Team with KLU Student wins Transporeon4Future Challenge
KLU student Graham Prefontaine Dean (M.Sc. Global Logistics & Supply Chain Managment) and his team recently won the “Transporeon4Future” hackathon competition. After pitching their project in front of a high-ranking jury, they were declared the winners. As a reward, the team will now have the chance to present their idea to the European Commission in Brussels. Several other KLU students also took part in the competition, reaching the final round as well.
In March, KLU master's students from the Global Logistics & Supply Chain Management program, Ramón van Almsick and Varunkumar Prathapam Srinivasan, already took home first place after a first presentation round of nine different teams of the Transporeon4Future hackathon in front of a jury. They, plus four other teams, were afterwards allowed to present their pitch a second time to a different jury.
Optimizing the use of empty miles
In their project, the team of Graham Prefontaine Dean worked to optimize the use of empty miles in the trucking industry on the basis of network efficiency. “Our vision is to increase transparency, reduce workloads and improve networking between shippers and carriers in three simple steps: matching, evaluating, and connecting,” Graham explains. “We match shippers with carriers based on criteria such as the proximity of the unloading and loading stations or the industry that is being served. Carriers are then evaluated on the basis of several factors and finally, documents are forwarded to the carrier, allowing them to make the best match for their business.”
Stiff competition
A jury including KLU Professor Alan McKinnon selected the idea for first place honors, including the chance to present it to the European Commission in Brussels. “All the pitches were of a very high standard, making it very difficult for us to decide on the winning team,” said Prof. McKinnon. In addition to Graham, several other KLU students participated in the challenge: Jonas Krueger with the “yellow” team, Luca Risaliti with team "blue", and Ramón van Almsick and Varunkumar Prathapam Srinivasan with team “green”.
The Transporeon Hackathon identified five big challenges the planet is facing today, and tasked participants to combine innovative thinking and advanced technology to come up with a solution that really will prove to be game-changing for the supply chain.
More Information:
• Transporeon4Future
• KLU Students Win Decarbonization Hackathon
• Interview with Ramón van Almsick (‘Logistics4Future’ initiative)