A Bane or Boon of Technologies: Risks and Benefits of Drone Delivery on Last-Mile Operations

Leung, Eric Ka Ho ORCID: 0000-0003-2058-0287 and Wen, Xin (2025) A Bane or Boon of Technologies: Risks and Benefits of Drone Delivery on Last-Mile Operations IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT, 72 (99). pp. 2892-2912. ISSN 0018-9391, 1558-0040

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Abstract

Drones for logistics operations have emerged as a popular topic in logistics, offering numerous benefits and risks to the society and environment. While drones can have a significant impact on the surroundings, the environment and external factors can also influence drone delivery operations, resulting in a complex interplay. This article combines a comprehensive literature review and cocitation analysis, supplemented by practices, to explore the two-way interaction between drones and the environment. The benefits and risks of this interaction are also examined. A trend analysis is further conducted to generate insights regarding the stages of development in the literature. Combining findings from the reviewed literature and practices, we propose the novel 3R framework to guide future drone delivery adoption in practical operations. This framework highlights the importance of investigating drone delivery models and their respective risks that should be mitigated. Finally, a future research agenda is proposed to inspire further explorations in this rapidly evolving field of last-mile operations.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Drones, Logistics, Companies, Systematic literature review, Safety, Regulation, Industries, Artificial intelligence, Uninterruptible power systems, Trend analysis, Cocitation analysis, last-mile operations, literature review, risk analysis, societal and environmental impacts, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > School of Management
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	30 Jun 2025 09:21
Last Modified:	23 May 2026 10:20
DOI:	10.1109/TEM.2025.3584730
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3193465
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