Physical Internet

Physical Internet is a concept for an optimized, standardized global goods transport system based on the idea of the digital Internet. In contrast to today’s approach, in which a single transport service provider transports goods over long distances, the idea of the Physical Internet is based on fragmented, provider-independent transportation.

With the help of standardized transport containers, the aim is to achieve maximum utilization of transport journeys, which can then be taken over as such by any carrier with free capacity, even partially. Each transport container is to be provided with a globally unique identifier in the form of a SmartTag, similar to the MAC address in the digital equivalent, and can therefore be localized and identified at any time. Shared storage facilities, hubs, transfer points and standardized interfaces serve to simplify the consolidation and transfer of goods.

The aim of Physical Internet

The aim is to achieve significantly more efficient utilization of transport routes, which should bring tangible benefits from both an economic (shorter transport times, lower personnel costs) and ecological (less traffic, lower CO2 emissions) perspective. The concept also promises various social benefits. For example, truck drivers would only be on the road for short distances, after which the goods would be handed over to the next carrier. Delays due to rest periods would be eliminated and drivers could sleep in their own beds. Cabs or private cars could also be integrated into the transport chain.

From an intralogistics perspective, this could result in a more balanced utilization of storage facilities and distribution centers, as these would also be used as part of the concept in the sense of a sharing economy; in other words, instead of one provider exclusively using its own distribution center, everyone would have access to all free warehouse resources worldwide.

The development

The idea was conceived by Benoit Montreuil, professor in the “Material Handling and Distribution” department at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The term “Physical Internet” was first mentioned on the cover of the British magazine “The Economist” in 2006. Since then, international research projects have developed that are researching and developing various sub-areas. One example is the MODULUSHCA project, which focuses on the development of standardized transport boxes.

As with various Industry 4.0 developments, the biggest challenge for the Physical Internet is standardization across providers, industries and borders.

Another interesting approach to optimizing transport routes can be found under Trucks on rails – ELANS, the AutoBahn of the future?

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