Freight transformations: connections for change
As traffic clogs our cities and delivery inefficiencies grow, reimagining our transport and freight networks as a physical internet could be the key to revolutionising the industry.
In Australia and across the globe, cities are struggling under the weight of increased congestion. Driven in large part by the rise of ecommerce, the huge number of trucks and vans required to service the expectations and demands of consumers carries serious economic, environmental and social impacts.
The concept of the Physical Internet (PI) challenges the existing, inefficient ways we transport and deliver goods.
The PI concept was spawned a decade ago and is building momentum as a high-tech alternative to the existing calcified supply networks. It views the transportation of physical goods as analogous with the movement of information across the digital internet.
At its heart is the ideal of sustainable, efficient and robust supply chains, in which different forms of transport (such as trucks, vans, motorcycles or people) can be matched with the required movement of goods. This is facilitated via transfer points in the network, designed to improve efficiency and performance of freight systems.
As part of the University of Melbourne’s transport research program, the Physical Internet Lab promises to use this groundbreaking model to interrogate and streamline freight logistics.
It is the only such research lab in Australia, and it brings together a broad array of interdisciplinary fields including engineering, information technology, business and mathematics.
Our vision takes a holistic approach to freight systems. It is based on an open, connected, dynamic and integrated approach; information is shared and delivery networks and systems are coordinated.
The freight task is growing in line with the rise of e-commerce. Consumer expectations regarding delivery times and frequencies have concurrently escalated.
The cost of air
Studies show that in a highly dense urban context, vehicles used for freight mostly carry air. Empty return trips are the norm, and many goods sit idle in storage facilities that are located a long way from where those goods will be needed.
At the same time, the rising levels of urban congestion across Australian cities carry a high social cost.
From emissions to noise pollution, accidents and congestion that reduces the ease of moving through cities, it adds up to an unwieldy, unsustainable and unhealthy system.
Addressing one key factor will help to substantially reduce congestion and emissions.
We need to improve vehicle loading rates, which is calculated by the tonnes of goods moved per kilometre driven. And we can do this by eliminating return trips with empty vehicles.
These trips are currently accepted as a cost of doing business. However, they are a significant burden for the economy and for customers who inevitably bear the related costs as part of freight pricing.
One of the biggest challenges we face lies with the large number of delivery vans operated by small businesses, and in industries whose core business is not freight. These smaller and often disjointed players have no way of accessing the efficiencies of shared operations.
New options
An alternative system based on PI principles would allow small businesses to tap into larger networks.
Innovations in automated warehouses, parcel lockers and crowd shipping could help better integrate freight services within the ‘sharing economy’.
Crowd shipping allows people to carry light parcels on their commute and transfer them via parcel lockers. It offers rich potential for reducing emissions and congestion while also providing a potential income stream for individuals.
Technology is at the heart of PI’s rise as a feasible paradigm.
Advances such as sensor networks and the Internet of Things (IoT), communication systems such as dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) and 5G, and as well as vehicle operating and loading technologies all provide new opportunities.
For instance, something as simple as making traffic signals more sensitive to trucks could greatly improve the flow of traffic and freight through cities.
To that end, we are working with the Australian Integrated Multimodal EcoSystem (AIMES) – the University of Melbourne’s ‘living lab’, which has been set up on a square-kilometre grid in the streets of Carlton, providing a platform for our multidisciplinary research.
Initially, PI theory and practice was an outlier in the field of transport research. Now it is gaining momentum and catching the interest and imagination of research groups across the world.
Our PI Lab has links with other leaders in the field, including the Georgia Institute of Technology in the US. Locally, we have connected with government, including Freight Victoria, the Bureau of Transport Infrastructure and Regional Economics (BITRE) and the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions. Our industry partners include Australia Post, Coca-Cola Amatil and Toll Group.
The work of the PI Lab will help to transform the freight industry. Unlocking networks through the application of Physical Internet methodologies promises to be the key to unlocking our cities, for freight and for people.