Development of a Physical Internet container for an optimized wood supply chain

Wood logistics especially in Austria is defined by the inaccessibility of forest roads and short transport routes to wood processing
industries, where trucks have a huge advantage over railways. With upcoming regulations by the European Union to achieve the
targeted carbon neutrality by 2050 new approaches for the wood supply chain are needed. Together with the theoretical approach
of the Physical Internet this paper focusses on the development of a practical solution for a Physical Internet container for wood
logistics. This novel container is designed to comply with the requirements of road and rail transport, especially for narrow-gauge
railways. Common inefficiencies with material handling such as manipulation time and cost can be reduced, when changing modes
efficiently using the new container. In addition, smart sensors support the concept of the Physical Internet and provide the necessary
data for the evaluation of transport costs, time, distance, greenhouse gas emissions, and provide data for a governing order platform.