Management of mobile resources in Physical Internet logistic models

TL;DR

This paper explores managing mobile resources in Physical Internet logistics, proposing solutions to optimize container handling and routing, addressing imbalances like starvation and overstocking in large-scale logistics networks.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to managing physical mobile resources within the Physical Internet framework, adapting Internet principles to real-world logistics challenges.

Findings

Identified key issues in mobile resource management

Proposed solutions to balance logistics network loads

Improved routing strategies for containers

Abstract

This paper deals with the concept of a 'Physical Internet', the idea of building large logistics systems like the very successful Digital Internet network. The idea is to handle mobile resources, such as containers, just like Internet data packets. Thus, it is possible to use the principles of encapsulation and routing to optimize the freight. The problem is that mobile resources, such as containers, are not quite similar to data packets, because they are real and not dematerialized. Thus the handling and the storing of mobile resources, such as containers, will create imbalances in the logistics network, leading to starvation or overstocking of logistic network nodes. We propose in this paper a study addressing this problem leading to some solutions.