9 research idea notes tagged “logistics”. Read them as Markdown, JSON or an Atom feed.
Home health care, nurse scheduling and workforce scheduling appear on only 15 recent papers in the operations research and AI journals. Ageing countries are moving care from hospitals and nursing homes into homes, which turns nurses into a vehicle fleet. How much travel and overtime can better routing save, and do the plans respect continuity of care?
Papers in the last 30 days — nurse scheduling: 1 · home health care: 1
Last-mile delivery appears on 79 recent papers, and the topic is growing (23 papers in the last quarter against about 18 expected), but parcel lockers on only 6. Lockers and pickup points promise fewer failed deliveries and fewer van stops. Do customers use them, and do they cut cost and emissions once the trips customers make to fetch parcels are counted?
Papers in the last 30 days — last-mile delivery: 14
Additive manufacturing and 3D printing appear on 31 recent papers, split among operations research, AI and management, and spare parts management on 2. Printing parts on demand could replace warehouses of slow-moving inventory. Which parts are worth printing, where should the printers be, and do certification rules allow it?
Papers in the last 30 days — 3D printing: 2
Reverse logistics, return policies and product returns appear on 53 recent papers, almost all in operations research, with 15 in the last quarter against about 12 per quarter before. Online return rates are several times those of stores, and retailers are starting to charge for returns. Which policies cut returns without cutting sales, and what happens to the returned goods?
Papers in the last 30 days — return policy: 1 · reverse logistics: 3
Humanitarian logistics is an active topic in operations research, and climate shocks a rising one in economics. Aid agencies now release money and move supplies when a forecast crosses a threshold, before a flood or drought hits. Only 11 of 103 recent humanitarian-logistics papers carry a forecast, early-warning or climate keyword. When does acting early pay off?
Papers in the last 30 days — humanitarian logistics: 4 · emergency logistics: 1
Electric trucks are entering freight fleets, and routing them is a growing problem in operations research. But most models assume a charger is free when the truck arrives; only 5 of 66 recent papers on electric-vehicle routing and charging carry a queue, waiting or congestion keyword. How much do charging queues change routes, fleet size and costs?
Papers in the last 30 days — electric trucks: 2
Crowdshipping and crowdsourced delivery appear on 10 recent papers in the operations research journals, with 4 in the last quarter against about 2 per quarter before. The models route parcels through ordinary travellers who happen to be going the same way. Do enough people accept such tasks, and at what pay, for the routes to work?
Urban logistics, urban freight transport and urban delivery appear on 46 recent papers, almost all in operations research, and the topic is fading, with 8 in the last quarter against about 13 per quarter before. Cities are restricting vans and funding cargo bikes and micro-hubs. Which combinations cut kilometres and cost, and do couriers and retailers adopt them without mandates?
Papers in the last 30 days — urban logistics: 1
Drone delivery is one of the fastest-rising topics in the operations research journals. Most papers optimise routes; few ask who pays, and how drones compare with vans as delivery density changes.
Papers in the last 30 days — drone delivery: 3 · last-mile delivery: 14
Scholar4AI. (2026). Research ideas tagged “logistics”. Journal Research Rankings. Retrieved October 26, 2026, from https://scholar4ai.com/ideas/tags/logistics
@misc{scholar4ai-ideas-tags-logistics,
author = {{Scholar4AI}},
title = {Research ideas tagged “logistics”},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://scholar4ai.com/ideas/tags/logistics}},
urldate = {2026-10-26},
note = {Journal Research Rankings; data from OpenAlex (CC0); licensed CC BY-NC 4.0}
}