<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//NLM//DTD JATS (Z39.96) Journal Publishing DTD v1.0 20120330//EN" "JATS-journalpublishing1.dtd">
<article xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" article-type="article">
  <front>
    <journal-meta>
      <journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">RFDS</journal-id>
      <journal-title-group>
        <journal-title>Regional Formation and Development Studies</journal-title>
      </journal-title-group>
      <issn pub-type="epub">2351-6542</issn>
      <issn pub-type="ppub">2029-9370</issn>
      <publisher>
        <publisher-name>KU</publisher-name>
      </publisher>
    </journal-meta>
    <article-meta>
      <article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">03_DERKACH_2026_2</article-id>
      <article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.15181/rfds.v49i2.2810</article-id>
      <article-categories>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="heading">
          <subject>Article</subject>
        </subj-group>
      </article-categories>
      <title-group>
        <article-title>Improving Sustainability in Last-Mile Logistics in Retail and Service Systems</article-title>
      </title-group>
      <contrib-group>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <name>
            <surname>Derkach</surname>
            <given-names>Vadym</given-names>
          </name>
          <email xlink:href="mailto:vadym.derkach@ku.lt">vadym.derkach@ku.lt</email>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="j_RFDS_aff_000"/>
        </contrib>
        <aff id="j_RFDS_aff_000">Klaipėda University</aff>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <name>
            <surname>Paužuolienė</surname>
            <given-names>Jurgita</given-names>
          </name>
          <email xlink:href="mailto:jurgita.pauzuoliene@ku.lt">jurgita.pauzuoliene@ku.lt</email>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="j_RFDS_aff_001"/>
        </contrib>
        <aff id="j_RFDS_aff_001">Klaipėda University</aff>
      </contrib-group>
      <volume>49</volume>
      <issue>2</issue>
      <fpage>37</fpage>
      <lpage>47</lpage>
      <pub-date pub-type="epub">
        <day>02</day>
        <month>07</month>
        <year>2026</year>
      </pub-date>
      <permissions>
        <ali:free_to_read xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/"/>
      </permissions>
      <abstract>
        <p>This study develops and tests an applied framework for improving last-mile logistics sustainability in retail and service systems.</p>
        <p>A structured literature review of peer-reviewed studies (2019–2026; n = 35) is combined with directed content analysis and semiquantitative coding. Six implementation practice groups are evaluated across eight indicators: emissions, resource efficiency, circularity,</p>
        <p>cost, responsiveness, integration, transparency, and retail/service applicability. Based on the evidence matrix, a phased scenario</p>
        <p>model is designed for an urban retail-service network handling 10,000 weekly deliveries. The results indicate that IoT-enabled real-time</p>
        <p>visibility, blockchain-based traceability, and route optimisation with warehouse-transport synchronisation generate the strongest multicriteria effect. In the modelled transition from baseline to full implementation (S0–S3), weekly CO2 emissions decrease by 36.9%, unit fulfilment cost decreases by 18.7%, and on-time delivery increases by 9.1%.</p>
      </abstract>
      <kwd-group>
        <label>Keywords</label>
        <kwd>last-mile logistics</kwd>
        <kwd>sustainability</kwd>
        <kwd>retail logistics</kwd>
        <kwd>Logistics 4.0</kwd>
        <kwd>scenario modelling</kwd>
      </kwd-group>
      <kwd-group kwd-group-type="JEL CODES">
        <label>JEL CODES</label>
        <kwd>L81</kwd>
        <kwd>R41</kwd>
        <kwd>Q56</kwd>
      </kwd-group>
    </article-meta>
  </front>
</article>
