The Role of Micro Fulfilment Centers in Alleviating, in a Sustainable Way, the Urban Last Mile Logistics Problem: A Systematic Literature Review

This systematic literature review has as its aim to discuss how the use of micro fulfilment centers can help logistics and supply chain professionals in alleviating the urban last mile logistics problem. This systematic literature review adapts the SALSA approach, the PRISMA 2009 checklist, and the PRISMA 2020 flow diagram, while its validity is based on the utilization of the qualitative CASP checklist. In addition to the above, certain inclusion/exclusion criteria were used. The findings of this review underline that micro fulfilment centers are a key new approach in terms of alleviating the last mile logistics problem, in urban areas where space is extremely limited via a reduction in CO2 emissions, the use of new technologies not only in operations but also in the delivery of goods and the increase in customer satisfaction. This is an original and breakthrough literature review as it covers a gap in the existing literature that has to do with the role of micro fulfilment centers in urban areas in terms of alleviating the last mile logistics problem, a topic about which not much have been written until now as it is quite novel. This literature review gives a clear path for the researcher of the future in terms of approaching the urban last mile logistics problem via the lens of the use of micro fulfilment centers, while it contributes to the urban logistics industry in several ways.