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 that the Physical Internet aims to enable an efficient and sustainable Logistics Web. It then explains the foundations embedded in the definition of the Physical Internet: an open global logistics system founded on physical, digital and operational interconnectivity through encapsulation, interfaces and protocols. It finally highlights the foundation of its perpetual evolution: technological, business and infrastructural innovation.