This interview appeared in Rail Business, the digital industry report for the entire rail transport market.
Rail Business: Paneuropa Transport GmbH was involved in the development of KV 4.0 from the very beginning. How complex was it for you to integrate the data hub into your own transport management system (TMS)?
Guido Blömer: Paneuropa was actively involved in the development of KV 4.0 from the outset as one of the first pilot partners. Our main task was to establish a functional connection between our transport management system (TMS) and the KV 4.0 data hub. As is usual with innovation projects, we encountered technical challenges at the beginning – especially because our existing TMS did not meet all the specific requirements of KV 4.0. However, a decisive advantage was our internally used data integration tool, which we were able to use flexibly as an interface. This enabled us to efficiently implement the necessary adjustments and ensure seamless integration with the KV 4.0 hub in a relatively short time.
Rail Business: So you already had a tool in your company that allowed you to create interfaces between different IT applications, and you were able to apply it to KV 4.0.
Guido Blömer: Exactly. An interface always means that the data fields and terms used must be coordinated to enable smooth data exchange. We were able to achieve this quickly with our tool and thanks to close cooperation with DX Intermodal. Fortunately, many transport management systems already have a connection to KV 4.0 today.
Rail Business: What exactly has become easier and/or faster for you with KV 4.0?
Guido Blömer: KV 4.0 has noticeably simplified and accelerated our booking processes in particular.
Today, we can book shipments directly from our transport management system with just a few clicks – without having to use a separate booking portal. This means significant time savings and greater efficiency in our day-to-day business. Another advantage is that, as KV 4.0 is designed as a joint platform for several combined transport operators, the central connection gives us greater flexibility in choosing a service provider. Even though we continue to handle the majority of our transport via Kombiverkehr, we can easily switch to other providers if necessary – without any additional technical hurdles.
Rail Business: Have the improvements described above made it possible to carry out transport operations that you would not have previously undertaken in combined transport?
Guido Blömer: Not directly. As a pan-European company, we have been firmly established in intermodal transport for many years and handle the majority of our transport operations via daily company trains with fixed departure times. CT 4.0 has not opened up any new routes for us, but it has significantly simplified day-to-day operations – especially through structured and automated data communication.
Rail Business: What is the proportion of rail transport across all shipments?
Guido Blömer: Sustainability has been an integral part of our corporate strategy for many years – which is why we consistently rely on combined transport. More than 75% of our transport services are now carried out by rail. In this way, we are making an active contribution to reducing CO₂ emissions and relieving the burden on road infrastructure. In addition, we have established an intermodal, virtual pipeline for the Europe-wide supply of LNG/bio-LNG – another building block for future-oriented and resource-saving transport.
Rail Business: What else would you like to see from KV 4.0?
Guido Blömer: From a technical point of view, the KV 4.0 data hub is already at a very high level.
Our wish for the future is that even more players along the intermodal transport chain will join – in particular, additional operators, freight forwarders and terminal operators. Consistent, standardised data exchange without media or system breaks across all participants would significantly increase the added value for the entire industry – from precise scheduling to rapid response to delays.
Rail Business: For a long time, it was said that rail lagged far behind road transport in terms of booking and scheduling coordination via platforms – has KV 4.0 closed the gap?
Guido Blömer: With the KV 4.0 data hub, rail has moved significantly closer to the standard of road freight transport in digital terms. Tracking and tracing was established earlier in the road sector than in rail transport. Since all our trailers and refrigerated semi-trailers at Paneuropa are equipped with telematics as standard, we can now also use this data efficiently in intermodal transport.
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