Big data in freight 
transport 
! 
Per Olof Arnäs 
Chalmers 
@Dr_PO 
per-olof.arnas@chalmers.se 
! 
Slides on slideshare.net/poar 
Film by Foursquare. Google: checkins foursquare
beginning 
We are in the middle of a gigantic 
exponential development curve
Gartners Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies 
Source: Gartner August 2014
Gartners Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies 
Could affect freight transport
Gartners Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies 
”Fast Up-and-Coming 
Movers Toward the Peak 
Are Fueled by Digital 
Business and Payments” 
”…the market has settled 
into a reasonable set of 
approaches, and the new 
technologies and practices 
are additive to existing 
solutions” 
(regarding the decline of Big data on the curve) 
Gartner, August 2014
So… 
What is 
Big data?
2011 2013 2015 
”Big data is an all-encompassing 
term for 
any collection of data sets 
so large and complex that 
it becomes difficult to 
process using on-hand 
data management tools or 
traditional data 
processing applications.” 
- Wikipedia 
2015
Not statistics 
Exhausted by Adrian Sampson on Flickr (CC-BY) 
just
Not 
just 
Business 
Intelligence 
Basingstoke Office Staff Desk "No computer" by John Sheldon on Flickr (CC-BY,NC,SA)
http://dashburst.com/infographic/big-data-volume-variety-velocity/
Google flights 
https://www.google.se/flights/
Jawbone measures sleep 
interruption during earthquake 
https://jawbone.com/blog/napa-earthquake-effect-on-sleep/
Time horizons 
Freight industry 
Strategic Tactical Operational Predictive 
Most (preferably all) 
decisions in the 
transportation industry are 
made here. At the latest. 
Uninformed, 
ad-hoc, and 
probably non 
optimal, 
decisions 
Science 
fiction
Time horizons 
Strategic Tactical Operational Predictive 
Real-time! 
But with technology, 
we are approaching 
this boundary 
…and we are 
starting to 
move past it! 
Freight industry
smile! by Judy van der Velden (CC-BY,NC,SA) 
Speculative 
shipping 
http://www.scdigest.com/ontarget/ 
14-01-21-1.php?cid=7767
http://www.scdigest.com/ontarget/ 
14-01-21-1.php?cid=7767 
Speculative 
shipping Package item(s) as a package for 
eventual shipment to a delivery address 
Associate unique ID with package 
Select destination geographic area for 
package 
Ship package to selected distribution 
geographic area without completely 
specifying delivery address 
Orders 
satisfied by item(s) 
received? 
Package 
redirected? 
Determine package location 
Convey delivery address, package ID to 
delivery location 
Assign delivery address to package 
Deliver package to delivery address 
Convey indication of new destination 
geographic area and package ID to 
current location 
Yes 
Yes 
No 
No 
smile! by Judy van der Velden (CC-BY,NC,SA)
Goods Vehicle 
Business 
processes 
Infra-structure 
Functions 
Software 
Computers 
Paper based 
Open 
interface 
Advanced order 
handling 
Monitor fuel 
cosnumption 
Phone 
Papers 
Barcodes 
(proprietary) 
Based access 
Performance 
Based access 
Digitization version 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 
Road signs 
Analogue 
tools 
RDS 
E-mail 
Fax 
TMS-systems 
Excel 
Route 
planning 
GPS for navigation 
Electronically documents 
generated 
freight RFID-tags 
Simple order handling 
Web 
based UI 
Platform based 
systems 
Hardware-oriented 
Data collection 
systems 
Communication with 
vehicles E-invoice 
Web based 
booking 
Route 
optimisation 
The social web Open connectivity 
Integrated 
prognosis 
Data collection 
systems (open) 
Tolling 
systems 
Webservices with 
traffic data 
Dynamic 
routing 
systems 
Performance 
Mashups 
Multiple data 
sources 
Probe data 
Individual 
routing 
information 
Platooning 
Platooning 
Exceptions 
handling 
Smart goods 
Manual 
Distributed 
decision 
making 
Goods as bi-directional 
hyperlink 
Paper based 
CC-BY Per Olof Arnäs, Chalmers 
Barcodes 
RFID 
Sensors 
ERP systems 
TMS systems 
E-invoices 
Cloudbased 
services 
Order handling 
Driver support 
Vehicle 
economics 
RDS-TMC 
Road taxes 
Active traffic 
support 
Predictive 
maintenance 
2014-08-26
3 mountaintops to climb… 
En la cima! by Alejandro Juárez on Flickr (CC-BY)
Mountaintop #1 
Collection of data in real-time 
3 data types 
Fixed Historical Snapshot 
En la cima! by Alejandro Juárez on Flickr (CC-BY)
Mountaintop #1 
Collection of data in real-time 
5 data domains 
Vehicle Driver Cargo Company 
En la cima! by Alejandro Juárez on Flickr (CC-BY) 
Infrastructure/ 
facility 
at le a s t…
Fixed Historical Snapshot 
Length 
Weight 
Width 
Height 
Capacity 
+ other PBS-criteria 
Emissions 
Fuel consumption 
Route 
Position 
Speed 
Direction 
Weight 
Origin 
Destination 
Accepted ETA 
Temperature 
+ other state variables 
Temperature + other state 
variables 
Education/training 
Speed (ISA) 
Rest/break schedule 
Traffic behaviour 
Belt usage 
Alco lock history 
Schedule status (time to 
next break etc.) 
Contracts/ 
agreements Previous interactions Backoffice support 
Vehicle 
Cargo 
Driver 
Company 
Infrastructure 
/facility 
Map 
+ fixed data layers Traffic history 
Current traffic 
Queue 
Availability 
DATA MATRIX
Mountaintop #2 
Processing of data in real-time 
Locals and Tourists #1 (GTWA #2): London by Eric Fischer on Flickr 
En la cima! by Alejandro Juárez on Flickr (CC-BY)
Mountaintop #2 
Processing of data in real-time 
En la cima! by Alejandro Juárez on Flickr (CC-BY)
Mountaintop #3 
Exploiting data in real-time 
Connected. 362/365 by AndYaDontStop 
on Flickr (CC-BY) 
Lisa for I/O Keynote by Max Braun on 
Flickr (CC-BY) 
En la cima! by Alejandro Juárez on Flickr (CC-BY) 
Fulham-Manchester United 
24-02-2007 by vuhlser on Flickr (CC-BY)
Mountaintop #3 
Exploiting data in real-time 
Boeing-KC-97 Stratotanker by x-ray delta one on Flickr (CC-BY) 
En la cima! by Alejandro Juárez on Flickr (CC-BY)
CASES 
(MANY)
CASES 
(MANY MORE)
Examples of applications of Big data in freight 
Human resources 
Reduction in driver 
turnover, driver 
assignment, using 
sentiment data 
analysis 
(Waller and Fawcett, 2013) 
Inventory 
management 
Real-time capacity 
availability 
Transportation 
management 
Optimal routing, taking 
into account weather, 
traffic congestion, and 
driver characteristics 
Forecasting 
Time of delivery, 
factoring in weather, 
driver characteristics, 
time of day and date 
Waller, M. A. and Fawcett, S. E. (2013), Data Science, Predictive Analytics, and Big Data: A Revolution That Will 
Transform Supply Chain Design and Management. JOURNAL OF BUSINESS LOGISTICS, 34: 77–84
Big Data Best Practice Across Industries 7 
Operational Efficiency Customer Experience New Business Models 
Usage of data in order to: 
Increase Level of 
Transparency 
Optimize Resource 
Consumption 
Improve Process Quality 
and Performance 
New 
Business Models 
Exploit for: Capitalize on data by: 
Increase customers 
loyalty and retention 
Performing precise 
customer segmentation 
and targeting 
Optimize customer 
interaction and service 
revenue 
streams from existing 
products 
Creating new revenue 
streams from entirely 
new (data) products 
Customer 
Experience 
Operational 
Efficiency 
Use data to: 
• Increase level of 
transparency 
• Optimize resource 
consumption 
• Improve process quality 
and performance 
Exploit data to: 
• Increase customer 
loyalty and retention 
• Perform precise customer 
segmentation and targeting 
• Optimize customer interaction 
and service 
Capitalize on data by: 
• Expanding revenue streams 
from existing products 
• Creating new revenue 
streams from entirely new 
(data) products 
Figure 4: Value dimensions for Big Data use cases; Source: DPDHL / Detecon 
DHL 2013: ”Big Data in Logistics”
Manage complex systems 
Image from: http://www.as-coa.org/watchlisten/ascoa-visits-rios-operations-center
Measure 
real-time 
system 
behaviour 
Emil Johansson - EJOH.SE
Vizualisation 
http://blog.digital.telefonica.com/?press-release=telefonica-dynamic-insights-launches-smart-steps-in-the-uk
Predict future events
Avoid unpleasant surprises
Domain 
knowledge 
critical! 
See for instance: Waller, M. A. and Fawcett, S. E. (2013), Data 
Science, Predictive Analytics, and Big Data: A Revolution 
That Will Transform Supply Chain Design and Management. 
JOURNAL OF BUSINESS LOGISTICS, 34: 77–84 
Data scientists - 
the new superstars 
"Data Science Venn Diagram" by Drew Conway - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- 
Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ 
File:Data_Science_Venn_Diagram.png#mediaviewer/File:Data_Science_Venn_Diagram.png
Challenges 
The Challenger by Martín Vinacur on Flickr (CC-BY) 
Cross-disciplinary 
Cross-industries 
Cross-borders
Big data in freight 
transport 
! 
Per Olof Arnäs 
Chalmers 
@Dr_PO 
per-olof.arnas@chalmers.se 
! 
Slides on slideshare.net/poar 
Film by Foursquare. Google: checkins foursquare

Big data in freight transport

  • 1.
    Big data infreight transport ! Per Olof Arnäs Chalmers @Dr_PO per-olof.arnas@chalmers.se ! Slides on slideshare.net/poar Film by Foursquare. Google: checkins foursquare
  • 2.
    beginning We arein the middle of a gigantic exponential development curve
  • 3.
    Gartners Hype Cyclefor Emerging Technologies Source: Gartner August 2014
  • 4.
    Gartners Hype Cyclefor Emerging Technologies Could affect freight transport
  • 5.
    Gartners Hype Cyclefor Emerging Technologies ”Fast Up-and-Coming Movers Toward the Peak Are Fueled by Digital Business and Payments” ”…the market has settled into a reasonable set of approaches, and the new technologies and practices are additive to existing solutions” (regarding the decline of Big data on the curve) Gartner, August 2014
  • 6.
    So… What is Big data?
  • 7.
    2011 2013 2015 ”Big data is an all-encompassing term for any collection of data sets so large and complex that it becomes difficult to process using on-hand data management tools or traditional data processing applications.” - Wikipedia 2015
  • 8.
    Not statistics Exhaustedby Adrian Sampson on Flickr (CC-BY) just
  • 9.
    Not just Business Intelligence Basingstoke Office Staff Desk "No computer" by John Sheldon on Flickr (CC-BY,NC,SA)
  • 10.
  • 11.
  • 12.
    Jawbone measures sleep interruption during earthquake https://jawbone.com/blog/napa-earthquake-effect-on-sleep/
  • 13.
    Time horizons Freightindustry Strategic Tactical Operational Predictive Most (preferably all) decisions in the transportation industry are made here. At the latest. Uninformed, ad-hoc, and probably non optimal, decisions Science fiction
  • 14.
    Time horizons StrategicTactical Operational Predictive Real-time! But with technology, we are approaching this boundary …and we are starting to move past it! Freight industry
  • 15.
    smile! by Judyvan der Velden (CC-BY,NC,SA) Speculative shipping http://www.scdigest.com/ontarget/ 14-01-21-1.php?cid=7767
  • 16.
    http://www.scdigest.com/ontarget/ 14-01-21-1.php?cid=7767 Speculative shipping Package item(s) as a package for eventual shipment to a delivery address Associate unique ID with package Select destination geographic area for package Ship package to selected distribution geographic area without completely specifying delivery address Orders satisfied by item(s) received? Package redirected? Determine package location Convey delivery address, package ID to delivery location Assign delivery address to package Deliver package to delivery address Convey indication of new destination geographic area and package ID to current location Yes Yes No No smile! by Judy van der Velden (CC-BY,NC,SA)
  • 17.
    Goods Vehicle Business processes Infra-structure Functions Software Computers Paper based Open interface Advanced order handling Monitor fuel cosnumption Phone Papers Barcodes (proprietary) Based access Performance Based access Digitization version 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 Road signs Analogue tools RDS E-mail Fax TMS-systems Excel Route planning GPS for navigation Electronically documents generated freight RFID-tags Simple order handling Web based UI Platform based systems Hardware-oriented Data collection systems Communication with vehicles E-invoice Web based booking Route optimisation The social web Open connectivity Integrated prognosis Data collection systems (open) Tolling systems Webservices with traffic data Dynamic routing systems Performance Mashups Multiple data sources Probe data Individual routing information Platooning Platooning Exceptions handling Smart goods Manual Distributed decision making Goods as bi-directional hyperlink Paper based CC-BY Per Olof Arnäs, Chalmers Barcodes RFID Sensors ERP systems TMS systems E-invoices Cloudbased services Order handling Driver support Vehicle economics RDS-TMC Road taxes Active traffic support Predictive maintenance 2014-08-26
  • 18.
    3 mountaintops toclimb… En la cima! by Alejandro Juárez on Flickr (CC-BY)
  • 19.
    Mountaintop #1 Collectionof data in real-time 3 data types Fixed Historical Snapshot En la cima! by Alejandro Juárez on Flickr (CC-BY)
  • 20.
    Mountaintop #1 Collectionof data in real-time 5 data domains Vehicle Driver Cargo Company En la cima! by Alejandro Juárez on Flickr (CC-BY) Infrastructure/ facility at le a s t…
  • 21.
    Fixed Historical Snapshot Length Weight Width Height Capacity + other PBS-criteria Emissions Fuel consumption Route Position Speed Direction Weight Origin Destination Accepted ETA Temperature + other state variables Temperature + other state variables Education/training Speed (ISA) Rest/break schedule Traffic behaviour Belt usage Alco lock history Schedule status (time to next break etc.) Contracts/ agreements Previous interactions Backoffice support Vehicle Cargo Driver Company Infrastructure /facility Map + fixed data layers Traffic history Current traffic Queue Availability DATA MATRIX
  • 22.
    Mountaintop #2 Processingof data in real-time Locals and Tourists #1 (GTWA #2): London by Eric Fischer on Flickr En la cima! by Alejandro Juárez on Flickr (CC-BY)
  • 23.
    Mountaintop #2 Processingof data in real-time En la cima! by Alejandro Juárez on Flickr (CC-BY)
  • 24.
    Mountaintop #3 Exploitingdata in real-time Connected. 362/365 by AndYaDontStop on Flickr (CC-BY) Lisa for I/O Keynote by Max Braun on Flickr (CC-BY) En la cima! by Alejandro Juárez on Flickr (CC-BY) Fulham-Manchester United 24-02-2007 by vuhlser on Flickr (CC-BY)
  • 25.
    Mountaintop #3 Exploitingdata in real-time Boeing-KC-97 Stratotanker by x-ray delta one on Flickr (CC-BY) En la cima! by Alejandro Juárez on Flickr (CC-BY)
  • 26.
  • 27.
  • 28.
    Examples of applicationsof Big data in freight Human resources Reduction in driver turnover, driver assignment, using sentiment data analysis (Waller and Fawcett, 2013) Inventory management Real-time capacity availability Transportation management Optimal routing, taking into account weather, traffic congestion, and driver characteristics Forecasting Time of delivery, factoring in weather, driver characteristics, time of day and date Waller, M. A. and Fawcett, S. E. (2013), Data Science, Predictive Analytics, and Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform Supply Chain Design and Management. JOURNAL OF BUSINESS LOGISTICS, 34: 77–84
  • 29.
    Big Data BestPractice Across Industries 7 Operational Efficiency Customer Experience New Business Models Usage of data in order to: Increase Level of Transparency Optimize Resource Consumption Improve Process Quality and Performance New Business Models Exploit for: Capitalize on data by: Increase customers loyalty and retention Performing precise customer segmentation and targeting Optimize customer interaction and service revenue streams from existing products Creating new revenue streams from entirely new (data) products Customer Experience Operational Efficiency Use data to: • Increase level of transparency • Optimize resource consumption • Improve process quality and performance Exploit data to: • Increase customer loyalty and retention • Perform precise customer segmentation and targeting • Optimize customer interaction and service Capitalize on data by: • Expanding revenue streams from existing products • Creating new revenue streams from entirely new (data) products Figure 4: Value dimensions for Big Data use cases; Source: DPDHL / Detecon DHL 2013: ”Big Data in Logistics”
  • 30.
    Manage complex systems Image from: http://www.as-coa.org/watchlisten/ascoa-visits-rios-operations-center
  • 31.
    Measure real-time system behaviour Emil Johansson - EJOH.SE
  • 32.
  • 33.
  • 34.
  • 35.
    Domain knowledge critical! See for instance: Waller, M. A. and Fawcett, S. E. (2013), Data Science, Predictive Analytics, and Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform Supply Chain Design and Management. JOURNAL OF BUSINESS LOGISTICS, 34: 77–84 Data scientists - the new superstars "Data Science Venn Diagram" by Drew Conway - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Data_Science_Venn_Diagram.png#mediaviewer/File:Data_Science_Venn_Diagram.png
  • 36.
    Challenges The Challengerby Martín Vinacur on Flickr (CC-BY) Cross-disciplinary Cross-industries Cross-borders
  • 37.
    Big data infreight transport ! Per Olof Arnäs Chalmers @Dr_PO per-olof.arnas@chalmers.se ! Slides on slideshare.net/poar Film by Foursquare. Google: checkins foursquare