Simply borrow the competitor’s ship | Iris Vis about research with Groningen Seaports and the Port of Rotterdam Authority

‘Suppose you want to ship a couple of containers with wine from a vineyard in Argentina to a supermarket in Groningen. Right now, this involves a lot of logistical arrangements, and long-term contracts with transporters are concluded in advance,’ says Vis, Professor of Industrial Engineering, specialising in port logistics and transport network design, at the University of Groningen. ‘With the new Physical Internet paradigm, that logistics process can become just as simple as sending an e-mail: as a sender you don’t worry about how the goods get there, as long as they get there. On time and reliable.’

More flexibility across transport networks

To make this happen, more flexibility across transport networks is needed. ‘Distribution chains now have their own storage spaces, their own means of transport and their own contracts with transporters. Whereas things would be much more sustainable and efficient if, for instance, they were to share these means of transport, drivers or storage spaces,’ says Iris Vis. So that competitors can borrow each other’s warehouses. Or use each other’s ships or trucks. Vis: ‘In that set-up, transport decisions would also be taken from the perspective of individual parcels and not just by focusing on groups of containers. Using and exploiting each other’s materials can lead to more flexibility inside the network.’

Towards virtual ports in a Physical Internet