Strategic upturn of reverse logistics with Crowdshipping: Transportation explication for India

Abstract The product buying preference of customers is shifting from traditional to online buying which shows significant changes in the behavior of purchasing. This shift in the trend of commerce to online platforms generates additional packages and parcels. Also, a collection of returned goods is becoming an issue of concern for sustainability, especially in urban areas. This problem of returning of goods gives rise to the concept of reverse logistics. The purpose of this research is to suggest crowdshipping measures via a proposed analytical framework for addressing the logistical gaps in interior regions while simultaneously producing co-benefits by reducing the emissions. The rapid urbanization offers both challenges and opportunities to policymakers not only in the creation of a transportation design and logistics systems for freight but also provides scope for reduction in logistics charges. In this paper, the analytical framework is being proposed to provide a sustainable solution since it can concurrently decrease the shipping costs, takes lesser time, generates lesser pollutants, and also reduces traffic congestion in a city. Crowdshipping is the concept of a supply chain in which the closest (or shortest) route is selected for delivery of products via the interested crowd. This paper also includes the systematic literature review done till date in the related areas of transportation, crowdshipping and reverse logistics to highlight the importance of the study being undertaken and for identifying the gaps.