The digitalization of rail freight is a current topic. Productivity gains and the competitiveness of the mode of transport are at stake. But in concrete terms, how can a shipper digitize its rail flows? This is what we were able to discuss with Heidelberg Materials (former Ciments Calcia) and the AUTF (Association of Freight Transport Users) during a webinar (also available in replay).
Digitalization of rail freight - desirable or necessary?
The AUTF represents 170 companies and professional organizations from all sectors of activity. Valérie Cornet is in charge of land transport there.
For us, it outlines the context of the enthusiasm surrounding the digitalization of rail freight:
One National strategy for the development of rail freight was presented in September 2021, on the occasion of The European Year of Rail. It includes 72 measures aimed at doubling the share of rail freight by 2030 to reach a modal share of 18%.
Rail is essential to our ecological transition, in particular because of its energy performance: that is the challenge of the recovery plan.
Among the measures adopted, there is a great need for innovation, especially digital innovation. How can digital technology help railways?
- Create conditions for cooperation within the rail ecosystem.
- Improve productivity of the entire rail system and maintain/restore competitiveness. Numerous applications are possible, in terms of network, maintenance, but also logistics, as we will see with Heidelberg Materials (former Ciments Calcia).
- Get the missing data and information today cruelly for the expected performance improvement.
- Modernize the image rail freight.
In this webinar, Valérie also returned to 2 points of attention to be taken into account:
- Data confidentiality, which will arise with the sharing of flows
- Interoperability, not only within the rail ecosystem, but also in increasingly intermodal logistics chains.
Why set up a TMS Rail? Feedback from Heidelberg Materials
Heidelberg Materials (former Ciments Calcia) is one of the major players in the cement industry in France. Rail is an essential part of their logistics, with 1000 full trains loaded per year. Nicolas Plouviez works there as a logistics manager for rail. He is also a logistics performance controller.
The observation at Heidelberg Materials: no support tool for rail
Despite the weight of rail transport in the logistics of Heidelberg Materials, the observations made in 2018 were striking. “In terms of support tools for rail, nothing had really changed despite the opening of the market to competition. We were still using an old-fashioned way of operating: Excel, faxes, etc.” explains Nicolas Plouviez.
Therefore, the problems of information collection, collaboration and productivity mentioned by Valérie Cornet arose:
- Poor control of the wagon fleet
- Disparate tools that hinder the productivity of the planning process
- Non-existent visibility on current deliveries
- Manual collection of accessible performance data
Using a TMS Rail: what are the functionalities?
During the webinar, Nicolas Plouviez also describes the functionalities and main advantages of TMS Rail Everysens implemented with Heidelberg Materials.
- Mastery of the wagon fleet, thanks to real-time geolocation and finely configurable exception alerts (examples: retention, inventory thresholds, etc.).
- Digitization of planning and consignment notes, thanks to a centralized collaborative tool, connected to the systems of railway companies.
- Real-time tracking of deliveries for all trains, thanks to reliable ETAs, for complete trains as well as for single wagons.
- Reporting and monitoring of performance, thanks to the crossing of theoretical and real information directly in a logistics dashboard.
Implementing a TMS Rail: what ROI and benefits have been observed?
As with any project, an ROI (Return On Investment) analysis makes it possible to determine the success of the rail freight digitalization project. At Heidelberg Materials, Nicolas Plouviez identified 3 ROI levers :
- Productivity and time management
- Wagon fleet productivity
- Monitoring the performance of rail partners
To discover the numbers associated with each of these levers, we invite you to watch the webinar.
(Link of the webinar in English)
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