[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/7371\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EHow the \u2018physical internet\u2019 could revolutionise the way goods are moved\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen you send an email to someone across the world, it is usually received quickly and seamlessly. Your message passes through a network of servers until it reaches its destination. But you would not be aware of the route it took.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA physical internet would work in a similar way. Transport and logistics companies would be able to access a network of routes connected by hubs, and involving different modes of transport, which would allow them to streamline how goods are shipped from one place to another.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It started with the idea that we can move freight around in the same way that data moves in the internet,\u2019 said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.imperial.ac.uk\/people\/k.zavitsas\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EDr Kostas Zavitsas\u003C\/a\u003E, a researcher at the Imperial College Business School in the UK.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETransporting goods from one place to another is currently not as efficient as it could be. Vehicles are typically not loaded to their full capacity -\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/lirias.kuleuven.be\/1661024?limo=0\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eon average they are less than 50% full\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;-\u0026nbsp;while trucks may drive back empty after making a delivery. \u2018One of the main problems in the industry today is that the fill rate is not that high,\u2019 said Dr Zavitsas. \u2018A higher fill rate would have an impact on costs and emissions and create a much more sustainable system.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECompanies also largely operate independently where warehouses and modes of transport are not shared. However, one of the principles of the physical internet is to open them up to everyone, similar to how the internet is built on the concept of open access. Two competitors, for example, would be better off collaborating if they are shipping goods along the same route. \u2018Doing that, resources can be utilised much more efficiently,\u2019 said Dr Zavitsas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDigitise\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn order to create such a network, the first step is to digitise all available information.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhereas today, a lot of decisions about how to ship cargo are made intuitively, analysing data will be key in the physical internet. Every mode of transport, warehouse and customer location, for example, would have to be recorded electronically, along with real-time information such as traffic congestion, use of ports and bottleneck locations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe idea is that every element of the network would have a digital twin that could be updated with relevant details, such as how much space is available in a warehouse or the schedules of different modes of transport. Installing sensors will be required to capture some of this data. \u2018We would then take this information and a centralised algorithm will route a container in the optimal way,\u2019 said Dr Zavitsas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs part of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/769119\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EICONET project\u003C\/a\u003E, whose goal was to produce a prototype of the physical internet, Dr Zavitsas and his colleagues found that an optimal route could change depending on a company\u2019s requirements.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhereas some wanted goods delivered quickly, for example, others were more concerned about reliability. In this case, the digitised network could help by identifying ports or warehouses that are less dependable or have uncertain processing times. \u2018It will be possible to reroute or avoid specific locations depending on the demands of each client,\u2019 said Dr Zavitsas. \u2018Another powerful characteristic of the physical internet is that it can customise solutions.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStandardisation will also be key to developing the physical internet. At the moment, cargo from different companies may be of different shapes and sizes so it can be hard to pack them into a truck while making the best use of space. \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.clusters20.eu\/collaboration-digitalisation-and-sustainability-for-future-logistics\/marcel\/\u0022\u003EMarcel Huschebeck\u003C\/a\u003E, chief of logistics research at PTV Group in Karlsruhe, Germany, and his team found that using six different sized modular boxes would cover about 85% of cargo sizes. They made this finding during the first EU-funded research project on the physical internet, called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/314468\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EMODULUSHCA\u003C\/a\u003E, which ended in 2016. Using these boxes would result in cost savings since they improved the fill rate of the cases and the pallets for manufacturers by 15% and up to 50% for retailers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStandardised containers also make the packing process less time-consuming and digital visualisations can be used to help. \u2018The logistics operator has to play a bit of Tetris,\u2019 said Huschebeck. \u2018Once you have modular sizes it becomes much easier.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERetailers\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe physical internet is likely to benefit some types of companies more than others. In the MODULUSHCA project, which focused on packaged consumer products such as items found in grocery stores, Huschebeck and his colleagues found that large retailers would benefit most from the network since they often combine different types of goods when sending them to outlets. Producers, however, would have to get on board by changing their boxes to standard sizes to facilitate the process .\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Huschebeck, this could complicate how costs are distributed. The physical internet is likely to have start-up and fixed costs which participating companies will have to cover. Although there will be savings along the whole supply chain, it might be hard to share the benefits equally among all parties involved. Game theory, which involves mathematically modelling the interactions of competitors in social situations, could help provide a solution. \u2018There has been some research in this field,\u2019 said Huschebeck. \u2018However, in the end it\u0027s a collaborative activity and also a collaborative earning situation which is new for a lot of business operators.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHuschebeck and his team looked at how competing companies could work together and coordinate the transport of goods as part of a project called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/723265\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003ECLUSTERS 2.0\u003C\/a\u003E. They focused on logistics hubs such as ports, airports and freight villages, where different companies of the logistics industry are located in close proximity but don\u2019t interact. The idea was to see whether they could better cooperate using a communal system such as the one that currently exists in ports, where different stakeholders exchange information about incoming ships and types of cargo for example.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the outcomes of the project was a slot-booking web app that can be used by different cargo transport companies to help optimise freight delivery. It was trialled at Brussels airport in Belgium, where the availability of ground handlers that sort different types of freight can be checked and time slots can be booked. Using the app helped reduce waiting time, which in turn resulted in cost savings for companies, while it also helped ground handlers with air freight cargo scheduling and personnel planning.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018In the end it\u0026#039;s a collaborative activity and also a collaborative earning situation which is new for a lot of business operators.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003E Marcel Huschebeck, PTV Group, Germany\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECustomers\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe physical internet is likely to have benefits for customers too. A company\u2019s goods are currently sent to a primary distribution centre from where they are shipped to outlets. But with the physical internet, the storage of goods would be decentralised, which should allow shipments to be delivered faster. \u2018You can possibly get much closer to on-demand (deliveries),\u2019 said Huschebeck.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Zavitsas thinks there could be cost savings for consumers too as a result of a more efficient service. And greener credentials are likely to appeal to many EU consumers, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/environment\/eussd\/smgp\/facts_and_figures_en.htm\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Ewho consider the environmental impact of products to be the third most important factor when deciding to make a purchase\u003C\/a\u003E. There are a lot of emissions benefits from driving much more efficient transport operations that use multiple modes, such as road and rail, he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe next challenge will be to see how the physical internet could be implemented globally. So far, Dr Zavitsas and his colleagues have been focused on specific transport corridors and hubs in Europe. But as part of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.planetproject.eu\/\u0022\u003EPLANET project\u003C\/a\u003E, which started in the middle of last year, they will now look at how to create a much larger-scale network, that would allow freight to be transported efficiently between Europe and China, for example.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey would like to incorporate the Silk Road, a network of land routes that connect China to the Middle East and Europe, into the physical internet and are investigating what information would be required to do so efficiently. Different modes of transport will have to be integrated as well, from planes to rail to inland waterways. \u2018The level of operation and planning that is required is quite overwhelming sometimes,\u2019 said Dr Zavitsas. \u2018But I think this level of complexity is needed to eventually drive better solutions.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the EU. 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