Ongoing projects
TUrLo
4flow research is an associated partner in the project TUrLo (Transfer Roadmap for Urban Logistics). Along with research partners Bundesverband der Kurier- Express- Paketdienste (German National Association for Courrier, Express and Parcel Delivery Services), the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin and more, 4flow will take the next step in a series of projects researching ways to improve the environmental sustainability of goods flow in urban logistics systems. The research project TUrLo will develop a roadmap and evaluate the feasibility of last mile shipment consolidation in a real-world test bed in Berlin, Germany, to help businesses switch to more environmentally sustainable delivery processes, while minimizing financial and operational risks.
ReMuNet
ReMuNet (Resilient Multimodal freight Transport Network) will create methods, algorithms and a collaborative platform to support synchro-modal relay transportation on European rail, road, and inland waterways. In addition to identifying and assessing disruptive events in transportation in real time, the project will orchestrate route utilization, suggest transshipment points and optimize capacity allocation. 4flow is collaborating with 22 partners across Europe.
HEGEL
HEGEL (Hypernetwork of German Logistics) is a project supported by the German Ministry for Digital and Transport and led by 4flow research. The project aims to improve transparency in the freight traffic market with the help of hypernetworks that consider road, rail and domestic waterway modalities. With this, the potential of intermodal transportation to create cost savings, increase sustainability, and improve resiliency will be made usable for companies. Project partners include Kühne Logistics University, the Institute for Transport Research of the German Aerospace Center e.V. and the Research Group for Supply Chain Services at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, as well as 4PL Intermodal and Ubilabs.
Leoplan
The project Leoplan (Learning and Optimization with Large Databanks on Networks) examines the potential of hybrid processes that combine mathematical optimization and machine learning. 4flow, as an associated partner, is cooperating with the Technical University Braunschweig and other partners.
PROVIDEQ
ProvideQ (Quantum Readiness for Optimization Providers) is supported by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. 4flow research is working with Leibniz University Hannover, the University of Cologne, Carolo-Wilhelmina Technical University Braunschweig, Johannes Kepler University Linz, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and GAMS Software, to develop and evaluate innovative algorithms for the optimization of supply chain challenges based on quantum computing. The project focuses on the supply chain segments of load building, vehicle routing and production planning.
SLIDEPLUS
SLIDEplus (Service Platform for the Detection of Disruptions in Road Freight Transportation with self-learning AI processes), the Institute for Applied Informatics as well as the partners Digital System Integration and the German transportation software company C-Informationssysteme work together with 4flow research to develop AI-based methods to predictively detect disruptions in road freight transportation. Building on this, the project will produce an additional service platform that makes the developed methods available for use. SLIDEplus is supported by the German Ministry for Digital and Transport.
Completed projects
Was PAST
In the project WAS-PAST (Goods Flows in Cities – Parcels and Partial Loads), an innovative concept for the flow of goods into and within cities was developed and tested with partners under real-world conditions. In addition to 4flow, partners included the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, ebay and BEHALA, the operator of the trimodal freight hub in Berlin.
NOLAN
In the research project NOLAN (scalable emergency supply chain solutions for catastrophes in urban areas), the Institute for Industrial Production at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the Institute for Environmental and Technological Law at TU Dresden and 4flow research worked together to develop effective and practical concepts for the collaboration between government authorities and businesses in the provision of supply to large urban areas in crisis situations. The initiative was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
PREVIEW
The PREVIEW project was focused on the central goal of increasing the resilience of waterway infrastructure in Germany. Over a three-year period, research partners have investigated the potential impact of critical waterway infrastructure on other transportation infrastructures, logistics, as well as neighboring industries and populations as part of a holistic risk management approach. In addition to 4flow research, PREVIEW project partners included the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, BAW (Bundesanstalt fuer Wasserbau) and antwortING.
InKoRISK
InKoRISK (Collaborative risk management for integrated planning of production and transportation in the automotive industry) was a research project developing a systematic and collaborative approach to risk management. The project combines preventive measures with reactive ones to analyze and deal with risks that affect shipments and thus emissions. The InKoRISK project was a collaborative project with the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) and partners from the automotive industry.
InTerTrans
The InTerTrans project (Integrated scheduling and transportation planning) concentrated on realizing efficient transportation processes for the automotive industry. Sustainable concepts for transportation planning and order scheduling were also developed and integrated for the first time. By making transportation planning more dynamic and including key transportation criteria in order scheduling, utilization was increased, less kilometers were driven and a modal shift from rail to water was achieved. With these improvements, emissions were reduced substantially in case studies.
LogiScale
“LogiScale – Big Data and Supply Chain” was a joint research project between 4flow and the Combinatorial Optimization & Graph Algorithms Group (COGA) at the Technical University of Berlin. Together, the project partners developed methods to model complex supply chain networks including cost, time and location data in various dimensions, known as multiscale modeling. The new methods are also intended to enable planning decisions, no matter the size of the network, using efficient algorithms with minimal calculation effort. Another focus was to model logistics processes in a realistic manner, and to enable a reduction in planning and operating costs for logistics networks. The research project was funded by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund and the Investitionsbank Berlin. More information is available in German at www.logiscale.net.
MultiTrans
During the MultiTrans project (Multi-criteria optimization for transportation challenges in the supply chain) optimization algorithms were developed that can withstand the intricate complexity of network structures. Multi-echelon transportation networks and consolidated traffic flows were modeled and optimized based on multiple factors such as costs and environmental sustainability. The solutions clearly outperform conventional approaches generally in use. In case studies, supply chain costs were reduced by up to 14 percent. This research project was funded by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund.
RM-LOG
RM-LOG (Risk management strategies in logistics and infrastructure networks) is a project in which new and modified risk management strategies were drawn up to safeguard supply chains. Using models, the basis consisted of investigating disruptions to the transportation and logistics infrastructure having a considerable effect on supply chains. The RM-LOG project partners were the Technical University of Berlin, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Kuehne + Nagel.
RobuNet
The research project RobuNet (Robust network design for very large logistics networks) developed innovative solutions for robust and efficient network design. The goal was to realistically model and efficiently optimize large-scale and complex supply networks while considering uncertain planning parameters. 4flow partnered with the Combinatorial Optimization & Graph Algorithms (COGA) team at the Technical University of Berlin.
SEAK
The SEAK project (Decision support for companies to overcome bottlenecks in food supply) looked at areas of improvement from producer to consumer in the food supply, with a focus on logistics and infrastructure networks. Decision support model methods for both the private and the public sector were developed. The project was carried out in collaboration with the Technical University of Darmstadt, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) as well as partners from the grocery retailing sector, and supply chain service providers.
ReKoNeT
The project ReKoNeT (Data-based Regulation of Collaborative Value Networks using Protected Transparency) aimed to empower businesses within a network to transform themselves from individual agents to dispersed socio-technical systems (supported by the German Ministry of Education and Research). Part of this empowerment is the achievement of a higher level of collaboration, which leads to better performance of the whole value network by means of a holistic view of all parties’ processes. To achieve this, concrete recommended actions for collaboration were established based on data-driven models. Project partners included Bosch, Festo, Wittenstein and Munich RE.
Kiezbote
The project Kiezbote studied a pilot project for parcel delivery via cargo bike from a micro-hub. In addition to 4flow, both the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin and the Berlin School of Economics and Law participated in the research project, along with the online retailer Zalando and the bicycle logistics business Cycle Logistics CL.