Enhancing Social Sustainability in Parcel Hubs using Discrete Event Simulation and Multi-Objective Optimization

The logistics industry is under increasing pressure to improve both operational efficiency and social sustainability. While automation is advancing, manual tasks - especially in parcel hubs - continue to expose workers to physical strain and unbalanced workloads. This paper presents a simulation-based framework that integrates social sustainability goals into parcel hub design. Centered on ergonomic conditions and fair workload distribution, a parameterized Discrete Event Simulation (DES) model is created and combined with Multi-Objective Optimization (MOO) to evaluate human-centered operational strategies. The framework integrates ergonomic indicators and their influencing factors to explore the trade-offs between employee well-being and system performance. Rather than prescribing infrastructural changes, it enables low-cost, process-related improvements. While based on hypothetical but realistic scenarios, the framework lays the foundation for future empirical validation. By formalizing social sustainability as a quantifiable design dimension, the study provides a transferable approach to support Industry 5.0 goals of resilient, inclusive and human-centric logistics systems.