The Physical Internet

My point of view: The Physical Internet (PI) could yield the greatest sustainability benefits in the global supply chain.

The supply chain as we know it is greatly underutilized. It is economically, environmentally and socially unsustainable. Trucks operate nearly half full and travel empty 25% of the time. The PI combines demand sharing, advanced intelligence, optimization capabilities and shared physical resources to flow goods from source to consumption in the most sustainable way.

Academic studies in this field have shown tremendous opportunities, particularly regarding freight transportation:

• Vehicle highway miles and energy consumption reduced 50%

• Freight costs reduced from 20% - 60%

• 99% on time delivery

Actual freight tonnage is projected to increase 50% by 2050. If we do nothing, the result is more highways, congestion, and costs. PI is the smarter solution. The time to act on this is now.

What I do here: I’ve been engaged with the Georgia Tech Physical Internet Center to help develop the future freight system. This open, multi-modal, interconnected system is built with new operating rules (such as dynamic directional routing) and playing pieces (such as electric autonomous vehicles and re-usable containers).

This begins with a quick phone call, start the conversation.

My big hairy goal: Engage with multiple shippers to host a “living laboratory” that takes multi-shipper PI concepts, moves them into pilot projects and ultimately turns them into marketable services run by logistics providers.

This is certainly a big challenge but then again a huge need. Interested? Get in touch

Expanding Intermodal Rail

My point of view: Intermodal is an overlooked opportunity. Although often not preferred (because truck service is often considered better), by changing the business model and investing in selected technology, intermodal could overcome market skepticism and be a critical element in supply chain design.   Growth of 3 to 4 times current volume levels appears feasible, achieving  a 6% reduction in truck emissions. 

What I do in this space: Intermodal rail is fundamental to the future freight system as envisioned by The Physical Internet. Facilitating a team of PhD candidates, we are analyzing federal transportation data to identify opportunities for intermodal rail to play a key role in regional freight system.

This work will introduce intermodal as a candidate freight solution in shorter, less dense lanes.

The goal is to connect Class I and short line rail carriers, and logistics service providers, to convert truck traffic to intermodal in these lanes, currently ineligible for intermodal. PI directional routing and open hub networks allow for the freight consolidation, while the more nimble short line carriers can be used for the more complicated interchange operations.

Interested? Get in touch‍ ‍