1 Introduction
In 2011, the European Commission published a white paper in which it formulated
the long-term ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport by at least
60% by 2050 compared to 1990. The emissions increased by 26% compared with
1990 levels. This increase comes despite past improvements in the efficiency of
transport and is broadly in line with increases in the level of economic activity as
measured by gross domestic product (GDP) as well as increases in demand for
transport. Road transport accounts for 72% of total greenhouse gas emissions of the
sector. Further increasing the efficiency of the logistic system in road transport will
play a key role in limiting the increase of road transport emissions.
Nevertheless, total transport demand is predicted to continue growing during the
2020–2030 period in line with 2010–2020 patterns (1.5% for freight transport (tonne
km)) and at lower rates between 2030 and 2050 (0.8% for freight transport).
Integrated measures addressing both production and consumption would therefore be needed in the long run in order to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from
transport by 60% by 2050 (European Environmental Agency 2018).
In order to make a better use out of logistics resources and to exploit synergies
between different distribution service providers, the concept of Physical Internet
(PI) and interconnected networks were introduced (Montreuil 2010). PI proposes to
use a new framework of interconnected logistics especially designed for resource
sharing, real-time identification, and routing through open facilities to use transport
infrastructure more efficiently and reduce environmental impact.
Within this framework, all products are encapsulated in smart, modularized,
ecofriendly and standard boxes loaded and then handled, stored, and transported
through shared facilities and across open networks.
There are two significant characteristics of the Physical Internet: encapsulation
and collaboration.
Encapsulation: The Physical Internet does not manipulate physical goods directly.
Instead, it manipulates exclusively containers that are explicitly designed for the
Physical Internet and that encapsulate physical goods within them (Montreuil
2011). These dedicated containers for the Physical Internet have modular dimensions and standardized interfaces for handling and communication.
Collaboration: The Physical Internet provides universal and standardized interfaces
and protocols to reduce the frictions in supply chain horizontal collaboration. For
any logistics services providers, as long as they accept the operational protocols
to handle, move, store, transport, and use the Physical Internet containers, they
become the members, beneficiaries, and collaborators in the Physical Internet
despite their potential competitive relationships in businesses.
The main contributions of our research are to address two major problems in
supply chain management under PI assumption when modularized boxes are used as
containers for different products: (1) last mile delivery integrated with bin packing
problem and (2) vehicle dispatching problem.
36
Sh. Sharif Azadeh et al.
In 2011, the European Commission published a white paper in which it formulated
the long-term ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport by at least
60% by 2050 compared to 1990. The emissions increased by 26% compared with
1990 levels. This increase comes despite past improvements in the efficiency of
transport and is broadly in line with increases in the level of economic activity as
measured by gross domestic product (GDP) as well as increases in demand for
transport. Road transport accounts for 72% of total greenhouse gas emissions of the
sector. Further increasing the efficiency of the logistic system in road transport will
play a key role in limiting the increase of road transport emissions.
Nevertheless, total transport demand is predicted to continue growing during the
2020–2030 period in line with 2010–2020 patterns (1.5% for freight transport (tonne
km)) and at lower rates between 2030 and 2050 (0.8% for freight transport).
Integrated measures addressing both production and consumption would therefore be needed in the long run in order to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from
transport by 60% by 2050 (European Environmental Agency 2018).
In order to make a better use out of logistics resources and to exploit synergies
between different distribution service providers, the concept of Physical Internet
(PI) and interconnected networks were introduced (Montreuil 2010). PI proposes to
use a new framework of interconnected logistics especially designed for resource
sharing, real-time identification, and routing through open facilities to use transport
infrastructure more efficiently and reduce environmental impact.
Within this framework, all products are encapsulated in smart, modularized,
ecofriendly and standard boxes loaded and then handled, stored, and transported
through shared facilities and across open networks.
There are two significant characteristics of the Physical Internet: encapsulation
and collaboration.
Encapsulation: The Physical Internet does not manipulate physical goods directly.
Instead, it manipulates exclusively containers that are explicitly designed for the
Physical Internet and that encapsulate physical goods within them (Montreuil
2011). These dedicated containers for the Physical Internet have modular dimensions and standardized interfaces for handling and communication.
Collaboration: The Physical Internet provides universal and standardized interfaces
and protocols to reduce the frictions in supply chain horizontal collaboration. For
any logistics services providers, as long as they accept the operational protocols
to handle, move, store, transport, and use the Physical Internet containers, they
become the members, beneficiaries, and collaborators in the Physical Internet
despite their potential competitive relationships in businesses.
The main contributions of our research are to address two major problems in
supply chain management under PI assumption when modularized boxes are used as
containers for different products: (1) last mile delivery integrated with bin packing
problem and (2) vehicle dispatching problem.
36
Sh. Sharif Azadeh et al.