2024 Smart Freight Symposium

The Sixth Smart Freight Symposium, held on November 18, 2024, brought together academics, government and industry leaders to explore the challenges and opportunities in sustainable freight systems. Hosted by the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, the symposium featured cutting-edge research, innovative solutions, and forward-looking strategies to drive sustainability in freight transportation.

The Sixth Smart Freight Symposium featured three engaging sessions. Each session included moderated discussions: one focused on insights from industry and government leaders, and the other showcased cutting-edge research presented by SFC affiliated university students.

Welcome and Opening Remarks

The event commenced with a warm welcome by Khaled Hassanein, Dean of the DeGroote School of Business, who highlighted the importance of collaboration in building sustainable and efficient freight systems.

Following this, Kara Wells, Manager of Systems Analysis and Forecasting at the Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO), announced the MTO-SFC Data Sharing Agreement, a critical initiative designed to enhance data access and foster informed decision-making through advanced freight analytics.

Karem Wells addressing an audience behind a podium.

Session 1: Freight Decarbonization

Moderator: Matthew Roorda

This session focused on strategies and innovations to decarbonize freight transportation:

  • Geoff Burgess (Transport Canada): Presented the Transportation Decarbonization Action Plan, focusing on accelerating technology adoption, increasing efficiency, and stakeholder collaboration to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
  • Gordon Reed (UPS): Highlighted UPS’s Rolling Laboratory, showcasing alternative fuels such as electric, hybrid, and renewable natural gas tailored to suburban, regional, and urban logistics operations.
  • Cynthia Lucar Diaz (Peel Region) and Naweed Malik (Emterra Environmental): Shared progress on the Peel Region’s zero-emission waste collection pilot, reporting on electric truck operations, insights from collected data and challenges.
Matthew Roorda addressing the audience at the end of the event.
From left to right: Geoff Burgess, Gordon Reed, Matthew Roorda, Cynthia Lucar Diaz, and Naweed Malik
  • Ahmed Foda (McMaster University): Proposed a generic decarbonized waste collection system configuration, offering stakeholders actionable insights on infrastructure, operational planning, and economic considerations.
  • Lih Wei Yeow (University of Toronto): Explored pathways for the U.S. heavy-duty truck sector to meet climate targets, highlighting zero-emission trucks, fleet renewal, and e-diesel technologies while analyzing trade-offs and co-benefits.
  • Tareq Alsaleh (Toronto Metropolitan University): Conducted a sustainability and resilience analysis for the electric vehicle supply chain, addressing critical challenges related to markets, vendors, and supply links necessary for building a robust EV infrastructure.
Tareq Alsaleh addressing an audience member's question while sitting on a chair.
From left to right: Lih Wei Yeow, Matthew Roorda, Ahmed Foda, and Tareq Alsaleh

Session 2: Pathways to Net Zero

Moderator: Clarence Woudsma

This session outlined strategies to achieve net-zero in freight transportation:

  • Elizabeth Baker (Deloitte): Delivered a comprehensive menu of net zero options, including fleet electrification, renewable fuel adoption, hydrogen technologies, and carbon credits.
  • Matt Judd (Nestlé Canada): Presented Nestlé’s Net Zero Roadmap, targeting a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 through regenerative agriculture, sustainable sourcing, and operational efficiencies.
  • Ahmed Zayan (Novartis): Presented innovative ideas for special medicine supply chain. This included creative packaging and recycling as well as global supply chain network configuration.
Matt Judd answering an audience question while holding a microphone.
From left to right: Matt Judd, Clarence Woudsma, Ahmed Zayan, and Elizabeth Baker
  • Farah Ghizzawi (University of Toronto): Highlighted the role of electric cargo cycles in reducing emissions, congestion, and curbside impact while improving courier conditions and requiring strategically placed micro-hubs.
  • Sahil Bhatt (Toronto Metropolitan University): Discussed fleet size optimization in crowdsourced delivery, balancing demand fulfillment with improved driver utilization under regulatory constraints.
  • Rayan Ben Daya (McMaster University): Explored investment strategies in the electric vehicle supply chain, addressing government decisions on subsidies for battery producers versus consumers to achieve emission reduction goals.
  • Fei Zhang (University of Waterloo): Proposed a machine learning-based model to classify products for warehousing or cross-docking, aiming to reduce emissions from transportation and storage.
A group of professionals listening intently to an audience member speaking.
From left to right: Sahil Bhatt, Farah Ghizzawi, Clarence Woudsma, Rayan Ben Daya, and Fei Zhang

Session 3: Sustainable Freight Technologies

Moderator: Bilal Farooq

This session showcased technological innovations transforming freight logistics:

  • Sabbir Saiyed (City of Toronto): Discussed Toronto’s Freight and Goods Movement Strategy , emphasizing actions to mitigate traffic congestion, adapt to e-commerce growth, and meet climate goals.
  • Eric Francoeur (Precision Home & Office Deliveries): Explored sustainable last-mile solutions, including optimized routing, central dispatch, and the integration of electric vehicles.
  • Amir Sayegh (Geotab): Highlighted AI-driven fleet management strategies, focusing on vehicle mix optimization, predictive maintenance, and fuel reduction.
Bilal Farooq is presenting confidently, walking across the stage.
From left to right: Sabbir Saiyed, Bilal Farooq, Eric Francoeur, Amir Sayegh
  • Alia Galal (University of Toronto): Presented a hazard anticipation training program for truck drivers to improve awareness, visual search, and response skills, reducing road collisions.
  • Chirag Seth (University of Waterloo): Proposed an internet of things-based logistics framework for fresh produce, leveraging shelf-life prediction models and reinforcement learning to reduce waste.
  • Sayaka Kamei (Toronto Metropolitan University): Introduced a neural network model for fault classification and remaining useful life prediction in logistics systems.
  • Yunfei Ma (McMaster University): Developed a sustainable truck routing framework that integrates telematics data and traffic modeling to minimize emissions, travel time, and distance.
Sayaka Kamei speaking to the crowd at the conclusion of the third session.
From left to right: Sayaka Kamei, Chirag Seth, Alia Galal, and Yunfei Ma

Smart Freight Transportation Analytics Certificate

During lunch, Elkafi Hassini, Symposium Chair, announced the launch of the Smart Freight Transportation Analytics Certificate (SFTA). The Smart Freight Centre is partnering with the National Institute of Supply Chain Leaders (NISCL) on this initiative. Bernie Uhlich, Board Chair of NISCL, joined Elkafi in announcing the launch of the SFTA, which is aimed at equipping professionals with cutting-edge freight analytics skills.

Elkafi Hassini and Bernie Uhlich engaged in a discussion after the event.
From left to right: Elkafi Hassini and Bernie Uhlich

Student Presentation Competition

The symposium also featured a Student Presentation Competition, highlighting innovative research from emerging scholars. Presentations were evaluated by a panel of esteemed judges Erin Dane (Nestlé Canada), Sabbir Saiyed (City of Toronto), and Serbo Dimic (Purolator).

Tareq Alsaleh, Rayan Ben Daya, and Alia Galal were the winners. The competition emphasized the importance of fostering collaboration between academia and industry to address critical challenges in freight systems.

The awards were sponsored by Siemens. Theresa Cooke and David Bellitto shared updates on Siemens e-mobility and handed the awards to the winners.

Every winner of a student presentation award stands with their colleagues, proudly showing off their plaques.
From left to right: Serbo Dimic, Tareq Alsaleh, Rayan Ben Daya, Alia Galal, Theresa Cooke, Erin Dane, and Sabbir Saiyed.

Closing Remarks

The event concluded with remarks from Kevin Gingerich, Chair of the Smart Freight Centre, who emphasized the importance of collaboration, research, and innovation in achieving sustainable freight systems.

Kevin Gingerich is addressing the audience while standing close to the podium.

Symposium committee

  • Symposium Chair: Elkafi Hassini
  • Organizing Committee: Heider Al Mashalah and Shervaughn Bennett
Heider Al Mashalah and Shervaughn Bennett, standing together and smiling.
From left to right: Heider Al Mashalah and Shervaughn Bennett

Final Thoughts

Judging from the attendees’ feedback, the Sixth Smart Freight Symposium was great opportunity to connect with change makers in academia, government and industry and learn about innovative approaches transition to net zero. The Smart Freight Centre looks forward to engaging government and industry partners in impactful research. We look forward to welcoming you again next year for the seventh Smart Freight Symposium.

Slides

Stay tuned! Slides are being uploaded here. as they become available. This is a live folder, where slides are added based on speakers’ permissions, as they retain intellectual property rights over their contents.

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