German operator of an intermodal inland port terminal seeks wholistic solutions to improve coordination, service and quality as well as cost efficiency

Short summary A German logistics company operating an intermodal terminal based at the Port of Duisburg is looking for start-ups and SMEs that approach the problem of congestion at inland ports. Envisaged cooperation is a technical cooperation agreement. Role of the cooperation partner would be to develop or customize the solution in cooperation with the German company and implement it on-site.

Full description Globally, maritime transport has increased more or less continuously over decades. In 2021, about 90 per cent of world trade took place by sea. The destination or port of departure of about one third of the world's shipping movements is in the European Union (EU). Trimodal inland ports, equipped as required, act as seaport-hinterland hubs, relieving the burden on the road transport infrastructure, for road transport infrastructure and contribute to the optimisation of logistics chains. As the largest inland port in the world, the Port of Duisburg is considered the logistics hub of Europe. This poses infrastructural challenges for all involved. Those are for instance: Congestion through • High and rising container freight volumes • Larger ship call-sizes (=Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit/ship) o Flow rate forced to rise: larger volume from port to inland destination during a fixed time interval • Growing number of hinterland terminals and seaport terminals increases complexity o Increasing average delay of containerships and contraction of cargo opening time o Volume (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) per stop decreases on average o Lower priority at each stop(on average) • Pressure on service quality o Changes in terminal /port on short notice o Pressure on schedules/waiting times o Lower operating efficiency: rail/barge running in parallel o Chain effects at hinterland terminals: number of unproductive handlings increases • Continuously increasing costs A German intermodal terminal company based at the Port of Duisburg is looking for solution-oriented start-ups and SMEs that approach the problem described. The German company is looking for a cooperation partner providing offering solutions with relatively high market maturity. Even though, adaptations or development steps in line with requirements on-site can still be made. The partner sought should ideally come from the logistics sector itself. However, the German company does not want to make any restrictions regarding the sector of the partner. Thus, consulting and IT companies with a corresponding thematic reference are also invited to contribute to the solution. Any solution needs to yield these outcomes: • Reduce effects of congestion and preferably congestion itself and • Improve quality Increase number of transports on time • Decrease average delay/ TEU • Decrease number of cancelled transports(TEU) • Reduce cost and average waiting times in sea ports • Increase utilisation per inland vessel • Goal: Plannable timetables and time commitments to customers should be able to be met Approaches such as a platform solution, inclusion of geodata, Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) forecasts, coordination along the supply chain and optimisation of communication between seaports and inland port are also conceivable. Envisaged cooperation is a technical cooperation agreement. Role of the cooperation partner would be to implement the solution on-site in cooperation with the German company and carry outdevelopment steps where necessary. IMPORTANT: This technology request refers to an innovation challenge in the context of the European Logistics Innovation Day, an Enterprise Europe Network online event which will be held on December 8th and 9th. Interested start-ups and SMEs are invited to take part in the virtual event in order to get in direct contact with the German company. Participation however is not mandatory. All submissions will get feedback by the company.

Advantages and innovations The company connects the European hinterland with the western ports, but also by rail with southeastern Europe, Russia, and China. Furthermore, the company comprises a trimodal interface between the modes of transport ship, rail and truck with a storage capacity of 15,000 TEU on an area of 225,000 m². It operates with 4 gantry cranes and 7 reach stackers.

Technical Specification or Expertise Sought The German company seeks cooperation with Start-ups or SMEs with an expertise in the creation and implementation of solutions with relatively high market maturity. Adaptations or development steps in line with requirements can still be made. The partner sought should ideally come from the logistics sector itself. However, the German company does not want to make any restrictions regarding the sector of the partner. Thus, consulting and IT companies with a corresponding thematic reference are also invited to contribute to the solution. Approaches such as a platform solution, inclusion of geodata, Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) forecasts, coordination along the supply chain and optimisation of communication between seaports and inland port are also possible.
Contact / source: NEXT EEN Widgets (europa.eu)