Efficient & Reliable Transportation of Consignments (ERTOC)
In plain English
AI plain-English summaryA new data hub will let freight companies see the true financial and environmental cost of every shipment, in real time, across road, rail, and sea. Currently, logistics operators often lack a clear, integrated picture of their carbon footprint and total costs when moving goods across multiple transport modes. This project builds a standards-based open data hub that pulls together three functions: tracking consignments across different modes, sharing spare capacity between operators, and optimising which transport mode to use for each leg of a journey. The hub uses a platform-independent application programming interface (API) so different systems can talk to each other. A key feature is a function that calculates the actual carbon cost of shipping a consignment, enabling carbon tracking across multiple modes. If successful, ERTOC could make supply chains more efficient and transparent. Freight users and operators would make better-informed choices, cutting both costs and emissions. The system also undergoes a thorough security assessment, using analysis techniques from a previous project, to ensure the data is safe. This quietly improves the infrastructure that keeps goods moving—from supermarket shelves to construction materials—without the public ever noticing.
View original technical description
View the original record at the funder ↗
Related Research
Grants with similar aims, by meaning.
Original classification
Collaborative R&DPlain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research. Is something wrong? Let us know