Launch of the e-JointCorridor between Tilburg and Poland

Digitizing and linking freight documents on multimodal transport saves up to 20% throughput time. The very first e-JointCorridor for a combination of rail and road transport was presented during the LCB JAAREVENT on 13 June. In order to achieve this development, there was cooperation between the business community, education and government at regional and national level. A good example of smart logistics on the corridor between Tilburg and Rzwepin (Poland).

Traditionally, each individual mode of transport has its own paper freight document. For example, road transport uses the CMR and rail uses the CIM. All this paperwork costs time and money, is prone to errors and stands in the way of large-scale multimodal cooperation. At the same time, multimodal transport plays an important role in the transition to sustainable transport. Examples include reducing CO2 emissions, reducing congestion on the roads and solving the imminent shortage of drivers. In order to scale up and apply multimodal transport for large groups of shippers and carriers, it is important to eliminate the complexity of paperwork. GVT is involved in the corridor from Central Brabant as an innovative player. Midpoint Brabant Smart Logistics has been working with NewWays Noord-Brabant for a number of years with the aim of getting more cargo from the road to other modalities through economies of scale.

Collaboration

At the end of January, the starting shot was given to digitise all the necessary paper freight documents on the Tilburg - Rzepin corridor (Poland). NewWays Noord-Brabant, logistics start-up Collect + Go and BUAS graduate Martijn Leenknegt worked towards a beautiful digital end result. They worked closely with the carriers H.Essers, GVT and shipper Bostik Benelux B.V. The e-JointCorridor automatically digitises the freight documents in the Bostik systems to e-CMRs. These e-CMRs are digitally available directly to the carriers for road transport from the factory to the rail terminal in Tilburg. At the same time, the rail terminal can start drawing up the freight documents for rail transport to Rzepin. The e-CMRs of the individual trucks, which are intended for the same train, connect seamlessly to the e-CIM, the digital CIM for rail transport. With the e-CMRs, even hauliers in Rzwepin can already prepare the last piece of road transport to the recipient. 

Better availability and efficiency

Thanks to the digital availability of the freight documents at every link in the chain, the flow of goods during loading, transshipment and unloading is accelerated. Initial findings point to savings in lead time of up to 20%. This means that a higher transport frequency can be achieved with the same means of transport. This indicates an enormous improvement in productivity and thus a further strengthening of the position of multimodal transport compared to conventional road transport.

Other important advantages are more efficient administrative transport handling, more service, and transparency. The next step in the digitisation of waybills is to scale up to other shippers and carriers on this corridor. In this way, other corridors, including connections by inland waterway, will also be digitised.

Implementation model

The e-JointCorridor is offered via the Collect + Go platform and complies with all laws and regulations (NIWO certified). In addition, it is made interoperable together with other e-CMR providers within the Digi-Transit partnership. NewWays Noord-Brabant is an initiative of Logistics Community Brabant, and is part of the national network of Lean & Green Off-Road. This project has been made possible in part by the Top Sector Logistics, with support from the action lines Synchromodaal and NLIP (Neutral Logistics Information Platform). All knowledge of the e-JointCorridor will be publicly shared and further developed with the business community, education and government through Logistics Community Brabant, Lean & Green and the Top Sector Logistics.