Parcel delivery with drones: Multi-criteria analysis of trendy system architectures

New technologies, such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), are transforming facilities and vehicles into intelligent systems that will significantly modify logistic deliveries in any organization. With the appearance of automated vehicles, drones offer multiple new technological solutions that might trigger different delivery networks or boost new delivery services. Differently from the related works, where a single specific delivery system model is typically addressed, this paper deals with the use of UAVs for logistic deliveries focusing on a multi-criteria analysis of trendy drone-based system architectures. In particular, using the cross-efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis approach, a comparative analysis among three different delivery systems is performed: the classic system based on trucks only, the drone-only system using a fleet of drones, and the hybrid truck and drone system combining trucks and drones. The proposed technique constitutes an effective decision-making tool aimed at helping delivery companies in selecting the optimal delivery system architecture according to their specific needs. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is shown by a simulation analysis based on a realistic data case study that pertains to the main logistic service providers.