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GENERAL LOGISTICSSUSTAINABLE LOGISTICSCLIMATE CHANGEFREIGHT TRANSPORTINFRASTRUCTURE AND PROPERTYRETAIL LOGISTICS- Downloads
What exactly is logistics?
Many people think of logistics as simply moving stuff. The appearance of the word on the sides of trucks certainly gives this impression. In practice logistics is a complex mix of freight transport, storage, handling, inventory management and all the IT required to co-ordinate these activities. It is a function that we all take for granted but without which our economy, indeed whole way of life, would collapse. It is a major industry in its own right, accounting for 12% of global GDP, and a major polluter releasing around 10-11% of global CO2 emissions. To get a sense of just how important logistics is, have a look at this video.
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Welcome
Professor Alan McKinnonWelcome to my personal website. On this site I have assembled many of the outputs of a career spent researching, teaching and advising in the field of logistics.
I had the good fortune to enter this field when it was at an early stage in its development, full of interesting research questions and in the grip of managerial revolution. It remains a vibrant and rapidly evolving subject area, constantly faced with new challenges and opportunities.
One of the greatest challenges logistics managers will have to confront in future decades is climate change. The link between logistics and climate change has been the focus of much of my recent research and features prominently on the site.
Whatever your interest in logistics, however, there should be something on this site of relevance.
Alan McKinnon
Emeritus Professor of Logistics, Kuehne Logistics University, Hamburg, Germany
Professor Emeritus, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.Blogs on logistics topics
TRA 2026 in Budapest: an Award, a Keynote and Panel Discussions
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The EU’s main transport research conference, the Transport Research Arena (TRA), is held bi-annually, attracts several thousand delegates and comprises hundreds of sessions on many different aspects of transport. At TRA 2026 in Budapest I received the the TRA Visions Special Honorary Award. This ‘recognises the lifetime achievements of an exceptional senior researcher in European transport research and innovation’. It ‘celebrates outstanding work and dedication in European transport research and highlights research as a career with lasting impact on society’. The Award was launched in 2022 and I was only the third recipient. The presentation was made at the TRA 2026 Gala Dinner.
At the event I also delivered a plenary keynote address, moderated a panel discussion and was myself a panellist in discussion, all on the subject of transport resilience, one of the main themes of the event.
I called my keynote presentation 'Research on Transport Resilience: Seven Observations and Three Recommendations'. A copy, with all the relevant weblinks, can be downloaded here.
The Special Session that I moderated was entitled ‘Resilient freight transport and logistics networks versus decarbonization efforts: the perfect storm against sustainability and affordability.’ The five panel members, Paola Chiarini (European Commission), Sophie Punte (Life-Links), Georgia Ayfantopoulou (Hellenic Institute of Transport CERTH), Ketki Kulkarni (Hanken School of Economics) and Christine Hung (SINTEF) gave excellent presentations on different aspects of the transport resilience / sustainability relationship. A list of some of the key issues we discussed can be found here.
On the final afternoon of the Conference there was a session to mark the conclusion of two EU-funded research projects, ReMuNet and SARIL, on different, but related aspects of freight transport resilience. The two research teams provided detailed summaries of their project results. There then followed a panel discussion on a range of resilience topics which I was invited to join.
TRA 2026 After Movie
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