Q-commerce or E-commerce? A systematic state of the art on comparative last-mile logistics greenhouse gas emissions literature review

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to systematically review available state-of-the-art literature on comparative studies on Quick Commerce (Q-commerce) and E-commerce and their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Design/methodology/approach – The literature survey methodology is based on the funneling approach of Kitchenham (2004), where results are obtained according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. The literature review methodology used for this study covers the period from 2016 to 2022. The areas considered for the survey are operations, logistics and supply chain network design for the distribution of goods in e-business. After deciding on the criteria, a total of 140 articles were extracted from 9 journal articles that study e-commerce and environmental emissions. Findings – The result of this study reveals that GHG emissions from both modes of shopping depend on various parameters such as speed of delivery, last-mile depot locations, logistics and vehicle efficiency, customers’ order patterns and average basket size. Furthermore, the findings also highlight the difference between Q-commerce and E-commerce supply chain networks. Research limitations/implications – This study only accounts for GHG emissions from logistics activities, but there are other sources of GHG emissions in the overall supply chain that are not taken into consideration. Supply chain/business analysts in Q-commerce companies might refer the findings from this study to measure GHG emissions from their operations. Originality/value – This is the first study in the Q-commerce field that uses a structured approach to find relevant literature from the years 2016 to 2022 and focuses on GHG emission measurement.

Keywords

• Q-commerce/E-commerce
• Last-mile logistics
• Greenhouse gas (GHG)
• Emission comparison
• Systematic literature review