All over Europe, the transport of goods by water, land and air has grown considerably in recent years and will continue to do so in the future. As a result of progressive globalization, new demands are being made of logistics. It is therefore important, despite the increasing average distances of transportation, to take economic steps in the interests of the customers. Because of their systematic structure, rail companies are particularly suitable for the growing markets in the East and to perform seaport hinterland transport services. As the necessary transport capacities on the roads are reaching their limits, freight is being shifted more and more from road to rail.
Combined transport is the ideal business concept to support this process. In addition, the reduction in pollution and traffic volume on the road resulting from combined transport plays a major role in the future sustainability of freight transportation. However, the European rail network is not unlimited in terms of its capacity, which means that the increased demand can only be met with the optimal utilization of the rail freight companies. Ultimately, combined transport operators and railroad transport companies face the challenge of having to act economically, despite considerable competition in more established modes of transport. It is necessary to improve the quality of services while at the same time increasing the flexibility of the individual services offered.
In order to meet these challenges and to operate economically, the companies must be able to plan clearly and efficiently on the basis of booking, timetable and freight car information. This can be done using FreightWarder from Lufthansa Systems. From booking through capacity planning to loading and order handling, the modular system provides
- the planning and optimization of capacities in terms of the expected demand,
- the adaptation of capacities to current requirements in operational business,
- the integration of capacity management with booking and order processing as well as networking to the customers via
- interfaces to their external systems.
