This article appeared in a similar form in Rail Business, the digital industry report for the entire rail transport market.
The KV 4.0 data hub facilitates simple communication between freight forwarders, operators, infrastructure providers and rail transport companies. It was developed jointly as a project by the combined transport operators Kombiverkehr GmbH & Co. KG and Hupac Intermodal, together with other partners. It is now available to all interested parties via the joint marketing company DX Intermodal and can be integrated into their own transport management systems (TMS) via an interface.
Hupac and Kombiverkehr have the highest shipment volumes in combined transport in Europe, so the mere fact that these two operators are using the data hub has led to a leap forward in digitalisation in combined transport. According to Christoph Büchner, 25% of Kombiverkehr’s volumes are now handled via the data hub. He is Head of IT at Kombiverkehr and also Managing Director of DX Intermodal, together with Aldo Puglisi, Head of Information Technology & Digital Transformation at Hupac Intermodal. In addition, new players are constantly joining, mostly freight forwarders, but also operators and software providers of transport management systems. According to Büchner, new interested parties are usually approached by their customers about KV 4.0. In some cases, customers are already making use of the data hub a condition for orders.
40 status messages exchanged
The data hub makes booking and processing much easier for all freight forwarders who have a large volume of shipments in intermodal transport every day, according to Büchner (see also interview with Paneuropa Managing Director Guido Blömer). For smaller daily shipment volumes, bookings can also be made manually via the web portal. Up to 40 different status messages for a shipment can be exchanged via the hub, including pre- and post-carriage by road. The exchange takes place in Ediges format (XML). The data fields were standardised as part of the KV 4.0 project. Purely technical railway messages such as train routes or operational timetables are additionally retrieved via an interface (TAF TSI standard) at RailNet Europe (RNE) and made available via KV4.0.
We have ensured that no one outside the agreed group of recipients can view the data.
Christoph Büchner, Head of IT at Kombiverkehr KG
In principle, a recipient must always actively request the data (pull). The data hub is therefore not a database on which data is stored, and only status messages are exchanged, not critical company data such as prices or invoices. This made it easier to obtain consent for data exchange. ‘We have ensured that only status data is exchanged, that no one outside the agreed group of recipients can view the data, and that all data content is deleted after one month,’ said Büchner. Data is a matter of trust, and these decisions have helped to build the necessary trust. After all, when it comes to status messages, everyone is in the same boat: ‘That’s why we said that everyone involved in a transport can access their data at any time. Ultimately, however, it is always the sender who decides who receives the data. The hub itself is “dumb” and does not make decisions independently.’
Rail is simpler, cheaper and more attractive
Hupac and Kombiverkehr have joined forces to develop the standard for data exchange in combined transport. ‘The aim is to get more traffic off the roads and onto the rails. The standard makes rail simpler, cheaper and more attractive.’ Another factor was the idea of not leaving the use of data solely to the large international platform providers, but rather taking a more proactive approach. Due to the relatively large market share of the two combined transport operators, the cooperation on standardisation had to be approved by the EU competition authorities.
Are you also interested in implementation?
Your contact:
DX Intermodal GmbH, Zum Laurenburger Hof 76, D-60594 Frankfurt am Main
Christoph Büchner, cbuechner@dx-intermodal.com
Aldo Puglisi, apuglisi@dx-intermodal.com
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