dr. ir. P. (Paul) Buijs

GLEAM NSR: Green logistics for a just net zero carbon economy in the North Sea Region

Short description: GLEAM NSR aims to facilitate the development and implementation of ambitious policies and governance frameworks to support sustainable urban logistics in cities. This initiative is dedicated to ensuring that both larger enterprises and SMEs are equipped to thrive in this environment. The project will create or upscale multi-level, multi-stakeholder collaboration platforms where the inputs of governments, academics, industry, and citizens will be used to develop more efficient and equitable policies and actions for just and green urban logistics.

Academic partners: University of Gothenburg
Cities: Aarhus, Rotterdam, Mechelen, Leuven, and Le Havre Seine Metropole
Policy Partners: LNC Logistics Network Consultants and Copenhagenize
Industry Partners: VIL and SME United

Duration: Dec 2023 – May 2027

Subsidy from: EU Interreg North Sea

My role: Project lead, supervisor of postdoc and junior researchers.

GreenTurn: Enabling stakeholder-centric zero emission e-commerce delivery and return practices through transparent and collaborative supply chains

Short description: GreenTurn uses design thinking approaches to develop solutions which bridge between behavioural interventions (including incentives, nudges and gamification) and delivery and return options (such as time windows, in-store pick-ups and returnable packaging, among others). To test solutions, GreenTurn implements 5 complementary pilots involving logistic service providers, marketplace providers and retailers as partners or stakeholders. The GreenTurn pilots will also touch upon social sustainability aspects too, for both customers (e.g. physical and digital accessibility), and e-commerce logistics employees (e.g. work conditions, market reintegration, etc.)

Academic partners: Łukasiewicz - Poznań Institute of Technology, Chalmers University of Technology, University of Antwerp, and University of the Aegean
Industry partners: Bax & Company ECONSULT, ALICE, InPost, LogPOINT, Kotsovolos, City of Zaragoza, Fundación Zaragoza Ciudad del Conocimiento, and City of Poznań

Duration: Aug 2024 – Jul 2027

Subsidy from: EU Horizon Europe

My role: Supervising PhD candidate, work package leader

ULaaDS: Urban Logistics as an on-Demand Service

Short description: A consortium around three pilot cities (Bremen, Groningen and Mechelen) is committed to reaching zero emission city logistics by joining forces with logistics stakeholders – both established and new comers – to accelerate the deployment of novel shared and zero-emission solutions addressing major challenges stemming from the rising on-demand economy in urban logistics.

Academic partners: Fraunhofer IML
Industry partners: City of Groningen, OV Bureau Groningen-Drenthe and Dropper (all Groningen), UPS, ViaVan, EcoKoeriers, Bax Consultancy, City of Bremen, City of Mechelen and several others.

Duration: Sept 2020 – Feb 2024

Subsidy from: EU Horizon 2020

My role: Supervisor of PhD candidate, work package leader, coordinator of Groningen pilots.

Field Lab Sustainable Logistics Hubs

Short description: The aim of the Field Lab is to create insight on robust business models for the use of logistics hubs. To this end, we collaborate closely with local SMEs and government on four themes: (1) learning from prior and ongoing experiments with hubs; (2) containerization in local freight transport; (3) dynamic planning based on real-time data; and (4) LoRa for logistics.

Duration: Feb 2019 – Dec 2023

Subsidy from: Province of Drenthe

My role: Supervising PhD candidate and several MSc thesis projects.

PIONEER: Physical Internet, an Outlook on Neighborhood and Environment for E-commerce Retail

Short description: PIONEER focuses on innovative logistic concepts for e-commerce – seeking a balance between service orientation, efficiency, sustainability and quality of life in urban areas. Special attention goes out to omni channel inventory management as well as the integration of so-called micro hubs and bicycle couriers in e-commerce deliveries.

Industry partners: Districon, ViaTim, Fietskoeriers.nl, Wehkamp, DHL, Centric, IMCC, Dropper, ZUPR

Duration: May 2019 – Apr 2022

Subsidy from: TKI Dinalog

My role: Supervisor of post-docs and junior researcher, supervisor of several MSc theses, company contact.

Design of LNG Networks

Short description: The underlying premise of the project was that, for liquefied natural or bio-gas (LNG) to become a truly sustainable fuel for transportation, the distribution network through which LNG is made available to its end-users should be designed and operated sustainably. Its aim was to gain insights in the network requirements in different phases in the roll-out of LNG as transport fuel and to study the impact of infrastructural development alternatives by means of developing decision models and simulation studies.

Academic partners: TU Eindhoven
Industry partners: Gasunie, Groningen Seaports, ENGIE, Energy Valley, Husa logistics, Feederlines and many others

Duration: Sep 2013 – Dec 2016

Subsidy from: TKI Dinalog

My role: Supervising a junior researcher and several MSc thesis projects