Walther Ploos van Amstel

Walther Ploos van Amstel

Dr. Walther Ploos van Amstel is associate professor at Vrije Universiteit, lecturer at Hogeschool van Amsterdam and expert for TNO Mobility and Slimstock Professionals focusing on sustainable logistics, urban distribution, development of mainports, sense and respond logistics, mobility and cross chain control centers.   He received a doctorate in Economics in 2002 from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam for his research on logistics organization.     From 2002 to 2009 he was professor in logistics at the Netherlands Defence Academy. His field of research includes: creating winning supply networks, alliances, intelligent logistics concepts supported by ICT and asset management control.

2018: moving from zero-emission to zero-impact city logistics

Jan 9, 2018
So far, city logistics has played a limited role in improving air quality in cities. The focus on clean vehicles has been positive for air quality. But shouldn’t we really be talking about economically sound, vital and healthy city centers and neighborhoods when developing urban freight policies? Today, “zero impact” city logistics should be the focal point.

Will smart ICT solve the problems around the loading and unloading of goods?

Apr 12, 2017
Trucks and delivery vans driving around in circles looking for a place to park, and then double parking when they can't find one – it's something you see in every city. It’s inefficient and it’s a nuisance, both to the drivers themselves and to the local residents.

Web stores are not to blame for the growth in city logistics

Mar 23, 2017
Lots of attention has been given in recent years to the “massive” increase in delivery traffic in cities and residential districts. Web stores and the vans that deliver their parcels often get the blame for that. My neighbors wonder if it really can't all just fit into one delivery van. They see PostNL, DHL, Albert Heijn, Coolblue and DPD all driving down the street, one after the other.

Higher CO2 productivity in the transport sector? Only by working together

Jan 10, 2017
In recent years the transport sector has booked tremendous gains in terms of improving air quality.

Give drivers more freedom to plan

Jun 29, 2016
Carriers send their drivers out on the road with a set of strict transport orders. Transport planners specify exactly which route the driver is to take. But is that really so smart? With traffic being so uncertain, who is in the best position to make the best decisions: the planner at his desk or the driver behind the wheel?

Big And Smart Data Are The New Gold

Jun 14, 2016
I witnessed the power of Big Data for the first time at NK Speed Docking. Analysis of on-board computer data for 30,000 logistics journeys showed that one in five lorries on the road could be eliminated if the unpredictability of loading and offloading times was addressed.

The Future is in Precision-Guided Logistics

Jan 22, 2016
More and more companies are offering their customers delivery options. CoolBlue offers "Ordered today, delivered tonight" service, for example. In the construction sector, it's: "Ordered today, delivered to the site between 7 and 9 tomorrow morning" – unless you'd rather pick up your package at the pick-up point yourself tonight. Agreed is agreed.

City Logistics: Hub or no hub?

Jan 12, 2016
Countless books and articles have been written about urban distribution centers, logistics decoupling points, city hubs and urban consolidation centers. Every self-respecting European city has been the scene of such initiatives – the one more successful than the other, but all highly subsidized in any case. What can we learn from those initiatives? The best option could be no hub at all.

Are Web Stores Causing Traffic Jams In Neighbourhoods?

Jan 4, 2016
Online shopping isn't creating more congestion – and it won't do that even when the number of web-store deliveries doubles to 200 million in 2020. But that doesn't stop my neighbors from complaining all over social media about the increasing number of delivery vans in the street.

Don't Just Share Your Data

Jul 1, 2015
Using digital consignment notes (CMR’s) can make the transport of goods more efficient. Even now, carriers and shippers are still producing paper consignment notes by the billions each year. But while digital data will enable many new innovations, that doesn't mean that carriers should simply start sharing their transport data with just anyone. That's a lot more complicated than you might think.

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