DETAILED TABLE OF CONTENTS

Why we need logistics in an increasingly complex world ...... 1

An invisible machine and pillar of the economy
that simplifies the daily lives of businesses and consumers ........ 2

Logistics are essential to meeting the challenges
of today and tomorrow .................................................. 3

The solution offered by logistics: Turning an “unknown”
into a key success factor for the national economy ................. 4

CHAPTER 1

Faster and further! From the Roman Empire to the “global village”: Logistics at the heart of business and power. .............. 7

All roads lead to....................................................... 8

How war accelerates logistical breakthroughs ................. 13

The power of logistics in the 21st century: The globalization, acceleration

and personalization of trade .......................................... 18

CHAPTER 2

“Columbus 4.0”: Digital explorers are the new heroes
of the intangible economy ............................................ 25

What is the point of logistics in a virtual world?............... 27

You’ll find added value in data
and services – not in gadgets! ........................................ 33

Digitization and disintermediation:
Where is the risk of disruption coming from? ..................... 35

CHAPTER 3

“Made and Shared in the World”:
The advent of global logistics ......................................... 43

147

GETTING OUR FUTURE ON THE RIGHT TRACK

A spread that embodies the challenges of globalized logistics44

Logistical ubiquity:
Being present all the time on five continents. ..................... 47

“Whether you like it or not, globalization is on the march” .. 50

CHAPTER 4

Meeting the challenges facing ports and rail freight:
A Franco-European affair.............................................. 59

Making French ports attractive again............................ 60

The future of French rail freight:
The opportunities beyond the challenges........................... 64

CHAPTER 5

Winning the battle of the “last mile”:
Dealing with endless possibilities .................................... 75

A new consumer society: The e-commerce
and smartphone revolution and its effect on time ................ 76

Adaptable logistics solutions:
Looking to a multipolar future ....................................... 80

Ordering everything, everywhere:
Making choice easy. ................................................... 84

CHAPTER 6

Green logistics and 21st century paradoxes:
From an economy of flows to an ecology of flows? ...............91

Transport’s carbon footprint:
Have we already lived through the worst?.......................... 93

From ports to city streets:
We’re running out of public space ................................... 97

Finding our way around reverse logistics:
A whole set of new opportunities ..................................102

CHAPTER 7

Shaping a multipolar future:
How logisticians connect innovations..............................109

148

DETAILED TABLE OF CONTENTS

Logistics has always connected innovations ...................110

Big data, the personalization of objects and connectivity:
The smart logistics turn .............................................. 112

Where do humans and services fit in a digital
and automated world? ................................................ 117

CHAPTER 8

Turning France into a logistics powerhouse ................... 125

Good logistics are key to being competitive
and attracting investment ...........................................126

An ambitious vision for infrastructure..........................128

National leaders with a global reach at the service
of the French economy ............................................... 132

Anticipating the sector’s transformation
and its workforce needs .............................................. 136

CONCLUSION

Profiting from uncertainty and getting on the right track: Vision trumps previsions. ............................................ 141

The movement of objects and the three tracks
leading to modernity ................................................. 142

We need a strategic vision for logistics
with an industrial dimension ........................................144