I/UCRC Fundamental Research: The Physical Internet Initiative: Positioning CELDi as the Leading Logistics and Distribution Research Center

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Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution (#1032062 & #1031956)The Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution (CELDi) is positioned to be the leading logistics and distribution research center by taking the American leadership role in basic research required for the international Physical Internet Initiative (PI2). The PI involves the intelligent standardization of shipments and coordination of resources to facilitate system-wide efficiency in a networked economy much in the way that the digital Internet is based on transmitting standards packets of information. The intellectual merit of the proposed research lies in the transformative paradigm associated with PI, in general, and the optimization and simulation models formulated to establish the logistics system gain potential, in particular. These model formulations will be a contribution to the field as mathematically rigorous models, resulting in publications that will appear in leading archival journals. The studies utilizing the models will be disseminated in applications-based journals. The broader impacts of the PI2 include the potential to dramatically reduce the cost of logistics transactions through intelligent standardization in a consumer sector that demands the efficient delivery of product over a worldwide supply chain. Such standardization will then unleash economic development capable of growing industries while reducing energy consumption and waste for the nation, as well as providing additional capacity to our nation's logistics system. Participation by students, including continued recruitment of students from underrepresented groups, will be emphasized and they will benefit from this collaborative research project with industry.