be overcome by the company.

In the case of the implementation of new infrastructure and business models for urban delivery, the upstanding result implies a high level of maturity of the company and the higher degree of importance attributed mainly to the following indicators: (i) On Time Delivery Index, due to the reduction of time in transit when compared to the conventional delivery system, and reduction in the amount of unsuccessful delivery attempts [64]; (ii) revenue increase, by driving increased sales as a result of greater ease for promotions [75]; (iii) digital index, due to the use of digital platforms to enable communication with customers [114] and order pickup 24 h a day, 7 days a week due mainly to the use of existing infrastructure at secure and convenient delivery points [64]; and (iv) improvement in the quality of life of the local community, as a result of increased social interaction with the local community, especially those living in a risk area or who do not have a zip code or post office box, observing gains generated by the safe and simple system due to delivery in places isolated from violence, such as in railway stations in cities such as Rio de Janeiro [92], as well as promoting sources of income for some merchants in order to help the community harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic [38].

The main barriers identified to this best practice are: (i) increased fixed cost of operation compared to the fixed cost of the traditional delivery model [64]; (ii) need for initial investment [97]; (iii) increased customer transport activity when commuting to the delivery point generating uncertain impact on motorized transport activity [4]; and (iv) failure to meet legal requirements in the case of crowdshipping business models, where workers are classified as self-employed (app drivers), of lower social security costs and lower tax burden on the category of labor supply [68].

The upstanding result attributed to the use of information systems to track and monitor the fleet reflects the high level of maturity and higher degree of importance, attributed mainly to the indicators: (i) digital index, through the use of barcodes and RFID tags, readable by readers, use of a safe and efficient method to transmit structured data at any point in the supply chain, and simplification and agility of operations, making possible the automation of manual processes, such as conference operations, loading and unloading of vehicles and making of dispatches [115]; (ii) incentive for education, promoted by initiatives such as offering courses to assist in the conduct of the system of daily registration of trips and occurrences (RDVO) [38]; (iii) timely, reliable, and accurate deliveries, with improved quality of service, through proactive action to solve problems of misdirection or accumulation of loads and ensuring better allocation of human resources in the production process [115]; (iv) Customer Satisfaction Index, through increased transmission of information on the individual route of each order in order to increase confidence in the postal service [115]; (v) total round trip time, mainly by reducing the time of check-in orders at the time of delivery where barcodes and RFID tags are readable by readers [80]; and (vi) employee safety, with the increased safety of the vehicle and driver, when it has an anti-theft tracking system and ensures the recovery of stolen vehicles [93].

The main barriers identified to this best practice are: (i) high initial investment capital, in the case of the use of RFID system, because the prices of the tags placed in the products are high [80]; (ii) less security for internal operation data, by the contracting company once the data are externalized [60]; (iii) inaccurate GPS location results due to negative influence of external environments (tall buildings, weather) [93]; and (iv) lack of clear regulations on the implementation of new regulations around data security and privacy increasing the rigor in the practice of applying the system [111].

The use of different types of vehicles to carry out deliveries and collections (smaller vehicles/modal shift) stood out for its very high maturity level and the high impact generated on the indicators: (i) cost reduction, mainly by reducing external costs (congestion, parking, fines) per delivery [79]; (ii) reduction of CO₂ emission [116] and air pollutants through daily reduction of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and aldehydes (CHO) [117]; (iii) reduction of total travel time, due to less time spent looking for parking [79] and very low influence generated by congestion [67]; and (iv) use of natural resources, through saving natural energy resources [118].

However, the following as negative factors are highlighted: (i) higher transshipment cost and lower economy of scale due to lower load capacity [79]; (ii) higher concern about theft of smaller vehicles as they are more vulnerable and more attractive due to higher perceived value, as in the case of e-cargo bicycles [102]; (iii) limitations and low capacity to serve deliveries located on steep slopes in the case of using bicycles or other manual vehicles [79]; (iv) unfavorable infrastructure as cities need more space allocated at the curb to support delivery operations [79]; (v) physical fatigue due to driver fatigue [79]; and (vi) extreme weather conditions (wind, rain, snow, ice, etc.) that makes delivery impossible [79].

An upstanding result attributed to the fleet renovation and modernization is the better performance promoted by the reduction in the use of natural resources. Since manufacturers seek to improve vehicle technology, they value the lower use of materials, especially those from non-renewable sources, by improving the energy efficiency of vehicles generating, consequently, a lower final use of energy, especially those from fossil fuels [85]. However, depending on the level of technological evolution, it is necessary to overcome some barriers, such as the lack of qualified professionals to drive the new fleet and the increase in maintenance costs as the vehicle with higher technology ages [109].

6. Conclusions

The evaluation of the strengths and opportunities through the study can contribute to a good performance of the best practices in last mile parcel delivery operations. Moreover, the weaknesses and threats analysis contribute to prepare the company to overcome the barriers identified.

Subsequently, as a consequence of the prioritization of best practices through the application of the AHP method, alternatives that best help the company were selected to achieve its goal of making operations more socially responsible, economically viable, and environmentally friendly through the creation of new purposes, and transition and transformation of the company’s activities. It also allows for an offering of innovative solutions in response to stakeholder expectations and a meeting of the SDGs indicated by the UPU [31].

As solutions for achieving SDG 8, one highlights mainly the best practices of route optimization, implementation of new infrastructure and business models for urban delivery, use of information systems to track and monitor the fleet, and use of different types of vehicles to carry out deliveries and collections (smaller vehicles/modal shift) through cost reduction, reduction of total travel time, increased revenue, on-time deliveries, on-time delivery index, and Customer Satisfaction Index due to the increased productivity of the sector.

As a contribution to SDG 9, the best practices considered are the implementation of new infrastructure and business models for urban delivery, use of information systems to track and monitor the fleet, route optimization, use of different types of vehicles to carry out deliveries and collections (smaller vehicles/modal shift), and fleet renovation and modernization due to the promotion of CO₂ emission reduction and use of natural resources, and encouraging the use of more resilient, innovative, and sustainable infrastructure with decreasing transport activity by the company.

In the case of the contribution to SDG 11, the upstanding performance of route optimization, implementation of new infrastructure and business models for urban delivery, and the use of information systems to track and monitor the fleet were identified due to the generation of benefits such as improved quality of life for the community and increased safety for the employee.

To contribute to SDG 17, one features route optimization, implementation of new infrastructure and business models for urban delivery, use of information systems to track and monitor the fleet from the digital index, and encouragement of education.

It is noteworthy to mention a limitation to this study regarding the internal evaluation of the parcel delivery segment that considers only Correios company’s last mile and indicators selected from qualitative criteria. For future studies, a proposal for implementation of best practices in other regions and service units of the company should also be analyzed, as well as prioritized, according to benchmarking of different companies of the parcel delivery sector, to rank new best practices that have already been applied and/or tested (e.g., eco-driving, delivery by drones), highlighting the solutions for the weaknesses and threats. In addition, future research should also evaluate the real impact of the selected best practices on the companies’ businesses.