Current research and future challenges in parcel hub towards logistics 4.0: a systematic literature review from a decision-making perspective

Parcel hub (PH), as one of the logistic system entities, plays a significant role in delivering packages. PH operations are identical to a cross-docking system. Numerous studies were conducted to examine solutions in PH and cross-docking in general. This paper aims to investigate scientific references published within the last fifteen years through a systematic literature review (SLR). The objectives are to determine the critical decisions related to PH problems, classify the applied solution approach, and identify the future challenges regarding the transformation towards intelligent logistics. This study implements an SLR methodology that consists of five stages: planning, searching, screening, analysing, and reporting. This study utilises two publication databases and one reference management system. More than four thousand documents were collected in the searching stage. Then, five assessments are conducted to sort the most relevant papers. One hundred and forty-six articles are included in the further analysis. This study classifies four important decisions associated with PH problems: truck scheduling, internal process planning, facility planning, and technology selection. In addition, this study categorises ten solution approaches employed to find the best decision in the prior research. Moreover, this study explains the future research directions and managerial implications of managing parcel hub systems.