IPIC 2023 Topics

The Physical Internet

The Physical Internet concept aims to get freight flows and logistics services as accessible and connected as information and services are over internet in both global and last mile. Physical Internet aims at asset sharing and flow consolidation on a massive scale supporting the brutal challenge of freight transport and logistics decarbonization. The Physical Internet (PI, π) has opened a paradigm-breaking field encompassing the interconnectivity and interoperability of smart logistics networks, transportation systems, manufacturing systems and supply chains, enabling seamless open asset sharing and flow consolidation on a massive scale. It aims to transform the way physical objects are moved, deployed, realized, supplied, designed and used all around the world to improve by an order-of magnitude the overall performance in terms of economic, environmental and societal efficiency and sustainability.

This year’s conference will be open to all physical internet topics and focusing on Physical Internet as a suitable approach to overcome the latest global breakthroughs. Physical Internet principles and developments that:

• Support freight transport and logistics decarbonization in an affordable way by bringing further efficiency to logistics and enabling collaboration and sharing of assets at marginal set up costs.

• Provide further resilience to global and regional supply chains through the implementation of synchromodal strategies and interconnected logistics multimodal networks.

• Support the development of the circular economy by better addressing reverse logistics and close loop circular networks.

• Address urban logistics challenges, e-commerce and retail distribution in cities thanks to open an interconnected logistics and distribution networks

Conference Topics

1. ALICE Physical Internet Roadmap Implementation and Generations 

This conference builds on previous efforts of the Physical Internet Community and ALICE welcomes contributions regarding the 'Roadmap Towards the Physical Internet', addressing its different generations,  its implementations as well as applications or technologies supporting its implementations.

• From Logistics Nodes to PI Nodes 
• From Logistics Networks to Physical Internet Network 
• Developing the System of Logistics Networks towards the Physical Internet 
• Access and Adoption 
• Governance 

2. The topics you find in every IPIC are listed below. Some new too! 

• Interconnected freight transport, logistics and supply networks
• Modularization
• Material handling
• Vehicles and transshipment technologies 
• Last mile & City Logistics 
• Omnichannel & E-commerce logistics 
• Systems and technologies for interconnected Logistics (3D printing, IoT, machine learning, augmented reality, blockchain, cloud computing, digital twins, collaborative decision making) 
• New communication Networks enabling interconnected logistics 
• Business models for open & interconnected logistics 
• Manufacturing networks and the PI
• Ports and hubs in the PI 
• PI impacts
• PI Fundamentals and Constituents 
• PI Implementation and Governance 
• PI Modelling and Simulation 
• Autonomous logistics operations and systems (autonomous transport/drones/mobile logistics/robotics)
• Distributed Intelligence in Physical Internet