The Physical Internet Initiative aims at transforming the way physical objects are moved, stored, realized, supplied and used, pursuing global logistics efficiency and sustainability (www.physicalinternetinitiative.org). Originating from Professor Benoit Montreuil in 2006, this ground breaking vision, revolutionizing current paradigms, has stirred great interest from scientific, industrial as well as governmental communities.

In 2017 the comprehensive view on the Physical Internet from the IPIC conference merges with the technical and intralogistic view from the Logistikwerkstatt Graz for a promising format. Both the IPIC and the Logistikwerkstatt Graz are well established international conferences with broad contribution from industry and research.The purpose of our fourth Physical Internet conference is to bring together all interested parties and continue sharing of ideas to further build foundations and momentum towards the emergence of efficient and sustainable interconnected logistics. The Institute of Logistics Engineering (ITL) at Graz University of Technology will host this international event July 4-6, 2017 in Austria on its campus.

The conference will include keynotes from key stakeholders of supply chains (manufacturers, retailers, 3PL and academics) will stimulate the discussions in several workshop sessions. New business models, enabling technologies and experimentations already underway will be presented, making this meeting a unique opportunity to learn, network and discuss the latest results and challenges about interconnected logistics. And, because logistics is global, participants will be from all over the world including researchers, industrial and international institution members, local authorities and standardization committees.