SAVED - Samenwerkend Autonoom Vervoer op bEDrijventerreinen

Logistics companies struggle to keep their supply chain cost-effective, reliable and sustainable, due to changing demand, increasing competition and growing service requirements. To remain competitive, processes must be efficient with low costs. Of the entire supply chain, the first and last mile logistics may be the most difficult aspect due to low volumes, high waiting and shipping times and complex schedules. These inefficiencies account for up to 40% of total transport costs.
Connected Automated Transport (CAT) is a technological development that allows for safer, more efficient and cleaner transport, especially for the first- and last-mile. The Connected Automated Driving Roadmap (ERTRAC) states that CAT can revolutionize the way fleets operate. The CATALYST Project (NWO) already shows the advantages of CAT. SAVED builds on several projects and transforms the challenges and solutions that were identified on a strategic level to a tactical and operational (company) level.
Despite the high-tech readiness of CAT, commercial acceptance is lacking due to issues regarding profitable integration into existing logistics processes and infrastructures. In-depth research on automated hub-to-hub freight transport is needed, focusing on ideal vehicle characteristics, logistic control of the vehicles (planning, routing, positioning, battery management), control modes (central, decentralized, hybrid), communication modes (vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure) and automation of loading and unloading, followed by the translation of this knowledge into valid business models.
Therefore, SAVED focuses on the following question:
“How can automated and collaborative hub-to-hub transport be designed, and what is the impact in terms of People, Planet and Profit (PPP) on the logistics value chain of industrial estates of different sizes, layouts and different traffic situations (mixed/unmixed infrastructure)?“

SAVED results in knowledge of the applicability of CAT and the impact on the logistics value chain of various industrial estates, illustrated by two case studies.

Eindrapportage

SAVED examined whether Connected Automated Transport (CAT) and Automated Yard Trucks (AYTs) could take over short, repetitive freight movements on business parks. The case was XL Business Park in Almelo, where containers move between CTT Almelo (Port), Bolk, Bleckmann and Timberland (Distribution Centers). These trips are short, but still involve waiting, repeated manoeuvres, changing schedules and dependence on drivers. The proposal estimated that inefficiencies in first- and last-mile logistics can account for up to 40% of transport costs. The project defined use cases, vehicle requirements, infrastructure requirements and an Operational Design Domain (ODD). The scenarios covered terminal operations, driving on shared roads, negotiating junctions and manoeuvring at customer sites. A digital twin was built with OpenStreetMap, Roadrunner, CARLA, ROS2 and MATLAB/Simulink. GPS records from one tractor and trailers, CCTV footage from junctions and tests with scaled vehicles were used to compare simulated trips with real routes, speeds, stops and waiting times. The work also assessed communication between vehicles and intelligent roadside units. For logistics control, SAVED developed methods for job assignment, vehicle scheduling, route selection, charging management and data exchange through the Open Trip Model. Separate studies addressed bioinspired charging, planning around solar-energy availability and route choice under traffic conditions. The project examined how companies could share responsibilities, data, costs and benefits. This resulted in governance models, role descriptions and cost-allocation methods based partly on the Shapley value. A planned blockchain platform was replaced by a central prototype using OTM, dashboards and controlled access. Interviews indicated that participants were more concerned with trust, data separation and usability than with blockchain itself. SAVED produced four business-model configurations, a morphological framework, the CAT Compass and the CAT Funding Logic Tool. These outputs support readiness assessment, division of responsibilities and selection of an implementation route. Figure 1 shows the high level architecture ; Appendix Figures A1-A6 provide supporting views.