Open Access
Exploring crowdshippers' behavior and preferences: intertwining urban distribution and people mobility
(Elsevier, 2025-05-14) García Herrera, Alisson Maurinne; Serrano Hernández, Adrián; Faulín Fajardo, Javier; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua
Collaborative economy companies in the transport field have been a disruptive force in the urban mobility landscape around the world during the last decade 2010-2020. Crowdshipping has emerged as a collaborative economy option promoting improved utilization of currently underutilized transportation capacity, thereby reducing transportation costs and emissions. This article aims to analyze and synthesize existing research on the impact of the crowdshipper (individuals responsible for collecting and delivering the product) behavior on the system and the factors that drive his or her willingness to participate, to identify best practices and opportunities to enhance business analytics, decision-making, and model efficiency in this emerging area.
Open Access
The impact of integrating open data in smart last-mile logistics: the example of Pamplona open data catalog
(MDPI, 2025-01-08) Al-Rahamneh, Anas; Serrano Hernández, Adrián; Faulín Fajardo, Javier; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
Last-mile logistics is one of the most complicated operations in the whole logistic process. This concept describes the final leg of a product travel from a warehouse or hub to specific customers. One of the last-mile logistics challenges that courier delivery companies face is route planning. Ineffective route planning can cause operational delays that cascade and affect several last-mile deliveries. Thus, numerous factors need to be considered to plan and optimize effective delivery routes. These involve many extraordinary and unpredictable events, including weather, traffic conditions, and traffic regulations. A lack of accessible data hinders dynamic, efficient, and reliable route planning, leading to these factors being overlooked. In this paper, we propose the use of open data (OD) to overcome these limitations. OD are information available for anyone to access, reuse, and distribute for free with minimal attribution and sharing restrictions. Therefore, the aim of this work is to examine the impact of incorporating specific open data elements on the performance of the Clarke and Wright algorithm, particularly in calculating savings, and identifying optimal routes. The results we obtained showed the effect of considering OD with an increase rate of approximately 2% on the total distance compared to not considering them.
Open Access
Optimizing freight delivery routes: the time-distance dilemma
(Elsevier, 2024-12-01) Alvarez Indave, Pablo; Serrano Hernández, Adrián; Lerga Valencia, Iosu; Faulín Fajardo, Javier; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa, PJUPNA26-2022
Traditional approaches to optimizing freight delivery routes are based on minimizing a distance-based cost function. New approaches also use time as an objective function to minimize. However, the trade-off between time and distance is sometimes unclear. This paper presents a new approach to route optimization in which both time and distance are considered conjointly. For this purpose, the vehicle operating cost and the value of time have been used to translate time and distance into monetary units. By studying three different networks in Spain with varying levels of detail (the region of Catalonia, the city of Barcelona, and the Pamplona city center), the results show that minimizing both time and distance yield better results than the traditional approach, especially at a local level, where congestion effects are more relevant. These findings are helpful for logistics companies to optimize their operations, as well as for public authorities who could employ these models to make decisions and create policies on logistics.
Open Access
Decision making with horizontal cooperation and environmental criteria for transportation: optimization and simulation models for the vehicle routing problem and the facility location problem
(2018) Serrano Hernández, Adrián; Faulín Fajardo, Javier; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika
Transportation is a major contributor to the development of the world economy and, at the same time, a major contributor to air pollution and global warming. Additionally, the unstoppable increase of competition as consequence of the globalization, as well as the increasingly service quality demanded by customers related to shorter times and lower costs, are forcing logistics companies to consider new managerial strategies. In this sense, horizontal cooperation among logistic companies is seen as a real alternative for gaining efficiency and sustainability. These agreements can be summarized as any arrangement between partners, tacit or not, which involves more than one company without vertical relationship between them, i.e., no supplier-customer relationship, based on trust and mutual commitment to identify and exploit win-win situations with the goal of sharing benefits (or risks) that would be higher (or lower) than each company would obtain if they acted completely independently. Therefore, in the first part of this thesis, several simulation models have been developed to track the evolution of a coalition in order to quantify horizontal cooperation impact in both economic and environmental sides considering the existence of trust-related issues. Additionally, as a great source of cooperation, a real application consisted on the location of a biorefinery is presented, developed, and discussed. On the other hand, environmental impacts of transportation should be measured and assessed for their integration in the existing optimization models. Thus, the second part of this thesis is devoted to the pricing through a contingent valuation survey of environmental impacts (externalities) and their internalization in the well-known Vehicle Routing Problem. In this sense, several optimization models are developed to assess the impact of the internalization of externalities on the routing decisions of logistics operations.
Open Access
Valuations of transport nuisances and cognitive biases: a survey laboratory experiment in the Pyrenees region
(Springer, 2021) Denant-Boemont, Laurent; Faulín Fajardo, Javier; Hammiche, Sabrina; Serrano Hernández, Adrián; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas
We designed a survey that aims at estimating individual willingness-to-pay to reduce noise and air pollution arising from transportation activity near the Pyrenees in Navarre (Spain). Our participants cope with a series of contingent valuation questions and also with an economic experiment with real incentives about the same topic. Our goal is to identify several methodological problems in the valuation process coming from hypothetical bias, correlation effect and sequence effect when series of responses are requested. Our main results are that hypothetical bias is significant, because the willingness-to-pay is greater when the survey is hypothetical compared to when there is real monetary incentive. Likewise, the correlation effect also observes the same behavior since the willingness-to-pay for pollution mitigation is close to the one established for noise reduction. Finally, we have obtained mixed evidence for the sequence effect, being present only in the contingent valuation survey part.
Open Access
Understanding the dynamics of crowdshipping in last-mile distribution within urban mobility: a comprehensive framework
(Elsevier, 2025-10-01) García Herrera, Alisson Maurinne; Serrano Hernández, Adrián; Faulín Fajardo, Javier; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua
Crowdshipping, a collaborative economy model that takes advantage of the crowd for the delivery of goods, promises to address the problems of urban logistics. This article integrates the literature to identify relevant factors that influence the success of crowdshipping, while addressing sustainability objectives. We use the PRISMA method, a widely recognized framework for systematic reviews that, by meeting high-quality standards, guarantees the reliability of the evidence. We systematically reviewed the literature to address three research questions: identifying factors that influence crowdshipping success, evaluating its contribution to sustainability goals, and evaluating the role of Operation Research (OR) in improving crowdshipping efficiency. Specifically, OR techniques offer significant potential for optimizing routing, matching supply and demand, and enhancing decision-making processes. Through this comprehensive and in-depth analysis, we provide information for future research, modeling, practical implementation, and potential policy recommendations.
Open Access
Selecting freight transportation modes in last-mile urban distribution in Pamplona (Spain): an option for drone delivery in smart cities
(MDPI, 2021) Serrano Hernández, Adrián; Ballano Biurrun, Aitor; Faulín Fajardo, Javier; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika; Economía; Ekonomia
Urban distribution in medium-sized cities faces a major challenge, mainly when deliveries are difficult in the city center due to: an increase of e-commerce, weak public transportation system, and the promotion of urban sustainability plans. As a result, private cars, public transportation, and freight transportation compete for the same space. This paper analyses the current state for freight logistics in the city center of Pamplona (Spain) and proposes alternative transportation routes and transportation modes in the last-mile city center distribution according to different criteria evaluated by residents. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was developed. A number of alternatives have been assessed considering routes and transportation modes: the shortest route criterion and avoiding some city center area policies are combined with traditional van-based, bike, and aerial (drone) distribution protocols for delivering parcels and bar/restaurant supplies. These alternatives have been evaluated within a multicriteria framework in which economic, environmental, and social objectives are considered at the same time. The point in this multicriteria framework is that the criteria/alternative AHP weights and priorities have been set according to a survey deployed in the city of Pamplona (Navarre, Spain). The survey and AHP results show the preference for the use of drone or bike distribution in city center in order to reduce social and environmental issues.
Open Access
Horizontal collaboration in freight transport: concepts, benefits and environmental challenges
(Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya, 2017) Serrano Hernández, Adrián; Juan Pérez, Ángel Alejandro; Faulín Fajardo, Javier; Pérez Bernabeu, Elena; Estatistika eta Ikerketa Operatiboa; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Estadística e Investigación Operativa
Since its appearance in the 1990s, horizontal collaboration (HC) practices have revealed them-selves as catalyzers for optimizing the distribution of goods in freight transport logistics. After introducing the main concepts related to HC, this paper offers a literature review on the topic and provides a classification of best practices in HC. Then, the paper analyses the main benefits and optimization challenges associated with the use of HC at the strategic, tactical, and operational levels. Emerging trends such as the concept of ‘green’ or environmentally-friendly HC in freighttransport logistics are also introduced. Finally, the paper discusses the need of using hybrid optimization methods, such as simheuristics and learnheuristics, in solving some of the previously identified challenges in real-life scenarios dominated by uncertainty and dynamic conditions.
Open Access
Is time more important than distance to optimize freight delivery routes? An approach using the value of time
(Elsevier, 2024-02-23) Alvarez Indave, Pablo; Serrano Hernández, Adrián; Lerga Valencia, Iosu; Faulín Fajardo, Javier; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa, PJUPNA26-2022
Traditional approaches to optimize freight delivery routes are based on minimizing a distance-based cost function. New approaches use also time as the objective function to minimize. However, the trade-off between time and distance is sometimes unclear. This paper presents a new approach to optimize delivery routes in which both time and distance are used together to optimize delivery routes. For this purpose, the operating cost of a vehicle and the value of time have been used to convert time and distance into monetary units. Through the study of three different networks in Spain with different level of detail (the region of Catalonia, the city of Barcelona, and the old part of Pamplona), the results have indicated that minimizing both time and distance provides better results than the traditional approach, especially at a local level where congestion effects are more relevant.
Open Access
Using modelling techniques to analyze urban freight distribution. A case study in Pamplona (Spain)
(Elsevier, 2018) Alvarez Indave, Pablo; Serrano Hernández, Adrián; Faulín Fajardo, Javier; Juan Pérez, Ángel Alejandro; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
The city of Pamplona, in Spain, is currently experiencing several changes regarding sustainable mobility such as pedestrianization of some streets in the city center, and access control to the Old Town for motor vehicles through the use of automatic number-plate recognition. However, some groups including local neighbors and businesses are raising complaints as they are being affected by these measures. This is also the case for couriers and logistics companies which have now to comply with new regulations regarding delivery routes throughout the Old Town. This paper will present a comprehensive study of the situation that is being carried out, and in which social perceptions and freight traffic patterns in the Old Town of Pamplona are analyzed to understand how urban freight distribution could be improved in the area. For this purpose, we make use of a survey-based research to the stakeholders, i.e. pedestrians, logistics companies, retailers, and authorities of Pamplona. Results highlight pollution derived from transportation, lack of parking spaces as well as invasion of public spaces in the city center as the key issues for improving freight transportation in the Old Town. Finally, placing a distribution center in the Old Town and the promotion of the cycle-logistics are considered as the future of the urban distribution in Pamplona.