Modeling sustainable crowd logistics delivery networks: A scoping systems thinking review

Abstract

Traditional logistics systems face numerous challenges, such as driver shortages, low load factors, and increasingly high barriers to urban distribution. One concept that can mitigate many of these issues is crowd logistics, i.e., the utilization of unused private transport capacities. Despite the advertised benefits of crowd logistics, such as cost, mileage, and emissions reductions, real-world implementations are rare. Many initiatives have been short-lived, and there is a general lack of integration with traditional logistics service providers. Yet, underlying system behavior and intricate interlinkage of crowd logistics system components remain mostly unexplored. Consequently, this research uses a scoping literature review approach combined with elements from systems thinking to explore the causal dependencies and future research opportunities with respect to crowd logistics system behavior for deliveries. Through the review of scientific literature, causal loop diagrams are developed and analyzed concerning the dynamics and potentially prevalent system archetype structures to facilitate insights into crowd logistics systems. Our work shows that combining a scoping literature review with a systems thinking approach can yield valuable insights into system structures and future research opportunities. We identify critical system interlinkages and dynamics, offering a foundation for future quantitative modeling and decision-making in sustainable operations. Furthermore, the work outlines future research directions, such as novel application areas or further elucidating the effects of control mechanisms.