How changing the last mile delivery model affects the end-to-end processes in the postal services industry – Case Posti Oyj

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

URL

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

School of Business | Master's thesis

Date

2023

Major/Subject

Mcode

Degree programme

Information and Service Management (ISM)

Language

en

Pages

65

Series

Abstract

In this thesis, the effects of changing the last mile delivery model on the end-to-end processes is studied. The research question for the thesis was provided by the universal postal services provider of Finland, Posti Oyj. In this thesis we have researched how combining early morning delivery and the basic delivery would affect Posti’s end-to-end processes in a hypothetical area. We have also created multiple models to study the effects of changing postal mail volumes. Based on our study, Posti could implement the combined delivery model in the hypothetical area in late 2024, should the postal mail volumes continue to decrease at the annual rate of around 10%. As the postal mail volumes are diminishing quickly, while the parcel volumes are growing significantly, postal services providers need to develop their operations to be more efficient within the new operating environment. We have also identified the short time window of early morning delivery as one of the biggest operating risks when it comes to the combined delivery model. The main methodology applied in our study is the PartiSim facilitated modelling approach. This methodology has previously been applied in the healthcare operations research field; however, our study proves, that the PartiSim approach can be applied outside of healthcare to support solving complex problems. The hard operations research methodology applied in this thesis is discrete event simulation. On top of studying how changes in the last mile delivery would affect end-to-end processes, we have also studied how these changes would affect the network infrastructure and employees in the company. Due to significant global labor shortages in the postal services industry, significant changes in operations also pose significant risks for the availability of labor.

Description

Thesis advisor

Kauppi, Katri
Leppänen, Ilkka

Keywords

postal services, delivery models, logistics end-to-end processes, PartiSim, simulation, discrete event simulation

Other note

Citation