Knowledge Post: The global approach to advancing the implementation of the Physical Internet (PI) is unitized logistics.

Promote the Internet of Things The foundational infrastructure underpinning the implementation of PI‑driven innovation is the vigorous development of modular logistics, the robust promotion of open, intelligent innovation, and the active advancement of DFL as a new paradigm for logistics design.
 

In the global smart logistics sector, the Internet of Physical Things PI is a hot topic. In my view, to genuinely advance the Physical Internet (PI), the core and overarching priority is to achieve global standardization of the PI network’s “TCP/IP”‑like protocol stack—and this standardization should be pursued from the very outset. This is the fundamental logic underpinning the Physical Internet; the entire system rests on this standardized framework. If each country develops its own PI standards without a unified underlying architecture, it will be akin to having non‑uniform interface standards for the global hyperlinked PI ecosystem—far from what we mean by PI.

In the early days of the information internet, China also developed its own independent internet system, known as the China Urban Internet, or simply China. The C‑Network uses a TCP/IP protocol that differs from the global Internet, and I even helped promote urban internet access in China. But where is China’s C‑Network today?

It seems that, in formulating their roadmaps for advancing the Physical Internet, countries have largely overlooked this fundamental issue—precisely because it is so challenging. Yet if the underlying standards framework remains fragmented and each nation develops its own isolated “mini‑networks” of the Physical Internet, what meaning does the Physical Internet still hold? Without unified standards and without standardized, modular designs for the foundational units of the Physical Internet—be they vehicles or other carriers—the so‑called roadmaps and innovations would amount to little more than empty rhetoric; without a solid foundation, everything else would be nothing but castles in the air.

If China were to launch a physical Internet roadmap, I believe it should start with the physical Internet. Starting with PI’s foundational standards framework, a standardization system akin to the Internet’s TCP/IP model has been introduced. We first propose a standards system, a standard framework, and the approaches and directions for standardization. On this basis, we proceed to design the specifications and modular dimensions, as well as the structural and assembly configurations, of unitized transport units at all levels that ensure compliance with the underlying standards across the entire logistics chain.

Only on this basis does the Internet of Things come into being. PI’s innovations in hyperlink network architecture, along with breakthroughs in the intelligent management, scheduling, computation, traffic splitting and merging, composition, loading and unloading, transportation, and storage of physical‑internet unit packets. As the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step—first, we must build that seemingly modest yet often the most challenging foundational infrastructure. The physical internet is constructed precisely upon this foundation.

China’s roadmap—our distinctive approach should prioritize the starting point of the itinerary, rather than first mapping out the final destination and the attractions along the way. We should make our voice heard on the global stage. …

I have a feeling—though it may be wrong—that Professor Ban Wang, the “father of the Internet of Things,” places too much emphasis on… PI has conducted academic research in the field of logistics unitization, with his work focusing on the design of unitized handling equipment, modeling of equipment systems, and intelligent systems for managing their operations. This represents his area of expertise. However, it appears that the United States currently lacks a concrete implementation roadmap or a bottom-up strategy to advance unitized logistics, which means there is no practical, actionable plan for the Internet of Physical Things in the U.S. either.

The origins of Japanese logistics can be traced to the early 20th century, when pioneers such as Naohisa Hirahara—known as the “father of Japanese logistics”—introduced pioneering logistics concepts from the United States, namely physical distribution. PD—so the Japanese logistics industry gets excited as soon as they encounter PI. When they look at their roadmaps, they interpret it as a path from PD to PI, but they lack an understanding of the Internet of Things from an internet‑centric perspective.

Europe is the region that places the greatest emphasis on the development of the Internet of Things; their physical Internet. The PI roadmap is heavily influenced by the IoT paradigm. Given that Europe’s Industry 4.0 technical framework is based on CPS, their Physical Internet roadmap leans toward a CPS‑plus‑IoT model.

In fact, the Internet is an innovation built on standardization; its father, Tim Berners-Lee… Li contributed a series of foundational standards to the information transmission network, and it was on this standard framework that the Internet was invented. What we need now is to apply this internet‑based framework to the physical logistics network, and the roadmap must begin with logistics standardization. From Standardization of the “object” unit, standardization of hyperlinks in the “flow,” establishment of a geospatial system standard for the “chain,” and development of a network‑centric ecosystem—these measures collectively lay the foundational standards for an Internet of Things. With standardization in place, further innovation can proceed; this constitutes the underlying logic for advancing the Internet of Things, and it is precisely this foundational framework that provides the basis for its sustained growth.

Without a standardized foundation, implementing numerous localized solutions… PI, local networks. Because differing standards will prevent future interconnectivity, achieving uniformity will become impossible, and the Internet of Things may remain nothing more than a pipe dream.

When tackling any task, the first step is to clarify your direction. If your direction is wrong, the harder you work, the farther you’ll stray from your goal. But if you’re on the right path—no matter how slowly you move or how many setbacks you face—as long as you keep striving, you’ll steadily draw closer to your objective. That’s the fundamental principle.

What are the goals and direction of the Internet of Things? It seeks to standardize physical networks by adopting the internet’s approach to information flow, thereby regulating these networks and fostering innovative applications. This is precisely how Banwang defines the Internet of Things. It’s about PI. If not, the IoT can also connect to physical networks, so there’s no need to implement PI.

I believe that a standardized system for modular logistics is akin to the internet’s… The TC/PIP standards framework, in which pallet standards constitute the most fundamental core standards of the physical network. Promote the Internet of Things PI innovation cannot bypass pallet standardization. A pallet is far from a mere platform; it serves as PI’s cross‑system interface and the core unit for hyperlinks, information, measurement, handover, data, tracking, and loading. If you insist on asking whether an entity network would vanish without pallets, I have no further response—because even without PI, physical logistics networks still exist; and even in the absence of the Internet, information networks can still be interconnected, with technologies like EDI continuing to facilitate information exchange…

The Internet of Things must be built upon a series of standards centered on palletization. Built upon the “unit of things” standard, without this foundational infrastructure, the Internet of Physical Things would inevitably remain a castle in the air. A castle in the air can certainly be depicted with great elegance and give rise to countless papers; yet no matter how many roadmaps are drawn, how many solutions are proposed, or how many papers are published, it will always remain just that—a castle in the air. If the sole aim is to hype a concept, so be it—but that would stray far from my original intention in advancing the Internet of Physical Things.

If achieving global standardization of pallets proves too difficult, we can start at a more fundamental level by unifying standards for logistics and handling containers. Currently, the most widely adopted modular standard for such containers worldwide is… 600×400 mm modular system—starting from this standardized module, we will comprehensively advance the Internet of Things.

After unifying the foundational standards for modular logistics, advancing the Physical Internet also requires addressing the challenges of open, intelligent connectivity. This entails establishing a comprehensive set of rules and standards to enable such openness and intelligence. Since anything physical differs significantly from the information internet—each physical object has an owner, with defined property rights and market characteristics—fostering competition among diverse stakeholders inevitably raises security and confidentiality concerns, which are distinct from those in the information internet. Under these circumstances, achieving hyper‑connectivity within the Physical Internet—balancing the security needs of individual entities while ensuring end-to-end network interoperability and seamless hyperlinking—remains a critical challenge.

In addition, we must vigorously promote DFL, designed for logistics, seeks to maximize the compatibility of physical goods with unitized load carriers, enabling seamless interconnectivity across the Internet of Physical Things.

In conclusion, I believe that advancing the Internet of Things The foundational infrastructure underpinning the implementation of PI‑driven innovation is the vigorous development of modular logistics, the robust promotion of open, intelligent innovation, and the active advancement of DFL as a new paradigm for logistics design.