This year ESC chaired a panel on Connectivity at the 5th International Physical Internet Conference 2018 that took place 18-22 June. The newest insights and best practices about data sharing, service platforms, and computational support were discussed during this panel.
It allowed us to stress again the importance of increased connectivity through extensive digitalisation as a key to more effective and efficient supply chains. Examples, among others, came from projects partly funded by the European Commission, like CORE and AEOLIX, and the platform presented by Logit One. Logit One’s SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) platform is uniquely positioned through its combination of rich consolidated data, synchromodal planning, agile networks of forwarders, and a step towards an automatic process execution.
Finally, a project led by the Austrian Institute of Technology dealing with Intermodal Planning gave proof of this increased effectiveness and efficiency.
The conference topics included inter-connected logistics, PI fundamentals, business models, governance and implementation, cross-chain control, synchromodal transportation, IT systems, stakeholders and their roles. New business models, enabling technologies and experimentations that already underway were presented, making this meeting a unique opportunity to learn, network, and discuss the latest results and challenges about interconnected logistics.
The conference became an open forum for researchers, industry representatives, government officials and citizens to explore together, discuss, introduce leading edge concepts, methodologies, recent projects, technological advancements, start-up initiatives, for current and future Physical Internet implementation.
The Physical Internet Initiative aims at transforming the way physical objects are moved, stored, realized, supplied, and used, pursuing global logistics efficiency and sustainability. Originating from Professor Benoit Montreuil in 2006, this ground-breaking vision, revolutionising current paradigms, has stirred a great interest from scientific, industrial, as well as governmental communities. You can watch here the video made by the European Technology Platform ALICE to explain the concept of the Physical internet.