Research Report: Automation Impact on Logistics and Parcel Delivery

This report delves into the multifaceted impact of automation on logistics and parcel delivery, examining its role in enhancing efficiency and addressing challenges within the supply chain. The executive summary and introduction lay the groundwork by defining key concepts in logistics management, such as cost trade-off, total system, and total cost concepts, and outlining the importance of logistics operations in achieving organizational goals. The core of the report explores the effects of automation on both parcel delivery and city logistics, presenting evidence from wider research to support arguments. It highlights the benefits of automation, such as improved e-commerce delivery and streamlined processes, while also acknowledging potential drawbacks like worker displacement and high equipment costs. The report also provides recommendations for the development of integrated logistics systems and management strategies to maximize the advantages of automation. The report uses the HarvardSwin referencing style with a minimum of 15 different academic sources.

SUPPLY CHAIN 1
Logistics and Supply Management

SUPPLY CHAIN 2
Executive Summary
The report includes various concepts and arguments related to the logistics and supply chain
management. The topic of the research paper is related to the impact of automation on logistics
and parcel delivery. The automation is very useful in the process of the logistics and parcel
companies. The logistics and automation are two important aspects that work with the same
process and the automation is very useful in the logistics. The history of logistics also called the
history of automation. This report describes the real impact of the automation on logistics and
parcel delivery. It is found that the process of automation affects the parcel companies. The
logistics planning and several control aspects of the organization is discussed in this report and
presents several arguments of authors based on particular topic of research.

SUPPLY CHAIN 3
Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Key concepts related to logistics management................................................................................4
Role of logistics operations in achieving organisational goals........................................................5
Evidence of wider research..............................................................................................................6
Impacts of automation in the parcel delivery..............................................................................6
Impacts of automation in city logistics........................................................................................6
Recommendations for development of integrated logistics systems and management...................8
Conclusions......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

SUPPLY CHAIN 4
Introduction
The report describes the several issues related to the automation applied in logistics and parcel
delivery. This report describes the automation aspects used in the overall process of parcel
delivery. The new machinery used in the logistics and supply chain improves the automation and
increases the overall profit of an organization works in the parcel deliveries (Radziwon, et al.,
2014). The report includes review of different authors based on the impact of automation on
logistics and parcel deliveries. The various arguments based on the research topic will be
described in the report.
The research paper analyses the impact of automation on the overall process of supply chain.
Logistics is the process in which the flow of the product is efficient and the storage of the
products is proper as per the consumption. The operational planning is related to all aspects of
the production in an organization (Wu, et al., 2016). The report describes the key aspects used in
logistics in the management. It is evaluated that automation is effective in all aspects of the
organization and the logistics and supply chain process is more effective and provides more
growth to the organization (Cozzolino, 2012). The several recommendations regarding the
proper development of integrated logistics and management are included in the report. The
arguments give the proper information related to the logistics and the arguments of authors as per
the research topic is described in this report.
Key concepts related to logistics management
As per the views of Xu, (2011), there are various concepts used in the overall process of logistics
management. The logistics management is one of the important concepts that is used in any
business. It is related to the supply chain process. The supply chain process is related to the
consumers and this maintains the overall attraction of the consumers towards the business. The
concepts are essential to manage the logistics activities (Qrunfleh and Tarafdar, 2014). The
important concepts related to the logistics management are cost trade-off concept, total system
concept and total cost concept. All the concepts are very essential for logistics management and
it can easily manage the supply of products (Shin, et al., 2011). As per the author, it has been
analysed that the cost trade-off concept is based on the various costs that cannot be treated
separately and the trade-off is used to decrease the costs of the activities. This concept is very
much essential for the resources and manages the concepts of logistics in production.

SUPPLY CHAIN 5
As per the Shin, et al., (2011), it has been analysed that other concept is known as the total cost
concept that plays fundamental role in logistics. This helps in attaining optimum cost level by
selecting the several courses of action. The product distribution is relevant to the various costs
such as several transportation costs that are also included in this process. The other concept that
is related to logistics management is the total system concept in which physical components are
considered. This concept is highly, commonly used concept where, design and specifications are
used in this particular concept of system (Bendavid and Boeck, 2011). These several components
are used in a logistic system. Logistics management becomes easier by the use of concept relates
to the total system.
Role of logistics operations in achieving organisational goals
As per the views of Partheesh and Pushparaj, (2012), logistics are one of the main processes of
business management as it improves the overall supply chain management in the business. The
successful business needs the effective planning of several operations and it improves the
operating system of the logistics. The service-oriented business uses operation planning
techniques. The logistics are the concept of the management that is being used for the proper
planning of the operations and it is responsible to make effective operations for the consumers
(Iskin, et al., 2014). The logistics system is one of the important systems of business
management as it includes four main activities of business that is purchasing management,
inventory management, warehousing management and transportation management. All the main
activities are indulged in the process of logistics management.
According to the Kall, et al., (2011), there are several aspects related to the organization that is
essential to achieve the goals of the business. The organization control is the process of
assigning, evaluating and regulating the resources to attain the goals of organization. The control
aspects are closely related to the organization and theses aspects manage the logistics process in
business management. Various elements are related to the control system of business such as
feedback which is treated as the backbone of all the control systems of organization. In this way,
controls must be objective and focused on economic conditions. The supply management
controls are the most important controls that manage the consumer’s attraction towards the
business (Granlund, 2011). Logistics planning is one of the essential concepts that manages all

SUPPLY CHAIN 6
the desired achievements of the business. All the goals can be achieved by the proper use of
logistics planning and supply chain management.
Evidence of wider research
Impacts of automation in the parcel delivery
According to Bechtsis, et al., (2017), the automation is very effective in the process of the parcel
delivery and it is more useful in the overall process of e-commerce. It has been analysing that the
e-commerce spend 30 percent of the revenue in the process of logistics and improves the
delivery process with proper use of automation. The automated parcel deliveries provide various
benefits to the organization and improves the revenue of the business. The deliveries become
seamless by using automation in parcel delivery. The automation is highly convenient for e-
commerce companies and managing the flexibility in the process of parcel deliveries (O’Leary,
2017). By the use of automation, the deliveries missed at any cost and this manages the attraction
of the customers and increases the customer towards product. By this process, the logistics cost
is also decreased and it reduces the returns of parcels. The supply chain management is one of
the important processes in the organization that is used to manage all supply of products to
consumer on time (Leung, et al., 2014). The brand experience can be enhanced by using the
automation in parcel delivery and it enables the business to face competitors in the market and
achieve a better position in the market.
However, as per the views of Graham, et al., (2015), it has been analysed that automation does
not always give s good impact on the process of logistics and parcel delivery. Due to automation
in the parcel delivery and the logistics management, the worker displacement occurs in the
organization and this is not good for the organization. Apart from the parcel delivery, several
other works cannot be performed with the automation so, the organization needs more workers.
The other disadvantage, which creates in business due to automation is high expenditure used in
automation equipment (Zijm and Klumpp, 2016). This equipment needed high maintenance
levels that is high cost for the business. Several potential risks can also be occurred in the process
of automation, which affects the overall benefits of the organization.
Impacts of automation in city logistics
The logistics are one of the main process used in the management of business that manages the
supply of the products in business. As per the views of Attaran, (2012), logistics is used to

SUPPLY CHAIN 7
describe the process of supplying a war zone with troops and equipment. Several business use
logistics to maintain the supply of the products. In logistics, automation is used to improve the
efficiency by using machinery or computer applications in several operations of the business.
This process minimises the labour for the logistic process in business management (Klose, et al.,
2012). This process also saves energy and improves overall quality. It has been analysed that the
logistics operations become easier with the use of automation and it manages the quality and
accuracy by using machinery or computer. According to the author, there are various advantages
of automation in logistics management. The review says that the integration of logistics system is
effective in the business by using automation in the process. All the distribution goals can be
meet easily with the use of the automation and the process of distribution goes in the right track.
The consumers get attract with the proper flow of the distribution.
However, as per the reviews of the Lyman, et al., (2015), it has been analysed that the
automation creates several complexities in the overall process of the logistics and disturbed all
the goals of the distribution and supply chain. The automation does not always give better
production in the organization as it creates many complexities and difficulties in the business.
The automation is all about the declining human assistance and creates several complexities in
the business (Ab Talib and Hamid, 2014). The main risk is the automation is related to the
workers as they are becoming slaves to the automated machines and discard the privacy of the
humans. The human error in the business creates danger in civilization and creates many
problems in the overall organization. The business also faces bad economic conditions that is
created due to process of automation and consequently, it affects the overall capital of the
business (Kobata, et al., 2016). The logistic process is overall affected by the use of automation
as the displacement of works can be occurred in the business, which is not so good for the
organization. There are several arguments related to the pros and cons of automation between
these two authors. They give several argumentative reviews based on automation.

SUPPLY CHAIN 8
Recommendations for development of integrated logistics systems and management
The automation is essential for the betterment of supply management and parcel delivery. The e-
commerce companies are more aware regarding the use of automation as this makes the parcel
delivery easier. Automation brings several changes in the organization and this makes the
logistics process faster. The automation improves efficiency as it improves the bottom line of the
companies (Marinagi, et al., 2014). Automation makes the process faster and attractive to
consumers. The quality of delivering parcel is also improved with the automation. This process is
also used to decrease the stress of the managers related to supply management.
As per the view of Lamoureux and Evans, (2011), there are several recommendations used in the
automation within the logistics management and parcel delivery. As automation gives several
advantages to the organization, so it is important to manage the automation properly and
increases the efficiency of the organization. Automation increases the productivity of the
organization. The automation needs to use in a better way to increase efficiency. The company
need to use automation in the process of supply chain management (Arljborn and Mikkelsen,
2014). The process increased the consistency of output so it is important for the organization to
use the automation in a better way. The improvements maintain the efficiency of the products
and make the proper supply to the customers so that customer satisfaction achieved by the
organization (Jakkhupan, et al., 2011). The logistics management based on the automation and
this increase the worker displacement in the organization. Therefore, to decrease the worker
displacement, the automation used only in the supply chain management.
As per the views of Gil, et al., (2011), to manage the potential risks occurs in the logistics
management due to the automation, the organization needs to regularly evaluates the supply
process of products so that no mistake can be achieved in the organization. The overall process
of automation can be managed by the proper use of machinery and computer applications. The
parcel delivery concept becomes easier by the use of automation (Coalition, 2011). The
organization need to use the automation in the supply of products or the delivery of parcels so
that the work is done on time and the customers are satisfied with this process.

SUPPLY CHAIN 9
Conclusions
As per the above report, it can be concluded that all aspects of the organization is becoming more
efficient due to use of automation. Furthermore, supply of products and parcels are becoming
easier due to application of automation. The logistics companies achieve all the objectives with
the proper use of automation. The automation is the technology in which, there are need of less
humanitarian assistance in the company. The use of automation makes the parcel delivery
effective as the less human assurance is used in this process. The supply chain becomes easier by
using automation in the organization. The report describes the use of automation in the
organization as per the author's point of view. However, some authors decline this fact, say that
automation is not much effective in the process of logistics and parcel delivery. The automation
improves the digitization in the overall process of parcel delivery and reduces the returns of
delivery. The automation gives the proper flexibility to the online shoppers and improves the
delivery process of parcels to customers. The online shoppers get a greater convenience by the
use of automation in the business. The e-commerce business becomes more efficient with the use
of automation in the business.

SUPPLY CHAIN 10
References
Ab Talib, M.S. and Hamid, A.B.A., 2014. Application of critical success factors in supply chain
management. International Journal of Supply Chain Management, 3(1), pp.21-33.
Arlbjørn, J.S. and Mikkelsen, O.S., 2014. Backshoring manufacturing: Notes on an important but
under-researched theme. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 20(1), pp.60-62.
Attaran, M., 2012. Critical success factors and challenges of implementing RFID in supply chain
management. Journal of Supply Chain and Operations Management, 10(1), pp.144-167.
Bechtsis, D., Tsolakis, N., Vlachos, D. and Iakovou, E., 2017. Sustainable supply chain
management in the digitalisation era: The impact of Automated Guided Vehicles. Journal of
Cleaner Production, 142, pp.3970-3984.
Bendavid, Y. and Boeck, H., 2011. Using RFID to improve hospital supply chain management
for high value and consignment items. Procedia Computer Science, 5, pp.849-856.
Coalition, S.M.L., 2011, June. Implementing 21st-century smart manufacturing. In Workshop
summary report.
Cozzolino, A., 2012. Humanitarian logistics and supply chain management. In Humanitarian
logistics (pp. 5-16). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Gil, R., Gangopadyay, D., Zhou, J., Gordon, S. and Nayak, S., Servigistics Inc, 2011. Policy
based automation for a supply chain. U.S. Patent 8,055,527.
Graham, G., Tachizawa, E.M., Alvarez-Gil, M.J. and Montes-Sancho, M.J., 2015. How “smart
cities” will change supply chain management. Supply Chain Management: An International
Journal.
Granlund, A., 2011. Competitive internal logistics systems through automation (Doctoral
dissertation, Mälardalen University).
Iskin, I., Daim, T.U., Noble, S. and Baltz, A., 2014. Approaching IT Automation Decisions using
Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). International Journal of Information Technology Project
Management (IJITPM), 5(1), pp.77-89.

SUPPLY CHAIN 11
Jakkhupan, W., Arch-int, S. and Li, Y., 2011. Business process analysis and simulation for the
RFID and EPCglobal Network enabled supply chain: A proof-of-concept approach. Journal of
Network and Computer Applications, 34(3), pp.949-957.
Kall, J.J., Troy, T.A. and McCarthy, R.J., Rockwell Automation Technologies Inc, 2011. Suite of
configurable supply chain infrastructure modules for deploying collaborative e-manufacturing
solutions. U.S. Patent 8,069,071.
Khajavi, S.H., Partanen, J. and Holmström, J., 2014. Additive manufacturing in the spare parts
supply chain. Computers in industry, 65(1), pp.50-63.
Klose, A., Speranza, M.G. and Van Wassenhove, L.N. eds., 2012. Quantitative approaches to
distribution logistics and supply chain management (Vol. 519). Springer Science & Business
Media.
Kobata, T., Tada, Y. and Muromaki, T., 2016, August. Development of automatic parcel
delivery system using image processing techniques. In 2016 International Symposium on
Flexible Automation (ISFA) (pp. 292-295). IEEE.
Lamoureux, J.F. and Evans, T.A., 2011. Supply chain finance: a new means to support the
competitiveness and resilience of global value chains. Available at SSRN 2179944.
Leung, J., Cheung, W. and Chu, S.C., 2014. Aligning RFID applications with supply chain
strategies. Information & Management, 51(2), pp.260-269.
Lyman, J. and Hatch, B., Vivint Inc, 2015. Systems and methods for secure package delivery.
U.S. Patent Application 14/264,728.
Marinagi, C., Trivellas, P. and Sakas, D.P., 2014. The impact of information technology on the
development of supply chain competitive advantage. Procedia-Social and Behavioral
Sciences, 147, pp.586-591.
O'Leary, D.E., 2017. Configuring blockchain architectures for transaction information in
blockchain consortiums: The case of accounting and supply chain systems. Intelligent Systems in
Accounting, Finance and Management, 24(4), pp.138-147.

SUPPLY CHAIN 12
Partheesh, M. and Pushparaj, K., 2012. Use of geofences for location-based activation and
control of services. U.S. Patent Application 13/342,825.
Qrunfleh, S. and Tarafdar, M., 2014. Supply chain information systems strategy: Impacts on
supply chain performance and firm performance. International Journal of Production
Economics, 147, pp.340-350.
Radziwon, A., Bilberg, A., Bogers, M. and Madsen, E.S., 2014. The smart factory: exploring
adaptive and flexible manufacturing solutions. Procedia engineering, 69, pp.1184-1190.
Shin, T.H., Chin, S., Yoon, S.W. and Kwon, S.W., 2011. A service-oriented integrated
information framework for RFID/WSN-based intelligent construction supply chain
management. Automation in Construction, 20(6), pp.706-715.
Wu, L., Yue, X., Jin, A. and Yen, D.C., 2016. Smart supply chain management: a review and
implications for future research. The International Journal of Logistics Management, 27(2),
pp.395-417.
Xu, L.D., 2011. Information architecture for supply chain quality management. International
Journal of Production Research, 49(1), pp.183-198.
Zijm, H. and Klumpp, M., 2016. Logistics and supply chain management: developments and
trends. In Logistics and Supply Chain Innovation (pp. 1-20). Springer, Cham.