Digital Services and Data are Key to the Future of Logistics

Higher energy prices and bottlenecks on waterways or roads require a rethink in logistics. We need more sustainable, safer, and more reliable solutions. Digitalization plays a prominent role in this. The Mobility Data Space from Munich is an enabler for the logistics of tomorrow.

(Munich) “To achieve greater efficiency, resilience, environmental and climate protection, freight transport and goods transport must be coordinated across the board,” says Michael Schäfer, Managing Director of the Mobility Data Space (MDS). “It is no longer sufficient to optimize only within a company, a product group, or for a mode of transport to exploit the potentials.” The logistics of tomorrow requires a more comprehensive digitalization based on a broad data foundation, as provided by the Mobility Data Space.

“We are increasingly experiencing disruptions in supply chains, and just-in-time deliveries fail on congested highways. Just-in-time itself is a good concept, but the focus on truck transport brings it to its limits. In the future, we will need more intermediate storage facilities that can also be supplied via rail or waterways to avoid risks and reduce costs for the economy and the impact on the environment,” says Michael Schäfer. He is the Managing Director of DRM Datenraum Mobilität GmbH, the operating company of the Mobility Data Space. He sees great opportunities for logistics providers – and for the German economy as a whole – in a collaborative digitalization of transport.

Sustainable logistics can become a driving force

“AI-supported inventory management and coordination of supply chains strengthen logistics companies. Their services would appeal to both large and small companies and open up new target groups. Better, more sustainable, climate-friendly, and economical logistics could lead to an increase in production, including a partial relocation from Asia, and competitive advantages for us in Germany and Europe,” says Schäfer. “Moreover, a future-proof and sustainable logistics concept could develop into an export hit itself.”

Michael Schäfer, Managing Director of the Mobility Data Space: “Sustainable logistics requires a broader data foundation”

Logistics optimization unleashes economies of scale

“Comprehensive digital services that optimize transport and storage according to various criteria are a prerequisite. Artificial intelligence will determine ideal routes, the best traffic routes for long-distance transport, and the last mile, as well as optimal inventory management – across all product groups and modes of transport. Thus, the costs for fuel or energy, the impacts on the environment and climate, as well as the risks and opportunities for risk avoidance and more must be calculated,” says the MDS Managing Director. “Large online retailers are already implementing this to some extent today, but they only optimize their own supply chains. For logistics to become more sustainable overall, even for organizations that have already optimized internally, a broader perspective is necessary. For optimization, it does not matter whether North Sea shrimp or construction steel is being transported – everything belongs in the same algorithm and is optimized together. This avoids empty trips, minimizes bottlenecks, and additionally reduces emissions.”

Efficient logistics needs a trustworthy basis

Schäfer knows: When it comes to sharing data, we need a mindset change in Germany and Europe. Only by sharing their own data can these economies of scale be utilized. For this data exchange to take place in a self-determined, freely negotiable, and trustworthy manner, there is the Mobility Data Space. This is an online marketplace for mobility-relevant data. Information on upcoming orders, transport and storage capacities, tracking data, weather data, and much more can be presented in the form of a catalog. “The Mobility Data Space itself does not provide the data; rather, data providers and data recipients negotiate among themselves who receives which data under what conditions and in what manner,” emphasizes Schäfer. “For example, the data could be made available exclusively to IT service providers whose AI algorithms process and refine data on behalf of several clients and develop optimization recommendations.”

The Mobility Data Space is thus an enabler for the logistics of tomorrow – and well-equipped for the great task ahead. “Our cloud-based trading platform has the potential to grow with market demands, as a far-reaching optimization of logistics requires an incredible amount of demand, availability, and mobility data, as well as information on conditions such as perishability or safety requirements. The MDS also offers the potential to trade this data internationally, as the marketplace complies with European data space standards.”

Platform for logistics pioneers who want to make a difference

According to Schäfer, this offers a great opportunity for all those who want to break out of their silos and create and secure competitive advantages. “The MDS is the most developed marketplace for mobility-relevant data in Europe and thus the ideal platform for mobility makers and logistics pioneers who want to make a difference for themselves, their customers, and society.”

About Mobility Data Space

The Mobility Data Space (MDS) is a data marketplace where partners in the mobility sector can autonomously exchange data to enable and further develop innovative, environmentally friendly, and user-friendly mobility concepts. The technical design of the MDS is carried out in close coordination with European and national initiatives to ensure compatibility with the projects of Gaia-X and other European data spaces. The sponsoring organization is the non-profit organization DRM Datenraum Mobilität GmbH, which emerged from a project of acatech – the German Academy of Science and Engineering. The MDS is funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport.

Shareholders include, in addition to the support association of the German Academy of Science and Engineering e.V., BMW INTEC Beteiligungs GmbH, Caruso GmbH, Deutsche Bahn Aktiengesellschaft, Deutsche Post AG, HERE Europe B.V., HUK-COBURG Haftpflicht-Unterstützungs-Kasse kraftfahrender Beamter Deutschlands a.G. in Coburg, Mercedes-Benz AG, VDV eTicket Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, and Volkswagen Group Info Services AG, as well as the federal states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, and North Rhine-Westphalia.

Photo: © Mobility Data Space / Caption: Managing Director Michael Schäfer of Mobility Data Space

www.mobility-dataspace.eu