November/December 2017
Synchromodal intermodal
Q
uintiq is partnering with
European Gateway Services (EGS)
to bring what the two claim is a “new
level of intelligence” to intermodal
logistics.
EGS manages an extensive logistics
network comprising two terminals of
parent company Hutchison Ports ECT
Rotterdam (ECT) in Port of Rotterdam as
well as other deep sea terminals in
Rotterdam and Antwerp connected to
inland terminals by rail, barge and road.
However, in contrast to other intermodal
service providers, EGS says it allows for
mode- and route-neutral transport
solutions, selecting the most reliable,
efficient and sustainable route “at that
moment for that customer”.
Other providers typically run fixed routes
made up of pre-defined modalities and
legs, the group says.
Now EGS is taking standard planning
strategies to a new level with a
‘synchromodal’ trip optimiser using
Quintiq’s planning and optimisation
software, which employs artificial
intelligence to choose the optimal modes
and routes at all times.
When planners work with Excel or other
traditional route planning technologies,
fixed routes are typically the only way to
plan, given the limitations of human
capacity and standard technology.
However, by using artificial intelligence,
B ULK D ISTRIBUTOR
Intermodal
European Gateway Services offers the market an integrated network for transport to and from the European hinterland
planners can work without these
restrictions and manage higher levels of
complexity.
Quintiq’s software dynamically evaluates
all possible modes and routes. This allows
the system to perform a wide search in real
time to find the most optimal solution in
terms of costs, on-time delivery and
capacity utilisation.
The Quintiq software draws on EGS’s
data and its network to ensure that plans
remain optimal even when external factors
such as delays affect the network. The
result is a growing network of efficient,
reliable and sustainable connections.
According to Rob van Egmond, CEO at
Quintiq: “The power of synchromodality
lies in the balance it brings between overall
efficiency and customer service. The
challenge lies in the massive jump in
complexity and scale. That is where
Quintiq’s artificial intelligence comes in,
allowing EGS to master – and capitalise on
– that complexity.”
3
Boxing Bayern
A
new container hub for Northern Bavaria could soon
take shape.
Contargo Network Logistics GmbH and Ziegler Logistik GmbH
founded a joint enterprise in September, to be held by both
companies on a fifty-fifty basis.
The joint company, which will have its headquarters in Döhlau,
will operate under the name of Contargo Ziegler Combitrac
GmbH.
In future more frequent departures, increased rail transport
capacities, more depot space and more flexible delivery/collection
will ensure an ample logistics capacity, especially for the wood
industry in Northern Bavaria.
Contargo Ziegler Combitrac will be active in the area of container
transport logistics and will market forwarding services for
containers in the European hinterland as well as transport services
by truck and rail as a bundled offer. The company will operate the
terminals in Hof (Contargo) and Wiesau (Ziegler) and will also
integrate the location of Glauchau into the container hub
structure.
Services at these terminals will include the handling, storage and
repair of containers, as well as terminal handling, and transfer onto
trucks, of logs transported on block trains, as well as handling of
containers carrying wood waste. In addition to the existing rail
connection to the northern seaports, it is intended to offer a
connection to the western seaports in future.
The company will be jointly managed by Stefan Ziegler (Ziegler)
and Robert Sebald (Contargo).
Contargo’s Hof terminal