Toward a Physical Internet: meeting the global logistics sustainability grand challenge

Physical Internet Foundations

This paper provides insights on the foundations of the Physical Internet that has been introduced as a solution to the Global Logistics Sustainability Grand Challenge of improving by an order of magnitude the economic, environmental and social efficiency and sustainability of the way physical objects are moved, stored, realized, supplied and used across the world. It first addresses the fact th...

A Grand Convergence in Mortality is Possible: Comment on Global Health 2035

The grand challenge in global health is the inequality in mortality and life expectancy between countries and within countries. According to Global Health 2035, the Lancet Commission celebrating the 20th anniversary of the World Development Report (WDR) of 1993, the world now has the unique opportunity to achieve a grand convergence in global mortality within a generation. This article comments...

Comment on: Hyperresolution global land surface modeling: Meeting a grand challenge for monitoring Earth's terrestrial water by

Towards a Physical Internet: the Impact on Logistics Facilities and Material Handling Systems Design and Innovation

Aiming for a radical sustainability improvement, the Physical Internet has the potential of revolutionizing the fields of material handling, logistics, transportation and facilities design. It exploits the enabling concept of standardized, modular and smart containers as well as the universal interconnectivity of logistics networks and services. Its underlying paradigm shift creates a tremendou...

Addressing the Grand Challenge of atmospheric carbon dioxide: geologic sequestration vs. biological recycling

On February 15, 2008, the National Academy of Engineering unveiled their list of 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering. Building off of tremendous advancements in the past century, these challenges were selected for their role in assuring a sustainable existence for the rapidly increasing global community. It is no accident that the first five Challenges on the list involve the development of sus...