Parcel Locker as a Solution for Sustainable Operations and a Contactless Self-Service Solution for Last-Mile Delivery

Open

Siti Norida Wahab, Nusrat Ahmed, Samsul Farid Samsuddin

2025 Operations and Supply Chain Management Vol. 18 Issue 1 Article Cited by 0 Quartile

Abstract

In recent years, technical diffusion, globalization, and the internet revolution have accelerated the growth of e-commerce and transformed business operation systems. Due to the phenomenon, the logistical procedure, including the last-mile deliveries, has become more burdensome. Furthermore, a new requirement for a sustainable contactless alternative in last-mile delivery has emerged due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Although self-service parcel lockers could be a solution in this context, none of the literature provides a comprehensive overview. Thus, this paper aims to determine the factors affecting consumers' perspectives of parcel locker adoption, sustainability considerations as well as the effect of COVID-19 outbreaks on the adoption process throughout published literature. The paper's objectives were accomplished via a systematic literature review method using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach, and 28 peer-reviewed journal articles were chosen. The overall review has found that customers' attitudes towards parcel locker adoption are changing for the better over time, indicating that the service has great potential to become a sustainable contact-free solution last-mile delivery alternative. The paper's additional value stems from its holistic approach to parcel lockers, which not only considers consumers' perceptions, sustainability considerations, and the impact of COVID-19 but also highlights issues that must be addressed to make it a sustainable last-mile delivery option. © 2025 Operations and Supply Chain Management Forum. All rights reserved.

Affiliations

Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor, Malaysia; Department of Community Medicine, City Medical College, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Department of Library Science and Information, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Institute for Social Science Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia; Faculty of Social Science, Universitas Negeri, Malang, Indonesia