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Development of e-commerce is revamping traditional trading and logistics modelsTraditionally, trading is done through intermediaries like trading firms or middlemen, requiring mail exchanges, phone calls and faceto-face meetings. In recent decades, with internet technology advancing at a stunning speed, e-commerce platforms like Alibaba and Amazon have emerged as a new trading intermediary that offers an alternative for buyers and sellers to make deals online.In the beginning of the internet era, companies were making deals only with each other. Their demand for logistics services was not that much different from the old days, as goods were still sent and received in bulk. With personal computers, smartphones and 4G communications becoming increasingly accessible to individual consumers, people are able to order online anywhere, anytime. E-commerce has leaped from business-to-business (B2B) trading platforms to business-to-consumer (B2C) online marketplaces.Changed from offline to online mode, the new retail paradigm also posed new requirements for the logistics services. Products need to be packaged piece by piece and delivered to each individual buyer. The key aspect of B2C logistics is last-mile delivery, which provides timely and accurate delivery of goods to consumers’ doorstep.To win the fierce online marketplace competition, major operators are promising faster delivery time, like next-day and same-day delivery. Some online-to-offline (O2O) grocery stores, where the online marketplace also operates offline stores, even offer local delivery in a few hours’ time.11