TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

Creating the digital infrastructure
for freight transport and logistics operations

About Transport & Logistics (T&L)

Congestion, especially on the road, is one of the biggest transport challenge. It costs Europe about 1% of its GDP every year and is the cause of considerable carbon emissions. To reduce emissions, logistics actors are implementing environmentally concerned collaborative strategies addressing supply chain integration, multimodal transport, consolidation of deliveries and reverse logistics.

Another challenge for Transport & Logistics is the digitalisation process of transport networks and infrastructure. If fully implemented, this process could better integrate road, rail, air and waterborne travel into a seamless logistics supply chain across Europe. Many solutions for logistics were developed by individual companies based on their Legacy Information Systems. The many different digital platforms, applications and products, that currently exist, cause a high degree of fragmentation. This is due to differences in user requirements, data models, standards, system specification and business models. To overcome this fragmentation and lack of connectivity of systems for logistics decision making, ERTICO is developing solutions for connecting logistics information systems that bear different characteristics, are intra- and cross company, and are based on real-time exchange of information.

Freight and Logistics benefits from an interconnected world and can draw from innovations from other transport areas. ERTICO is creating synergies between technological trends (i.e. Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Internet of Things, Automation) and smart solutions for Transport & Logistics. Given our expertise, we are providing input to the European Technology Platform ALICE, more specifically in the working group on Information Systems in Logistics.

CMR is the most common paper document in freight transport. Adopting eCMR, the electronic version of consignment notes, is now a reality and a huge step towards digitalising European supply chains. We will continue to see the integration of ports and cities, focusing on the management of goods and data exchange. 5G/6G enablers and automation deployment will play an important role in modernising freight and logistics. Implementation of smart logistics services will be supported by a trusted and interoperable EU-wide data platform while secure and seamless shared multimodal solutions will become available. Delivery as a Service (DaaS) for last-mile operations and Logistics as a Service (LaaS) is becoming a reality. Developing clean electromobility will be the primary building block for urban logistics. Cooperation between the European Ministries of Transport, the European Commission’s Digital Transport and Logistics Forum (DTLF), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the International Road Transport Union (IRU) will be vital.

 

Our Transport & Logistics Roadmap for 2035

ERTICO’s aim in Transport & Logistics is to increase interoperability, connectivity in the optimisation of cargo flows, and to facilitate supply chain management, whilst making better use of existing resources. By 2035, ERTICO’s goal is to achieve seamless logistics and freight transport and nearer to 2025, achieve full digitalisation and automation of freight and logistics operations.

Current objectives in the area of Transport & Logistics

Research and deploy smart solutions for freight and logistics
The sustainability of urban logistics is an important issue for rapidly growing cities. Many cities have developed strategies to move people more efficiently and safely, but much less attention has been paid to goods transport. The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), 5G, Internet of Things technology, blockchain and many more, promises to create a high-volume and high-velocity data environment. This is expected to create opportunities making supply chains more autonomous, secure and synchro modal. ERTICO is working on integrating these aspects in its research and deployment projects. ERTICO recognises the role C-ITS (cooperative ITS solutions) can play to improve logistics operations by generating real-time traffic information, allowing better tracking and tracing of goods across transport networks. The work done in ERTICO’s TM 2.0 Innovation Platform can enhance logistical efficiencies by providing a better insight into highly congested hub areas (Ports, Airports and Railways). ERTICO is a great proponent of collaboration and international cooperation so we are gathering ports and industry around the world to discuss innovative trends in Transport & Logistics.

Develop necessary interfaces for an integrated freight transport system
ERTICO is developing the European Digital Innovation Hub for supply chain and logistics. The Hub is overcoming fragmentation of data exchange in the supply chain and is ensuring scalability, interoperability and visibility across the supply chain. The biggest benefits of the Hub is the support to the workflow across companies/authorities; automation of data flow and flexible relationship management of logistics actors.

Develop harmonised methodologies for carbon footprint calculation of the transport supply chain
By 2030 logistics stakeholders will need to track, document and disclose their CO2 emissions as customers are increasingly taking an interest in the supply chain of the products they buy, requiring companies to disclose information on the ethical provenance of goods and on the amount of CO2 emitted in production and distribution. ERTICO is supporting the work of the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) to define a common measurement for carbon footprint along the transport supply chain.

Combining innovation and smarter technical solutions to make Transport and Logistic cleaner and more efficient
ERTICO plays a central role in coordinating and leading improvement efforts, from identifying gaps in standards and aligning standards to support interoperability to supporting practical change in critical areas such as congestion and improving end-to-end supply chain visibility. Key themes include improving the efficiency and economics of freight and transport while reducing environmental impacts. Our work is accelerating to digitalise the supply chain, including 5G/6G applications, automation and other digital enablers essential to modernise logistics, supporting multimodality, intermodality and synchromodality while exploiting the opportunities presented by data and data sharing. Indeed, smart logistics services will require a secure and trusted EU-wide data platform founded on interoperability. Delivery as a Service (Daas) for last-mile operations and Logistics as a Service (LaaS) is becoming a reality, with cleaner electro mobility driving future urban logistics. One significant recent development involves e-CMR (electronic consignment notes). CMR control how goods are transported internationally and is the most common document in freight transport, generating hundreds of millions of paper documents each year for cross-border movements

ERTICO contributes to the development of the Mobility Data Space, part of the European Data Strategy.
Our members and partners are keen to implement trusted, safe and secure solutions via multiple platform services providers and including peer-to-peer solutions. While such innovation is required to modernise freight transport, serious challenges remain. These include addressing interoperability and governance issues, engaging with stakeholders, better supporting collaboration, and promoting the benefits of interoperability, while always recognising the needs and priorities of end-users. Using 5G, 6G, and other digital enablers is fundamental to moving forward successfully, alongside strong cooperation between ERTICO and ITS stakeholders, for example, the European Ministries of Transport, the European Commission (DG MOVE) and Digital Transport and Logistics Forum (DTLF) community, groups such as the Association of Logistics and Sustainable Intermodality (ALIS), the UN Economic Commission for Europe, and World Road Transport Organisation (IRU). ERTICO will continue to help connect the dots: combining innovation and smarter technical solutions with the right policies and operational activities for every stage of the movement of goods, creating an industry that is both cleaner and more efficient.

 

Platforms and Mobility Spaces in Transport & Logistics:

Partnership Projects in Transport & Logistics:

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