Keynote Speakers

Speakers

------------------Keynote Speakers------------------

Ming Lim

Professor of Supply Chain Management and Digitalisation

University of Glasgow

Net-Zero vs Carbon Neutrality: Supply Chain Management Challenges and Future Research Agenda

Date: To be determined

François-Régis Le Tourneau

Vice President Corporate Responsibility - L’Oréal For the Future

ALICE Chair

PI and AI: A Symbiotic Ecosystem

Date: To be determined

Fernando Liesa

Secretary General at ALICE

Advances of PI at European Project

Date: To be determined

Benoit Montreuil

Professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology

Shaping the Physical Internet for Powerful Positive Impact in a Fast-Evolving Turmoiled World

Date: To be determined

Benoit Montreuil is Professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech. He serves as Director of the Physical Internet Center and Executive Director of the Supply Chain & Logistics Institute. He is the Coca-Cola Material Handling & Distribution Chair.

Dr. Montreuil is leading the International Physical Internet Initiative, engaging academic, industry and government leaders worldwide into research and innovation projects on smart, hyperconnected and sustainable logistics, supply chains, transportation, businesses and regions. His main research interests generically lie in developing concepts, methodologies and technologies for creating, optimizing, transforming and enabling businesses, supply chains, and value creation networks to thrive in a fast-evolving hyperconnected world.

He stands at the crossroads of industrial and systems engineering; operations research; computer sciences; operations, logistics, supply chain, strategic management; and sustainability science. His research builds mostly on a synthesis of data-driven AI, optimization modeling, discrete & agentic simulation, digital twin, and XR modeling, systems science & design theory.

Dr. Montreuil is a world-renowned scientist who has introduced in collaboration with students and colleagues an imposing set of paradigm-challenging leading-edge contributions through nearly four decades of research, shared through 250 scientific publications, 250 scientific communications, and numerous keynote speeches at international scientific and professional conferences.

He has extensive advisory, entrepreneurial and collaborative research experience with industry and government. He has been president of the College-Industry Council on Material Handling Education and its Liaison to the Board of Governors of MHI, the North American industry association of material handling, logistics and supply chain solutions and technology providers.

Throughout his career, he has received numerous awards, recently including DC Velocity’s Rainmaker of the Year and The Physical Internet Pioneer Award for his outstanding and inspiring vision.

Dr. Montreuil graduated in 1978 from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR). He earned a master’s and a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1980 and 1982 respectively. After serving on the industrial engineering faculty of UQTR and Purdue University, from 1988 to 2014, he was a Professor of operations and decisions systems in the faculty of Business Administration at Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada. From 2000 to 2014, Dr. Montreuil held the Canada Research Chair in Business Engineering. He is a founding member of the CIRRELT Interuniversity Research Centre on Enterprise Networks, Logistics and Transportation.

Eric Ballot

Professor of Supply Chain and Logistics and Scientific Director of the Physical Internet Chair

Director Centre de Gestion Scientifique

Mines Paris-PSL

PI A Decade of Challenges and Progress with Perspectives

Date: To be determined

Russell Thompson

Professor in Transport Engineering

The University of Melbourne

PI Developments in Australia

Date: To be determined

TAKAYUKI HIRABAYASHI

Director

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Consumer Affairs, Distribution and Retail Industry Division and Logistics Policy Planning Office

The Physical Internet: Shaping the Future of Logistics In JAPAN

Date: To be determined

Jongkyoung Kim

Head, Korea Conformity Laboratories

DoChan Seo

CEO, LOGISALL Engineering

Introduction to Korea's logistics standardization roadmap and business cases utilizing the physical Internet

Date: To be determined

Timothy Tian

Founder & CEO, WaterMirror

Dual-Cycle Paradigm Driven Physical Internet Development: China's Institutional Innovations

Date: To be determined

Timothy Tian, a distinguished expert in logistics and technology, has achieved remarkable accomplishments in the industry. Currently, he serves as the Founder and CEO of WaterMirror Technology, while having played a pivotal role in the development of SF Group, where he was the first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and CEO of SF Technology.

With an extensive international career, Mr. Tian held senior management positions at UPS in the United States, where he led technology R&D, innovation initiatives, and global supply chain solutions, accumulating profound industry insights and hands-on expertise. In 2012, he returned to China and joined SF Group, dedicating himself to digital transformation, technological innovation, and supply chain enhancement. Under his leadership, SF successfully listed on the A-share market in 2017 (Stock Code: 002352.SZ), rapidly establishing itself as a logistics industry leader.

Adhering to the principle of maintaining integrity while pursuing innovation, Mr. Tian has demonstrated outstanding leadership and innovation capabilities in the logistics and technology fields. As the founder and first CEO of SF Technology, he played a pivotal role in driving the company's development. Under his leadership, Mr. Tian successfully incubated multiple unicorn-level innovative projects. These include SF Hive Box (smart lockers), SF Map (smart logistics mapping), and SF Drones. These remarkable achievements not only significantly enhanced SF's competitiveness but also had a profound impact on the development of the logistics industry. Thanks to these innovative initiatives, in 2019, SF Technology was honored as one of MIT Technology Review’s "50 Smartest Companies" and was also recognized as one of China’s Top 10 Smart Logistics Innovators. Mr. Tian, through his continuous efforts, is propelling China's logistics industry toward an intelligent, networked, and sustainable future.

As an early advocate of Physical Internet (PI) in China, Mr. Tian left SF in 2019 to establish WaterMirror Technology, focusing on advancing next-generation logistics—Physical Internet—in China. The company is positioned as a core technology contributor, consensus builder, and ecosystem pioneer for PI. In 2020, WaterMirror Technology was honored with the China Logistics Technology Innovation Award and the IPIC Great Builder Award at the International Physical Internet Conference.

In 2022, Mr. Tian spearheaded the publication of China’s first PI-focused book, "The Emerging Revolution: Perspectives on Physical Internet", significantly advancing PI knowledge dissemination in China. Additionally, he actively co-founded the China Physical Internet Alliance (CPIA) and the Physical Internet Research Center, driving PI adoption and innovation in China.

Benjamin Lev

Trustee Professor, LeBow College of Business,

Drexel University

My Experience as EIC of OMEGA

Date: To be determined

------------------Plenary Speakers/Panelists------------------

Takayuki Mori

Professor Emeritus, University of Marketing and Distribution Sciences

Chairman, Japan Physical Internet Center

The role of JPIC in Japan and its initiatives

Date: To be determined

Katsuhiko Umetsu

Permanent Executive Fellow and CSO (Chief Standardization Officer)

Yamato Transport Co., Ltd.

Seize for a Sustainable Infrastructure: Launch of an open and collaborative logistics platform

Date: To be determined

Masaru Sakata

Director, Chief Operating Officer

Hacobu, Inc.

An Initiative in Japan to Use Big Data for Collaborative Planning of Shared Trucks

Date: To be determined

Jaco van Meijeren

Senior Lead Consultant Supply Chain Innovation

TNO (applied research organization in the Netherlands)

Exploratory Research Program TNO – Future Proof Smart Logistics

Date: To be determined

Short
System change in logistics for urgent improvements in efficiency, sustainability and resilience by developing new methods and decentral algorithms for trusted scalable collaborative planning solutions for asset sharing in systems of connected logistics networks.

Background
The logistics sector is facing an increasing number of challenges that are exacerbated by the expected growth of freight transport of up to 20% in 2030: 1) A rapid and strong reduction in emissions is urgently needed considering that the transport sector is the only sector with growing green house gas emissions, 2) Security of supply is challenged by disruptions, such as climate related events and geopolitical tensions, 3) The current logistics system has to deal with increasing levels of scarcity of transport infrastructure, energy and workforce. Individual companies are not able to deal with these challenges which is recognized by the logistics sector itself, but effective and feasible solutions are not available.

To address these challenges and provide the logistics sector the required action perspective, a system change in logistics is needed by "doing more with less” through sharing assets in systems of connected logistics networks (in line with Physical Internet concepts supported by ETP-ALICE). To realise this, the sector needs to shift from individual planning of own assets within single networks towards collaborative planning of shared assets in open connected logistics networks. However, still many challenges and barriers have to be handled that require system thinking on multiple levels: 1) organisation (multilateral scalable cooperation), 2) digital technologies (trusted, easy accessible data sharing solutions), 3) logistics (data driven decentral planning algorithms) and 4) system-of-systems innovation (integration and fit of subsystems into an ecosystem). In the Future Proof Smart Logistics Program TNO will develop, test, validate and implement this solution together with logistics companies, knowledge institutes and governments.

Birger Schrevens

Innovation Advisor, IMEC

How Data Space technology enables synchromodal logistics collaboration

Date: To be determined

Feng Xiang

Vice President, YTO Express, China

Decoding China's Courier Industry Miracle

Date: To be determined

Shelton Chan

Managing Director, International Development for Asia region

Georgia Institute of Technology

The death of SCM: Rise of PI “how physical Ai and physical internet will transform logistics & supply chain”

Date: To be determined

Shelton has 30 years of experience in the supply chain and logistics field. During these three decades, he has held multiple high-level positions, from General Manager to Senior Executive, in the Greater China Region. His logistics expertise spans diverse industries, including software, consulting, cosmetics, third-party logistics, e-commerce, and drones.

He obtained a master's degree in international logistics engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2003, which is globally recognized for its top-ranked industrial engineering program. Currently, he represents Georgia Tech in the Asia-Pacific region, fostering collaboration between alumni, local governments, and industries. Additionally, he oversees the operation of the Georgia Institute of Technology Foundation and leads the expansion of branch campuses.

Shelton's notable achievements include:

2000 – Appointed Vice President of the Asia Region for SOLE (The International Society of Logistics).
2008 – Received the Global Annual Best Contribution Award.
2012 – Nominated as Chairman of the Supply Chain Committee at the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, where he led the committee’s annual development strategy.
2013 – Secured management rights for the Supply Chain Council in the Greater China Region and spearheaded its market development and operations.
2015 – Served as the Executive Director of the Supply Chain and Service Innovation Center at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS).
2019 – Co-authored the best-selling book “The Meaning of Three Thousandth” with Keelung City Mayor, Mr. Hsieh Kuo Liang.
2022 – Published “The Evolution of Superior Men” with Xuan (Shiuan) Liu, inspiring thousands of men through the “chaoman” movement.
2025 – Released his latest book, The Death of SCM: The Rise of PI. He has become a leading advocate for the Physical Internet in Asia, serving as an academic and technical expert for the China Physical Internet Alliance and Vice Chair of Taiwan's SMART Logistics & Supply Chain Standard Committee, driving standardization efforts.

Previously, Shelton held key leadership roles, including Vice President of the Asia Region for The International Society of Logistics (SOLE), Executive Director of the Supply Chain and Service Innovation Center at CEIBS, General Manager of Manhattan Software Greater China, and Managing Director of the Supply Chain Council (SCC) China Region.