Physical internet manifesto 1.10.1 2011 04-05 english bm

2012-04-05, 1/72

Physical Internet Manifesto, version 1.10.1 Professor Benoit Montreuil, CIRRELT, Université Laval

Physical Internet Manifesto

Transforming the way physical objects are handled, moved, stored, realized, supplied and used,

aiming towards global logistics efficiency and sustainability

Professor Benoit Montreuil

Canada Research Chair in Enterprise Engineering CIRRELT Interuniversity Research Center

on Enterprise Networks, Logistics and Transportation Laval University, Québec, Canada

Version 1.10.1: 2012-04-05

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Acknowledgements The Physical Internet Manifesto has greatly benefited from

the contribution of esteemed colleagues America

CIRRELT Research Center:

• Teodor Crainic - UQAM

• Michel Gendreau - Université de Montréal

• Olivier Labarthe, Mustapha Lounès & Jacques Renaud - Université Laval

CICMHE, College-Industry Council for Material Handling Education:

• Russ Meller – University of Arkansas

• Kevin Gue & Jeff Smith – Auburn University

• Kimberley Ellis – Virginia Tech

• Leon McGinnis – Georgia Tech

• Mike Ogle – MHIA

Europe

• Éric Ballot, Frédéric Fontane – Mines ParisTech

• Rémy Glardon – EPFL

• Rene De Koster – Erasmus University

• Detlef Spee – Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistic

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Macroscopic Positioning

CLAIM The way physical objects are

moved, handled, stored, realized, supplied and used throughout the world

is neither efficient nor sustainable economically, environmentally and socially

GOAL Enabling the global efficiency and sustainability

of physical object movement, handling, storage, realization, supply & usage

VISION Evolving towards a worldwide Physical Internet

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Inspiration for the Physical Internet Vision

• A great front page one-liner

– Interesting yet mainstream supply chain articles

– Nothing like what I perceived a Physical Internet should be

• I rapidly got passionate about the question What should or could be a full blown Physical Internet?

– What would be its key features?

– What capabilities would it offer that are not achievable today?

• Another question surfaced rapidly: Why would we need a Physical Internet?

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Logistics inefficiency and unsustainability claim

The way physical objects are moved, handled, stored, realized, supplied and used throughout the world is inefficient and unsustainable

economically, environmentally and socially

Why Do we need a Physical Internet ?

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ECONOMIC Logistics: 10-20% burden on GDP of most countries

The worldwide logistics cost grows faster than world trade

ENVIRONMENT One of the heaviest polluters, energy consumer and greenhouse gas generators

Growing negative contribution while nations’ goals aims for heavy reductions

SOCIAL Lack of fast, reliable and affordable accessibility and mobility

of physical objects for the vast majority of the world’s population

Too often precarious logistic work conditions

Logistics inefficiency and unsustainability

Why do we need to change ?

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Inefficiency and unsustainability symptoms Leading Us Toward Hitting the Wall Real Hard

1. We are shipping air and packaging 2. Empty travel is the norm rather than the exception 3. Truckers have become the modern cowboys 4. Products mostly sit idle, stored where unneeded,

yet so often unavailable fast where needed 5. Production and storage facilities are poorly used 6. So many products are never sold, never used 7. Products do not reach those who need them the most 8. Products unnecessarily move, crisscrossing the world 9. Fast & reliable multimodal transport is a dream or a joke 10. Getting products in and out of cities is a nightmare 11. Networks are neither secure nor robust 12. Smart automation & technology are hard to justify 13. Innovation is strangled

Montreuil B. (2011) Towards a Physical Internet: Meeting the Global Logistics Sustainability Grand Challenge, Logistics Research,

currently available as online publication, 2011-02-12, http://www.springerlink.com/content/g362448hw8586774/fulltext.pdf

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Logistics inefficiency and unsustainability symptoms Leading Us Toward Hitting the Wall Real Hard

1. We are shipping air and packaging – Trucks and containers are often half empty at departure,

with a large chunk of the non-emptiness being filled by packaging

2. Empty travel is the norm rather than the exception – Vehicles and containers often return empty,

or travel extra routes to find return shipments

– Loaded vehicles get emptier and emptier as their route unfolds from delivery point to delivery point

3. Truckers have become the modern cowboys – So many are always on the road,

so often away from home for long durations

– Their family and social life is precarious, as well as their personal health

– In general, logistic operators and material handling personnel have similar precarious positions

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4. Products mostly sit idle, stored where unneeded, yet so often unavailable fast where needed – Manufacturers, distributors, retailers and users

are all storing products, often in vast quantities through their networks of warehouses and distribution centers, yet service levels and response times to local users are constraining and unreliable

5. Production and storage facilities are poorly or badly used – Most businesses invest in storage and/or production

facilities which are lowly used most of the times, or yet badly used, dealing with products which would better be dealt elsewhere, forcing a lot of unnecessary travel


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6. So many products are never sold, never used – A significant portion of consumer products that are

made never reach the right market on time, ending up unsold and unused while there would have been required elsewhere

7. Products do not reach those who need them the most – This is specially true in less developed countries and

disaster-crisis zones

Rusting new cars in disused airfield


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8. Products unnecessarily move, crisscrossing the world – Products commonly travel

thousands of miles-kilometers which could have been avoided by making or assembling it much nearer to point of use

9. Fast & reliable multimodal transport is a dream or a joke – Even though there are great examples, in

general synchronization is so poor, interfaces so badly designed, that multimodal routes are most often time and cost inefficient and risky


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10. Getting products in and out of cities is a nightmare – Most cities are not designed and equipped

for easing freight transportation, handling and storage, making the feeding of businesses and users in cities a nightmare

11. Networks are neither secure nor robust – There is extreme concentration of operations in a

limited number of centralized production and distribution facilities, with travel along a narrow set of high-traffic route

– This makes the logistic networks and supply chains of so many businesses, unsecure in face of robbery and terrorism acts, and not robust in face of natural disasters and demand crises


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12. Smart automation & technology are hard to justify – Vehicles, handling systems and operational facilities

have to deal with so many types of materials, shapes and unit loads, with each player independently and locally deciding on his piece of the pie

– Hard to justify smart connective (e.g. RFID) technologies, systemic handling and transport automation, as well as smart collaborative piloting software

13. Innovation is strangled – Innovation is bottlenecked by lack of generic standards

& protocols, transparency, modularity and systemic open infrastructure

– This makes breakthrough innovation so tough, justifying a focus on marginal epsilon innovation


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Mapping inefficiency & unsustainability symptoms to economical, environmental and societal facets

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Eliciting the Overall Goal Toward Global Logistics Efficiency and Sustainability

Societal goal Sustainably and significantly increase the quality of life of the logistics workers and the world’s population by improving the timely accessibility and mobility of physical objects

Environmental goal Sustainably reduce by an order of magnitude the logistics-induced global greenhouse gas emission, energy consumption and pollution

Economic goal Sustainably reduce by an order of magnitude the global economic burden of logistics while unlocking huge gains in business productivity

Note: Logistics is hereafter used in its broad sense notably including transportation, handling, storage,

supply, realization (production, assembly, finishing, personalizing, recycling) and usage

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The Digital Internet Exploiting the Information Highway Metaphor

When looking for a way to conceptualize how it should transform itself,

it relied on a physical transport and logistics metaphor: Building the information highway

Decades ago the information & communications technology community was stuck in a huge inefficient and unsustainable tangle

due to millions of unconnected computers

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They have achieved their goal and went farther, reshaping completely the way

digital computing and communication are now performed

They have invented the Internet, leading the way to the World-Wide Web

They have enabled the building of an open distributed networked infrastructure

that is currently revolutionizing so many facets of our societal and economic reality

The Digital Internet Expanding Beyond the Information Highway Metaphor

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The Essence of the Digital Internet

The Digital Internet is about the interconnection between networks

in a way transparent for the user, so allowing the transmission of

formatted data packets in a standard way

permitting them to transit through heterogeneous equipment

respecting the TCP/IP protocol

References: Kurose J., Ross K. and Wesley A. “Computer Networking: A Top Down Approach Featuring the Internet”, 3rd edition., July 2004. Parziale L., Britt D.T., Davis C., Forrester J., Liu W., Matthews C. and Rosselot N. “TCP-IP Tutorial and Technical Overview”, 2006. http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/gg243376.pdf “Interconnection of access networks, MANs and WANs “, http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.exfo.com/

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The Physical Internet Initiative Using the Digital Internet as a Metaphor for the Physical World

Even though there are fundamental differences between the physical world and the information world,

the Physical Internet initiative aims to exploit the Internet metaphor

so as to propose a vision for a sustainable and progressively deployable

breakthrough solution to global problems associated with the way

we move, handle, store, realize, supply and use physical objects all around the world



How do we propose to meet

the Logistics Grand Challenge?

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Exposing Key Features of the Physical Internet Vision

Evolving towards a worldwide Physical Internet

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What is the Physical Internet?

An open global logistics system based on the physical, digital and operational

interconnectivity enabled by

the encapsulation, protocols and interfaces

Current version of a working definition for the Physical Internet, jointly developed by Benoit Montreuil, Eric Ballot and Russ Meller

Physical Internet: PI, π

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Positioning the Physical Internet

World Wide Web (WWW)

Digital Internet Digital information Packets

Open Supply Web

Physical Internet Smart Physical Packets

Connecting Physical objects through WWW

Internet of Things Smart Networked Objects

Smart Grid

Energy Internet

Energy Packets

Original schematics from Benoit Montreuil, 2010, Physical Internet Manifesto, www.physicalinternetinitiative.org

http://www.physicalinternetinitiative.org/

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Key Features of the Physical Internet Vision

1. Aim toward universal interconnectivity 2. Aim for a unified multi-scale conceptual framework 3. Aim for webbed reliability and resilience of networks

4. Encapsulate merchandises in world-standard green modular containers 5. Evolve from material to container handling & storage systems 6. Exploit smart networked containers embedding smart objects

7. Activate and exploit an open global mobility web 8. Activate and exploit an open global supply web 9. Deploy capability certifications and open performance monitoring

10. Design products fitting containers with minimal space waste 11. Minimize physical moves and storages by digitally transmitting knowledge

and materializing products as locally as possible

12. Stimulate business model innovation 13. Enable open infrastructural innovation



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1. Aim toward universal interconnectivity

High-performance logistic centers, movers and systems, making it fast, cheap, easy and reliable

to interconnect physical objects through modes and routes,

with an overarching aim toward universal interconnectivity

What are the design aims of the Physical Internet?

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2. Aim for a unified multi-scale conceptual framework

Intra-Center Inter-Processor Network


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Intra-Facility Inter-Center Network



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Intra-Site Inter-Facility Network



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-transits & -hubs Intra-City Inter-Site Network

Toward -enabled

sustainable

city logistics



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Québec, Canada

North eastern states, U.S.A.

Intra-State Inter-City Network

-transits & -hubs



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3. Aim for webbed reliability and resilience

The overall Physical Internet network of networks should warrant its own reliability

and that of the physical objects flowing through it

Network webbing and the multiplication of nodes should allow the Physical Internet to insure its own robustness

and resilience to unforeseen events

For example, if a node or a part of a network fails, the traffic should be easily reroutable,

as automatically as possible

Reference: Peck H., “Supply chain vulnerability, risk and resilience”, Chap. 14 in Global Logistics New Directions in Supply Chain Management, 2007


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3. Aim for webbed reliability and resilience

The Physical Internet’s actors, movers, routes, nodes and flowing containers should interact in synergy to guarantee:

– The integrity of physical objects encapsulated in -containers

– The physical and informational integrity of -containers, -movers, -routes and -nodes

– The informational integrity of -actors (humans, software agents)

– The robustness of client-focused performance in delivering and storing -containers. Reference: Peck H., “Supply chain vulnerability, risk and resilience”, Chap. 14 in Global Logistics New Directions in Supply Chain Management, 2007


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4. Encapsulate merchandises in world-standard green modular containers

• Merchandise is unitized as content of a -container and is not dealt with explicitly by the Physical Internet

• Modular dimensions from cargo container sizes down to tiny sizes • Conceived to be easily flowed through various

transport, handling and storage modes and means • Easy to handle, store, transport, interlock, load, unload, construct and

dismantle, compose and decompose • Environment friendly materials with minimal off-service footprint • Smart tag enabled, with sensors if necessary, to allow their proper

identification, routing and maintaining • Various usage-adapted structural grades • Conditioning capabilities (e.g. temperature) as necessary • Sealable for security purposes

What are the enabling constituents of the Physical Internet?

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-Containers modularized and standardized worldwide in terms of dimensions, functions and fixtures

! "#$%&'&(&)&*+& ! "#$%&'&(&)&*++&

! "#$%&'&(&)&*, +&

X

Y

Z

Illustrative

modular

dimensions

0,12 m

0,24 m

0,36 m

0,48 m

0,6 m

1,2 m

2,4 m

3,6 m

4,8 m

6 m

12 m

B. Montreuil, B. Gilbert


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Decomposi

on

Composi

on

-Containers designed for the Physical Internet Easy to load, unload, handle, store, transport, seal, snap, interlock, construct,

dismantle, panel, compose and decompose

Reference: Montreuil, B., R.D. Meller, E. Ballot (2010) Towards a physical internet: the impact on logistics facilities and material handling systems design and innovation, in Progress in Material Handling Research, Edited by K. Gue et al., Material Handling Industry of America, 23 p., 2010.


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Key features of -containers

Snappable

Reusable Recyclable

Easy-to-dismantle

Traceable, Routable

Securable

Original drawing by Eric Ballot, Mines ParisTech,2011-06-27, adapted by Benoit Montreuil


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-container moving and storage means and systems, with innovative technologies and processes exploiting the characteristics of -containers to enable their fast, cheap, easy and reliable

input, storage, composing, decomposing, monitoring, protection and output

through smart, sustainable and seamless automation and human handling


5. Evolve from material to -container transport, handling & storage means and systems


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-container handling and storage systems: – Enable fast and reliable input and output performance – Have seamless interfacing with vehicles and systems

moving products in and out, as well as client software systems for tracking and interfacing with the containers

– Monitor and protect the integrity of -containers – Secure the containers to the desired level – Provide an open live documentation of their specified performance

and capabilities and of their demonstrated performance and capabilities, updated through ongoing operations

This applies in currently-labeled distribution centers, crossdocking centers, train stations, multimodal hubs, seaports, airports, and so on


5. Evolve from material to -container transport, handling & storage means and systems

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6. Exploit smart networked containers embedding smart objects

Exploiting as best as possible the capabilities of smart -containers

connected to the Digital Internet and the World Wide Web,

and of their embedded smart objects, for improving performance as perceived by the clients

and overall performance of the Physical Internet


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Physical Internet and the Internet of Things

Image: http://www.globetracker.biz/GlobeTracker/News.asp

The Internet of Things is about enabling ubiquitous connection with physical objects equipped with smart connective technology (RFID, GPS, Internet, etc.), making the objects ever smarter and enabling distributed self-control of objects through networks

The Physical Internet is to exploit as best as possible the Internet of Things to enable the ubiquitous connectivity of its -containers and -systems

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Multi-segment travel

from Quebec to Los Angeles

Québec

Montréal

Alexandria Bay, US border

Syracuse

Buffalo

Cleveland

Columbus

Indianapolis

St-Louis

Springfield

Tulsa

Oklahoma City

Amarillo

Albuquerque

Flagstaff

Needles

Barstow

Los Angeles

20

20-401

81

90

90

71

70

70

44

44

44

40

40

40

40

40

15-10

Distance travelled one-way: 5030 km 5030 km Drivers: 1 17 Trucks: 1 17 Trailer: 1 1 One-way driving time (h): 48 51+ Return driving time (h): 48+ 51+ Total time at transit points (h): 0 9 Total trailer trip time from Quebec to LA (h): 120 60+ Total trailer trip time from LA to Quebec (h): 120+ 60+ Total trailer round trip time (h): 240+ 120+ Average driving time per driver (h): 96+ 6 Average trip time per driver (h): 240+ 6,5

Current P2P

Proposed Distributed

7. Activate and exploit an open global mobility web From point-to-point hub-and-spoke transport to distributed multimodal transport

What are the targets of the Physical Internet?

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Transportation between nodes + Handling within nodes : About Moving Objects

An interconnected set of open unimodal & multimodal hubs, transits & ports

7. Activate and exploit an open global mobility web

Maritime route Highway

Road

Railroad

Open multimodal π-hub & π-transit zone

Open unimodal π-hub & π-transit zone

Open π-Port Air route


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-transit sites allowing distributed

multi-segment transport through the Physical

Internet

:π-containers

:π-carrier

:π-vehicle

:π-bay

B1

B2

B3

B4

B5

B6

B7

B8

B9

B10

C1

C2

C3

C4

C5

C6

C7

C8

C9

V12

V8

V13

V6

Status of ! -carr iers currently in ! -transit"

! -carr ier ! -bay I ncoming deposit Outgoing pickup estimation

! -vehicle T ime ! -vehicle T ime (min, mode, max)

C1 B2 V1 04:35 V14 (06:04, 06:05, 06:15)

C2 B10 V3 05:15 V15 (06:05, 06:09, 06:12)

C3 B7 V4 05:20 V13 (06:04, 06:07, 06:10)

C4 B9 V6 05:35 V11 (06:02, 06:02, 06:02)

C5 B3 V8 05:45 V12 (06:01, 06:01, 06:01)

C6 B4 V9 05:48 V16 (06:10, 06:12, 06:18)

C7 B6 V11 05:55 V19 (06:15, 06:20, 06:30)

C8 B1 V12 05:58 V18 (06:10, 06:15, 06:20)

C9 B10 V13 06:00 V25 (06:20, 06:30, 06:45)



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Water

Road

Road-Water -hub designed for enabling

distributed multi-segment intermodal transport

of -containers through the Physical Internet



Ocean, Sea or River

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8. Activate and exploit an Open Global Supply Web

An open supply web composed of an open distribution web coupled to an open realization web

enabling producers, distributors and retailers to dynamically deploy their -container-embedded products

in multiple geographically dispersed centers, realizing and deploying them

for fast, efficient and reliable response delivery to distributed stochastic demand

for their products, services and/or solutions

References: Montreuil B., Labarthe, O., Hakimi, D., Larcher, A., & Audet, M. Supply Web Mapper. Proceedings of Industrial Engineering and Systems Management, Conference, IESM, , Conference Montréal, Canada, May 13-15, 2009 Hakimi D., B. Montreuil, O. Labarthe, “Supply Web: Concept and Technology”, 7th Annual International Symposium on Supply Chain Management, Conference Toronto, Canada, October 28-30, 2009Montreuil, B.,

Hakimi, D. , B. Montreuil, O. Labarthe, ”Supply Web Agent-Based Simulation Platform” Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Information Systems, Logistics and Supply Chain Creating value through green supply chains, ILS 2010 – Casablanca (Morocco), April 14-16<.

Enabling Physical Equivalents of

Intranets, Virtual Private Networks,

Cloud Computing and Cloud Storage


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Port

Maritime route

Highway

Road

Railroad

Open π-Port

Open π-store & π-distributor zone

Air route


Open Distribution Web About Deploying Objects

An interconnected set of open warehouses and distribution centers

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Reference: Montreuil and Sohrabi, From Private Supply Networks to Open Supply Webs, IERC 2010

Most companies design, run and optimize

independently

their private distribution networks,

investing in DCs

or engaging in long-term leases or contracts

There are 535 000

distribution centers

in the U.S.A. only

Most of them are used by a single company

Most companies use less than 20 DCs

Imagine the potential

if each company could deploy

its products through a open web

including 535 000 open DCs in the USA

Activate and exploit

an Open Global

Distribution Web


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Open supply web with a high density of open DCs

available to many other clients

Firm dedicated factories: 4

Firm dedicated DCs: 0

Group shared DCs: 0

Open DCs used: 60+

D2C max: 0 mean: 0,00

F2D max: 12 mean: 4,75



Group shared DCs: 3





Group shared DCs: 16



Factories: 4

Firm dedicated DCs:16



Factory: 1




Factory: 1




Factory: 1




Factory: 1




Shared supply web with independently

implemented DCs

Shared supply web with jointly

implemented DCs

Independent private

supply networks

Inter-region transport induced lead timesF2D: Factory to DC lead time

D2C: DC to client region lead time

1

2

3

4

3

2

4

1

1

2

3

4

3

2

4

1

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Port

Maritime route

Highway

Road

Railroad

Open π-factory zone

Air route


Open Realization Web About making, assembling, personalizing & retrofitting objects

An interconnected set of open production, personalization & retrofit centers, indeed of open factories of any type

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Open Supply Web The union of open distribution web & open realization web

Port

Maritime route

Highway

Road

Railroad

Open π-Port

Open π-store & π-distributor zone

Open π-factory zone Air route


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+

vs

=

Supplynetwork2

Supplynetwork1

SupplyWeb1U2

Opensupplywebexploitedby1and2

+

=

≠

Source: Ballot E., O. Guodet & B. Montreuil (2011), Physical Internet enabled open hub network design for distributed networked operations, Proc. of SOHOMA 2011


Open Supply Web

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Open supply web with a high density of open DCs available to many other clients and shared factories among the four firms

Firm dedicated factories: 0 Group shared factories: 4 Firm dedicated DCs: 0 Group shared DCs: 0 Open DCs used: 60+ Mean DC-to-region lead time: 0 Max DC-to-region lead time: 0 Mean factory-to-DC lead time: 2 Max factory-to-DC lead time: 4

Open supply web with a high density of open distribution and production centers available to many other clients

Firm dedicated factories: 0 Group shared factories: 0 Open factories used: 64+ Firm dedicated DCs: 0 Group dedicated DCs: 0 Open DCs used: 64+ Mean DC-to-region lead time: 0 Max DC-to-region lead time: 0 Mean factory-to-DC lead time: 0 Max factory-to-DC lead time: 0

* Inter-region transport induced lead times

Firm dedicated factories: 0 Group shared factories: 4 Firm dedicated DCs: 0 Group shared DCs: 16 Mean DC-to-region lead time: 1,08 Max DC-to-region lead time: 3 Mean factory-to-DC lead time: 1,11 Max factory-to-DC lead time: 3

Shared supply web with shared factories

and independently implemented shared DCs

Firm dedicated factories: 0 Group shared factories: 4 Firm dedicated DCs: 0 Group shared DCs: 3 Mean DC-to-region lead time: 1,48 Max DC-to-region lead time: 3 Mean factory-to-DC lead time: 0,83 Max factory-to-DC lead time: 3

Shared supply web with shared factories

and jointly implemented shared DCs

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Open Logistics Web The union of Open Mobility Web and Open Supply Web

Port

Maritime route

Highway

Road

Railroad

Open π-Port

Open π-store & π-distributor zone Open π-factory zone

Open multimodal π-hub & π-transit zone


Air route


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Open Realization web

Open Distribution web

Open Mobility Web

Open Supply Web

About making, assembling, personalizing & retrofitting objects

An interconnected set of open warehouses and distribution

centers

An interconnected set of Open Unimodal & Multimodal Hubs, Transits & Ports

Open Logistics

Web

An interconnected set of open production, personalization &

retrofit centers, indeed of open factories of any type

About Deploying Objects

Port

Maritime route

Highway

Road

Railroad

Open π-Port

Open π-store & π-distributor zone Air route

Open π-factory zone Open multimodal π-hub & π-transit zone


Transportation between nodes + Handling within nodes : About Moving Objects

The union of open distribution

web & open realization web

The union of Open Mobility Web and Open

Supply Web

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Live open monitoring of really achieved performance of all PI certified actors and entities,

on key performance indices on critical facets such as speed, service level, reliability, safety and security

Such live performance tracking is openly available worldwide

to enable fact-based decision making and stimulate continuous improvement

Open information is to be provided in respect

of confidentiality of specific transactions

9. Deploy capability certifications and open performance monitoring

How can stakeholders help the Physical Internet thrive?

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Multi-level Physical Internet capability certification of containers, handling systems, vehicles,

information systems ports, distribution centers, roads, cities and regions, protocols and processes,

and so on


9. Deploy capability certifications and open performance monitoring

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Products designed and engineered to minimize the load and burden

they generate on the Physical Internet, with their dimensions adapted

to standard container dimensions, with maximal volumetric and functional density

while containerized

Reference: Seliger G., “Sustainability in Manufacturing - Recovery of Resources in Product and Material Cycles” (Ed. by Günther Seliger, Sringer Verlag, 2007

10. Design products fitting containers with minimal space waste


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Product dimensions adapted to the standard container dimensions – So that the packaged product fits in a small footprint container

In order to avoid moving and storing air, products should be designed and engineered so as to have maximal volumetric density while being in Physical Internet containers, extendable to their usage dimensions when necessary

Products should be designed so that only key components and modules have to travel extensively through the Physical Internet: – Easy to be completed near point of use using locally available objects

Products having to move through the Physical Internet should be as functionally dense as possible when in the containers – Functional density of an object can be expressed as the ratio of its useful

functionality over the product of its weight and volume

10. Design products fitting containers with minimal space waste


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11. Minimize physical moves and storages by digitally transmitting knowledge

and materializing products as locally as possible through the open realization web

Exploiting extensively the knowledge-based dematerialization of products

and their materialization in physical objects at point of use

As it will gain maturity, the Physical Internet is expected to be connected to

ever more open distributed flexible production centers capable of locally realizing (make, assemble, finish) for clients

a wide variety of products from digitally transmitted specifications,

local physical objects and, if needed, critical physical objects brought in from faraway sources


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12. Stimulate business model innovation

Innovative business models for commercializing

Physical Internet enabled offers by various parties, including revenue models for the various actors

What are to be the -enabled equivalents of

Amazon, eBay and Google?

How are the manufacturers, distributers, retailers,

transporters, logistics providers and solutions providers

going to evolve so as to best exploit the Physical Internet?

How are business and the Physical Internet synergizing each other?

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Remunerating the Players

In the Digital Internet, the transmission of information is remunerated mostly through bundled flat fees due to the quasi nil marginal costs

In the Physical Internet, the transmission of a container generates non negligible costs for each of the operators having taken charge of some part of the transmission

It is thus necessary to define business models for commercializing offers as well as operator revenue models

– There currently exist examples paving the way to realize this, notably in the airline industry

12. Stimulate business model innovation

How are business and the Physical Internet synergizing each other?

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Systemic coherence and means interoperability must enable the transparent usage of

heavy handling, storage and transport means currently existing or to come in the future,

that are currently so hard to use, reducing their potential positive environmental impact

The Physical Internet homogeneity in terms of

container modules encapsulating objects should allow a much better utilization of means,

thus increasing the capacity of infrastructures by the exploitation of

standardizations, rationalizations and automations through currently unreachable innovations

13. Enable Open Infrastructural Innovation

How are infrastructures and the Physical Internet

synergizing each other?

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FoodTubes and CargoCap: Examples of currently contemplated infrastructural initiatives in line with the Physical Internet

http://www.ilookforwardto.com/2010/12/foodtubes-really-fast-food-delivered-in-a-physical-Internet-of-underground-pipes.html http://www.cargocap.com/content/what-is-cargocap

http://www.ilookforwardto.com/2010/12/foodtubes-really-fast-food-delivered-in-a-physical-internet-of-underground-pipes.html























http://www.cargocap.com/content/what-is-cargocap





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Key Features of the Physical Internet Vision

1. Aim toward universal interconnectivity 2. Aim for a unified multi-scale conceptual framework 3. Aim for webbed reliability and resilience of networks

4. Encapsulate merchandises in world-standard green modular containers 5. Evolve from material to container handling & storage systems 6. Exploit smart networked containers embedding smart objects

7. Activate and exploit an open global mobility web 8. Activate and exploit an open global supply web 9. Deploy capability certifications and open performance monitoring

10. Design products fitting containers with minimal space waste 11. Minimize physical moves and storages by digitally transmitting knowledge

and materializing products as locally as possible

12. Stimulate business model innovation 13. Enable open infrastructural innovation



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Physical Internet addressing logistics inefficiency and unsustainability symptoms

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

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1 We are shipping air and packaging

2 Empty travel is the norm rather than the exception

3 Truckers have become the modern cowboys

4Products mostly sit idle, stored where unneeded, yet

so often unavailable fast where needed

5 Production and storage facilities are poorly used

6 So many products are never sold, never used

7 Products do not reach those who need them the most

8Products unnecessarily move, crisscrossing the

world

9Fast and reliable intermodal transport is still a dream

or a joke

10Getting products in, through and out of cities is a

nightmare

11 Networks are neither secure nor robust

12 Smart automation and technology are hard to justify

13 Innovation is strangled

Inefficiency and unsustainability

symptoms

Key Features of the Physical Internet

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Realizing the Vision

Evolving towards a worldwide Physical Internet

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The Physical Internet Global systemic sustainable vision

stimulating and aligning action around the world

Individual initiatives by businesses, industries and governments are necessary but are not sufficient

There is a need for a macroscopic, holistic, systemic vision offering

a unifying, challenging and stimulating framework

There is a need for an interlaced set of global and local initiatives

towards this vision, building on the shoulders of current assets and projects,

to help evolve from the current globally inefficient and unsustainable state

to a desired globally efficient and sustainable state

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Physical Internet Implementation Progressive Deployment, Cohabitation and Certification

The widespread development and deployment

of the Physical Internet

will not be achieved overnight in a Big-Bang logic

but rather in an ongoing logic

of cohabitation and of progressive deployment,

propelled by the actors

integrating gradually the Physical Internet ways

and finding ever more value in its usage and exploitation

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A smooth transition starting with rethinking and retrofitting phases, then moving toward more transformative phases

The Physical Internet can constitute itself progressively through the multi-level certification of: – Protocols

– Containers

– Handling and storage technologies, distribution centers, production centers, train stations, ports, multimodal hubs

– Information systems (e.g. reservation, smart labels, portals)

– Urban zones and regions, inter-country borders

Physical Internet Implementation Progressive Deployment, Cohabitation and Certification

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Conclusion (1/2)

This manifesto has outlined a bold paradigm breaking vision for the future of

how we handle, store, transport, realize, supply and use physical objects across the world

It proposes to exploit the Internet, which has revolutionized the digital world,

as an underlying metaphor for steering innovation in the physical sphere

The outlined Physical Internet does not aim to copy the Digital Internet,

but to inspire the creation of a bold systemic wide encompassing vision

capable of providing real efficient and sustainable solutions to the problems created by our past and current ways

and by our vision toward which we should aim

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With this manifesto and its underlying research, a small step has been made

A lot more are needed to really shape this vision and, much more important,

to give it flesh through real initiatives and projects so as to really influence in a positive way

our collective future

This requires a lot of collaboration between academia, industry and governments

across localities, countries and continents

Your help is welcome

Conclusion (2/2)

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Questions and comments are welcome

Questions et commentaires sont les bienvenus

Fragen und Kommentare sind willkommen

Las preguntas y los comentarios son bienvenidos

[email protected]

www.physicalinternetinitiative.org

mailto:[email protected]

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Physical internet manifesto 1.10.1 2011 04-05 english bm