Research Update: New funding from a private company to research Korean e-commerce last-mile distribution measurements
This research project will collect information about the level of shocks and vibration experienced by packages transported throughout the South Korean parcel delivery system, particularly during the last-mile delivery portion of distribution. The collected data will allow the research team to recommend drop tests and vibration profiles that simulate the hazards actually experienced during South Korean parcel delivery. This data will be compared to internationally used packaging testing standards in order to help develop a proposed testing plan for Korean e-commerce package testing.
Our director, Dr. Laszlo Horvath, received funding from a private international company to investigate the parcel delivery system in South Korea in order to be able to develop recommended testing protocols for packages that will be distributed through their system. Graduate student, Saewhan Kim, PhD candidate (Image 1), was assigned to this research project. Kim determined that three regions that would be investigated including the major metropolis of Seoul and two small, rural towns. Additionally, five distribution facilities in these regions were chosen to be audited by Kim, where he collected data regarding how the packages are handled.
Before flying to South Korea, Kim built decoy packages to be used to test their parcel delivery systems (Image 2a & 2b). Dozens of one-way trips between the distribution facilities are planned for these decoy packages. This is in order to collect the most data possible about the shocks that packages experience. The shock data will be analyzed and the equivalent drop heights will be calculated based on the measured delta velocities. Additionally, to collect the last-mile vibration environment, multiple parcel delivery vehicles will be instrumented with Lansmont Saver 3x90 data loggers and GPS units. The vibration profiles of each transportation mode will be recorded to be used in laboratory simulations. All results will be used to develop a proposed testing sequence for Korean e-commerce package testing.
