The Challenge of a Sustainable E-Commerce Supply Chain

Abstract

The rapid rise of e-commerce in recent years challenges companies to cope with unprecedented parcel volumes and also to comply with their sustainability goals. In the literature exists a variety of recommendations for sustainable measures along the supply chain. The aim of this thesis was to demonstrate the extent to which sustainable warehousing measures are used in practice and whether these are sufficient for environmental protection. A qualitative research approach was chosen, including a case study of a leading logistics company. The results showed that the emissions of the increasing global transport activities cannot yet be compensated by the sustainability efforts of today. Low business incentives and high complexity of sustainability practices are obstacles. Ultimately, a sustainable trend reversal can only succeed if technological progress is not only used to expand e-commerce business models but also to design innovative, cost-effective, and simple-to-implement solutions in the future.