The European Green Deal aims to reduce transport emissions by 90 % by 2050. Therefore, more environmentally friendly modes of freight transport are becoming increasingly important. It is intermodal freight transport which can help reduce emissions: If the first and last mile take place on the road and the main run, i.e. the longest distance, is shifted to rail, the strengths of both modes of transport are combined. However, combining multiple modes of transport increases complexity. In their article in “Industrial Innovations”, Prof. Ralf Elbert , Paul Bossong and Dr. Anne Reinhardt and look at how emerging digital platforms aim to overcome this challenge. A study based on interviews with rail-, terminal-, and intermodal-operators as well as freight forwarders, consultants and software companies paints a diverse picture of which platforms are emerging and how intermodal market participants perceive them.

• Providers of intermodal freight transport services use digital platforms to digitise their brick-and-mortar business, but are doubtful about the price transparency that can be created through platforms.
• Demanders of intermodal freight transport services favour this transparency as platforms make it easy to compare prices and simplify the booking process.
• Software firms that launch third-party platforms find themselves caught between these requirements and demands of transport service providers and demanders but try to revolutionise the intermodal freight market by increasing its accessibility and attractiveness.

Read more about how digital platforms support the transition to sustainable freight transport here.

Find out more about the underlying research project “ConnectedKV” here .