DIGIT Lab Spring Newsletter: May Seminar & June DE-Nexus Showcase

Digital innovation comes in many forms but one crucial challenge for operators is ‘last mile delivery’. This applies to food but also to medical supplies and many consumer goods.  
We are delighted that Professor Rui Sousa, (Catolica Porto Business School) will use this webinar to explain the challenges in last-mile operations and more generally the challenges of research in service design.

Last Mile Operations (LMOs) involve the final delivery of goods and services directly to consumers (in retailing and on-demand platforms), patients (in healthcare), beneficiaries (during disaster relief), and other agents. LMOs have widespread relevance across major economic sectors, including retail, food services, healthcare, humanitarian services, energy distribution, telecommunications, public services, among other. The operational challenges and costs in LMOs are considerable. For example, because of short time frames and high delivery volumes, there is little room for human error. With the advent of digital technologies and online shopping, we are witnessing rapid growth in innovations seeking to improve these operations. For example, Starship Technologies introduced autonomous delivery robots aimed at reducing labor costs and extending delivery hours.  Although academic research in LMOs predates the 21st century, an updated conceptualization of the field is needed to frame more recent innovations and technology developments, and inform operational practices as organizations try to address the myriad of challenges brought about by the advent of the information technology and automation to LMOs.

This seminar advances a conceptualization of the field and directions for future research in LMOs. This work-in-progress contribution results from the special issue that the authors are guest editing for the Journal of Operations Management, on “Innovations, Technologies, and the Economics of Last-Mile Operations”. Contributions from the audience for advancing thinking on the topic are most welcome.

We look forward to having you attend the event!

 👉 https://digit.ac.uk/nextseminar

📍 In-person attendance @FORA, Tintagel House, 92 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TY

🌐 Online with the Teams link

For any queries, please reach out the DIGIT Lab’s academic seminar lead Professor Leroy White [email protected]

This in-person symposium showcases UK research from all six EPSRC funded Next Stage Digital Economy Centres, which DIGITLab is one of. DIGITLab focuses upon the adoption of digital technology for digital innovation, clean growth and resilience.

Each of the six centres will present their research outcomes and progress. The opening address will be delivered by Lord Chris Holmes, followed by the keynote speaker Professor Yvonne Rogers, UCL. There will be Four panels: Beyond the Data-Driven Economy; Equitable and Sustainable Digital Society; Content Creation and Consumption; Trust, Identity, Privacy and Security. Finally, the showcase will draw to a close with a UKRI session on ‘The Future of the Internet

The event is an opportunity for engagement with leading academics, the Digital Economy research community, government and policy stakeholders, business leaders, industry experts and commercial partners across a spectrum of sectors that have enabled the centres to deliver exciting impact and change the shape the UK’s digital economy research, knowledge, and skill. Attendees will be able to interact directly with the directors and researchers of each centre through posters, presentations, demos, films, case studies and networking sessions that take place throughout the day.

For more information please visit the DE-Nexus website here.

To register for the event on Eventbrite, please visit: DE-Nexus: Digital Economy Next Stage Symposium Tickets, Mon 10 Jun 2024 at 09:00 | Eventbrite

Thank you,
DIGIT Lab team