Digital solutions help to cut waiting times

The competitiveness of combined transport relies on optimal handling of the containers at the interfaces of the transport chain. Long waiting and processing times at the terminals will frustrate the best of plans. For this reason, Contargo is increasingly opting for IT solutions which help to speed up the processing of containers.

“Combined transport has many advantages, but processing at the terminals has to be efficient if it is to hold its own with other transport modes in speed and punctuality”, says Heinrich Kerstgens, Co-Managing Director of Contargo GmbH & Co. KG. This is why Contargo AG in Basel, for instance, offers a special service to truck drivers. For a small fee, they can log in by Smartphone to the booking system STAR. There, they can not only view free slots, but can also book them themselves. This substantially reduces waiting time for participants, because Contargo is able carry out order checks in advance of the time slot. It is planned to gradually introduce STAR at other Contargo terminals, too.

In the Port of Rotterdam, numerous enterprises and organisations have banded together to find solutions for the frequently recurring phases when barges have to cope with lengthy waiting times. Contargo is a participant in this programme, known as “Nextlogic”. At the beginning of 2017, a large-scale practical test is scheduled in which the planning tool BREIN will neutrally assign terminal and depot slots, perform integral planning and take the most recent changes into account. Heinrich Kerstgens is convinced that “as procedures become increasingly complex and handling volumes continue to rise, intelligent IT solutions will make a decisive contribution to the success of combined transport.”