The physical internet as a new supply chain paradigm: a systematic literature review and a comprehensive framework

• Pages: 239-287
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-11-2018-0284
• Published date: 15 May 2020
• Date: 15 May 2020
• Author: Horst Treiblmaier,Kristijan Mirkovski,Paul Benjamin Lowry,Zach G. Zacharia
• Subject Matter: Logistics,Management science & operations

The physical internet as a new

supply chain paradigm: a

systematic literature review and a

comprehensive framework

Horst Treiblmaier

Department of International Management, MODUL University Vienna,

Vienna, Austria

Kristijan Mirkovski

Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics, Deakin Business School,

Burwood, Australia

Paul Benjamin Lowry

Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA, and

Zach G. Zacharia

Department of Decision and Technology Analytics, Lehigh University, Bethlehem,

Pennsylvania, USA

Abstract

Purpose –The physical internet (PI) is an emerging logistics and supply chain management (SCM) concept

that draws on different technologies and areas of research, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and key

performance indicators, with the purpose of revolutionizing existing logistics and SCM practices. The growing

literature on the PI and its noteworthy potential to be a disruptive innovation in the logistics industry call for a

systematic literature review (SLR), which we conducted that defines the current state of the literature and

outlines future research directions and approaches.

Design/methodology/approach –The SLR that was undertaken included journal publications, conference

papers and proceedings, book excerpts, industry reports and white papers. We conducted descriptive, citation,

thematic and methodological analyses to understand the evolution of PI literature.

Findings –Based on the literature review and analyses, we proposed a comprehensive framework that

structures the PI domain and outlines future directions for logistics and SCM researchers.

Research limitations/implications –Our research findings are limited by the relatively low number of

journal publications, as the PI is a new field of inquiry that is composed primarily of conference papers and

proceedings.

Originality/value –The proposed PI-based framework identifies seven PI themes, including the respective

facilitators and barriers, which can inform researchers and practitioners on future potentially disruptive SC

strategies.

Keywords Physical Internet (PI), Systematic literature review (SLR), Citation analysis, Thematic analysis,

Methodological analysis, Logistics, Supply chain management (SCM)

Paper type Literature review

PI as a new

supply chain

paradigm

239

© Horst Treiblmaier, Kristijan Mirkovski, Paul Benjamin Lowry and Zach G. Zacharia. Published by

Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for

both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication

and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/

legalcode.

Horst Treiblmaier and Kristijan Mirkovski share equal contribution for this study.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/0957-4093.htm

Received 14 November 2018

Revised 15 April 2019

1 July 2019

17 October 2019

11 December 2019

Accepted 11 December 2019

The International Journal of

Logistics Management

Vol. 31 No. 2, 2020

pp. 239-287

Emerald Publishing Limited

0957-4093

DOI 10.1108/IJLM-11-2018-0284

Introduction

The current global logistics and supply chain management (SCM) practices of transporting,

storing and handling physical freight are unsustainable in the long run from economic,

environmental and societal perspectives. Montreuil (2011, p. 71) identified 13 specific

symptoms of the unsustainable global logistics and SCM practices that constitute the

“worldwide global logistics sustainability grand challenge.”However, using the latest

improvements in information sharing, interconnectivity, information technology, data

mining, big data and data analytics, it is possible to develop new logistics and SCM practices

that are sustainable in the long run. The Physical Internet (PI) is a new boundary-spanning

area of research and practice that seeks to address this grand challenge. The aim of the PI is to

optimize logistics and SCM processes so as to create more efficient, effective and sustainable

supply chains (SCs), which may lead to innovation of SC models and strategies (Kache and

Seuring, 2017).

The PI is described as “a global logistics system based on the interconnection of

logistics networks by a standardized set of collaboration protocols, modular containers,

and smart interfaces for increased efficiency and sustainability”(Ballot et al., 2014, p. 23).

Treiblmaier (2019, p. 3) defined the PI as “a comprehensive and measurable supply chain

framework which is based on a network of physical components. These components are

standardized as well as optimized and exchange information to improve the effectiveness,

efficiency, and sustainability of supply chain management operations.”The PI is a holistic

concept that merges numerous relevant areas of logistics and SCM research with the

promise of disrupting current logistics and SCM practices. These areas include

sustainability, effectiveness and efficiency of global value chains and information flows,

as well as horizontal and vertical collaboration. For example, the PI modular containers are

“world-standard, smart, ecofriendly, and modular”aiming to transform the existing

transport, handling and storage of cargo containers through “smart, sustainable, and

seamless automation and human handling”(Montreuil et al., 2013a, p. 156). Similarly, PI

hubs enable efficient unimodal and multimodal dispatching and routing of modular

containers in an open logistics network via consolidation of loads, which in turn lowers

inventory and logistics systems costs (Venkatadri et al., 2016).

Considering the growing number of PI publications and the globally increasing

investments in PI-related projects, the PI is rapidly gaining relevance in both academic

and practitioner circles. For example, the European Union has launched (1) the Modular

Logistics Units in Shared Co-Modal Networks (MODULUSHCA) project (Huschebeck, 2012)

and (2) the Alliance for Logistics Innovation through Collaboration in Europe (ALICE)

platform (ALICE, 2014a). ALICE has set the following PI-related goals: (1) establish the

landscape by elaborating, developing and demonstrating a PI-enabled interconnected

logistics vision and its characteristics; (2) provide simulation- and field-based proof of concept

by gradually implementing and testing key functions of PI-enabled interconnected logistics;

and (3) develop a comprehensive strategy for research, innovation, and market deployment of

logistics and SCM innovation in Europe (ALICE, 2014a).

The PI draws on concepts from numerous different technologies and areas of research,

including the Internet of Things (IoT) for interconnectedness of logistics networks and the

key performance indicators for continuous measurement and improvement. The PI has the

potential to become a disruptive innovation that inspires vast multidisciplinary collaboration

to solve several pressing social and business problems by revolutionizing extant logistics and

SCM practices (Kache and Seuring, 2017). Christensen (2013) defined a disruptive innovation

as a product or service that initially underperforms relative to the established products or

services but eventually replaces them. According to Danneels (2004), disruptive innovation

changes the basis of competition by changing the metrics along which organizations

compete. Following the same line of reasoning, the PI is an emerging concept that currently

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underperforms in comparison to existing logistics and SCM practices but has the potential to

radically transform the way physical products are being handled, transported and stored.

These changes could greatly influence the environment, economy and society.

The PI is still a relatively new idea that is poorly understood. The current PI literature is

largely unstructured and scattered across various academic disciplines. We suggest three

reasons for the largely disjointed nature of the PI literature. First, the PI is a novel concept

with articles published in various disciplines, including logistics, SCM and operations/

production management. Second, a substantial number of publications, including white

papers, project deliverables and reports, have been published in industry-focused outlets.

Third, numerous PI publications are “spin-offs”from industry projects and thus lack

theoretical contributions. More importantly, given the emerging nature of the PI concept,

there is a limited number of literature reviews. Using the technology adoption of firms as a

theoretical framework, Sternberg and Norrman (2017) conducted a critical literature review of

the PI in which they showed how (1) the perceived benefits in term of the novel PI business

models, (2) the organizational readiness in terms of the PI technological blueprints, and (3) the

external pressure in terms of the expected PI effects contribute to the adoption of the PI.

Treiblmaier et al. (2016) provided a brief overview of the current PI literature in which they

highlighted important opportunities in four main research areas: (1) the implementation of the

PI in Europe and the United States, (2) the optimization of operations in PI hubs,

(3) centralized reputation-based transportation auction, and (4) the impacts and challenges

related to the shifts to the open logistics networks.

However, the existing literature review attempts are incomplete for two reasons. First,

many PI publications in journals, books, conferences and reports have been omitted, which

are important for providing a comprehensive analysis of the PI literature. Second, the

evolution of the PI literature, including the under-researched themes and under-utilized

methods, has not been addressed, which is necessary for laying down the directions of future

PI research. Thus, a need exists for a holistic and inclusive review of the PI literature. Without

a systematic literature review (SLR) of the existing PI literature to identify future research

areas and methods, the PI research is unlikely to grow, possibly reducing research

opportunities related to the exploration of new, innovative SC models and strategies. In line

with Kache and Seuring’s (2017) call for research on emerging concepts in SCM, our SLR

makes three major contributions to the logistics and SCM research: (1) identification of major

PI literature themes and methods, (2) creation of a comprehensive PI-themed framework, and

(3) suggestions for future research directions and approaches regarding the PI. We also

provide supplementary figures and tables in Appendix 1 and a comprehensive summary of

the reviewed PI literature in Appendix 2.

In the following section, we describe the PI and its relevance to the logistics and SCM

research. Next, we outline our review methodology. In the results section, we then provide

descriptive, citation, thematic and methodological analyses. We then present our PI-themed

framework, outline the future research directions and approaches and discuss contributions

to the PI literature, as well as managerial implications. We conclude with the limitations of our

literature review.

The Physical Internet

The term “Physical Internet”(PI) was first used in a 2006 headline of the British popular press

magazine The Economist, which contained a survey of logistics and a variety of mainstream

SC articles (Markillie, 2006). In the subsequent years, this publication inspired a team of

researchers to explore the possibility of organizing the flow of physical goods in a manner

similar to the organization of data flow on the digital Internet (Montreuil, 2011), leading to the

emergence of the PI.

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supply chain

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