KOMODA E WSLETTER

NOVEMBER 2009 ISSUE 4

1

Editorial

In July 2009 the European Commission issued a communication on the sustainable future for transport, since the situation of EU transport sector has became now a bit different than the one presented in the White Paper and in its Mid Term Review of 2006: transport is becoming more and more complex; therefore priorities and requirements have to be re-thought. Even if it’s still too early to assess policy measures taken since 2000,

and the current European transport system is still not following a fully sustainable path, it can be noticed that the objectives set out in the White Paper and the Mid Term Review have largely been achieved. Since evaluating the European Transport Policy so far it emerges that there has been a limited progress in shifting transport to more efficient modes, one of the most immediate priorities appear to be the better integration of the different modes of transport as a way to improve the overall efficiency of the system and the acceleration of the development and deployment of innovative technologies. Among other suggestions provided for responding to the emerging sustainability challenges, one in particular regards the full integration, interoperability and interconnection between different (modal) networks. Logistics centres of the network are crucial in this sense; intermodal and transshipment platform should be promoted and developed in order to reach a more efficient connectivity for freight transport. ICT systems are becoming more and more essential for the better management and integration of complex transport chains involving several actors, as well as for informing transport users of available and alternative options and of possible disruptions. Some aspects of the whole transport chain, such as transport documents and tickets, questions of liability, dispute settlement and complaints handling, should be made electronic and multi-modal in order to streamline and speed up the procedures. The annual “European Conference on ICT for Transport Logistics”, which this year was held in Venice last 29-30 October, was in line with this assumption. In fact the Conference aimed at exploring the lack of information in transport logistics and explaining how ICT can support operations and overcome information gaps between stakeholders. During the event a number of interesting topics related to future challenges were presented and discussed. These included strategic supply chain, tactical logistics operations, interoperable ICT implementations, possible impacts on business models, software and hardware technologies for implementation of interoperable information systems and available standards as well as security. Within this context a presentation of KOMODA was made by a representative of the project consortium.

Yours sincerely, Brigitte Langenhagen President M.A.R.I. and Secretary of European Parliament Former Member Association

KOMODA �EWSLETTER

Dear Reader, Welcome back to the KOMODA project! KOMODA is going to be concluded with the end of the year and we are now glad to present the final KOMODA newsletter containing the main final project results through the analyses of each work package. You will find also a section including recent news, themes and topics related to intermodality/co-modality, logistics and ICT. We hope that you will enjoy the reading and we would like to thank you very much for having followed the project until its end. We are also open to all your valuable comments, feedback and remarks!

Table of contents

The 4th KOMODA newsletter contains:

1. Editorial 2. Project Main Findings 3. News from the

intermodal transport World

4. Events 5. Greetings

KOMODA Final Conference

“The Freight Transport and logistics market: ICT as the key for Co-modality in the future” – The KOMODA project approach

for a European E-logistics

Platform is the title of the KOMODA final conference. The rendezvous is at Hotel Nikopolis, Thessaloniki (Greece), the 26th of November, 2009. The conference will disseminate the vision of KOMODA project and its core results from its 2-year implementation. The future of intermodality and how ICT applications can promote the European freight transport enhancing co-modality will be discussed, aiming at defining the critical issues that need to be taken under consideration for the future of both the European Policy and the logistics market. For more information and to download the Agenda, the Invitation Letter and the Registration Form, please visit www.komodaproject.com

KOMODA NEWSLETTER, NOVEMBER 2009

2

Project Main Findings

WP1

Data Collection and Benchmarking Dewan Islam UNEW (GB)

During the first round Delphi survey participants were presented statements and given four options: full agreement, partial agreement, full disagreement, and partial disagreement. There were 24 questions of which 20 were on the Delphi panel profiles and 4, each having multiple statements, were on e-Logistics: the definition of e-Logistics, e-Logistics applications, trends and possibilities of e-Logistics systems and the EC Co-modal Freight Transport Policy. The definition of e-Logistics achieved a simple majority full agreement consensus. Other two notions: “wide applicability of the definition of e-Logistics” and “poor understanding of e-Logistics” did not achieve any consensus. E-Logistics applications are used by the majority of the panel in the following three areas: order management systems, booking and invoicing systems. The first round Delphi found that, in almost all areas, the main e-Logistics applications are “in-house”’ and “proprietary package”. In terms of the hardware platform - compared to other platforms - own hardware and the internet platform are the most used. The first round Delphi panel had a majority agreement on the statement “Standard e-Logistics system interfaces can increase efficiency along the supply chain”, whereas in the remaining seven statements the panel was divided; also, there wasn’t any majority consensus on the four statements of the EC Co-modal Freight Transport Policy. Thus they have been included in the second round for further consideration by the panel. The second round Delphi questionnaire was prepared based on the findings of the first round Delphi, feedbacks of the Delphi panel and suggestions from the KOMODA Consultation Board. In the second round the Delphi panel had three options: agree, disagree and no comments; the online survey was conducted from March to May 2009. The questionnaire was sent only to the Delphi panel (82) that took part in the first round. There were a total of 87 statements in nine sections.

The definition of e-Logistics system

It was found out that the definition of e-Logistics agreed in the first round is widely applicable in the freight and logistics sectors; however, it is true that e-Logistics is poorly understood or defined in these sectors.

e-Logistics applications

According to the panel, the cost effective e-Logistics applications for a logistics company are: Terminal

Operational Optimisation System, Port Community

Systems, Transport Statistics and Assessment Systems,

Multimodal Route Planning, Customs and other Regulatory

Authorities, Vehicle Tracking and Tracking Systems, Cargo

Monitoring Systems, Supply Chain Execution Systems, e-

Commerce Applications, EDI, Transport Resource

Applications – Fleet Management Systems, Cargo

Tracking and Tracing Systems, Route Guidance Systems,

Warehouse Management Systems, Invoicing Systems,

Supply Chain Planning Systems, Booking. Two e-Logistics applications did not achieve any majority consensus by the panel: Decision support system and Organisational management system.

Trends and possibilities of an integrated e-Logistics

system

More and more mobile and wireless technologies will be used in the future; open source will allow smaller companies to access to better quality e-Logistics application. One key issue will be that companies can work together, particularly if they are in different sectors (not competing) and using the same transport/freight corridors. The ever improving technology will facilitate monitoring,

tracking and tracing; because of continuous technological development and decreasing prices the use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) and of real-time traffic

information will also increase. These technologies will support the development and implementation of co-modal concepts.

The e-Logistics system will be developed between the logistic operators and the infrastructure managers and between the manufacturers/producers and the freight operators. New intermodal business models (3PLs) will lead to new requirements on ICT but small companies can't afford systems with ERP because of their high costs and complexity. Transparency will be one of the trends and requirements. There will be continuity in innovation by software companies to produce software which meet the needs and commitments to corporate social

responsibility (CSR) and the environment. The software as a service (SaaS) on a common user platform to access several dozens of open source packages is the direction that will most integrate small and medium operators and customers. The global logistics hubs should become leaders in enabling e-Logistics services: the e-Services are fundamental to address the current low level of ICT adoption in SMEs. A common sub-contractor system will come to the fore: it will enable tracking, proof of delivery (POD), etc. The system will provide a single interface with the major clients. In the near future freight without ICT could not exist because it could not be competitive. Since different transport modes have different requirements, one system for all modes results very complex; moreover, a user would use only a little part of it; modular sub-systems, integrated and able to operate together, are the solution.

Actors of an integrated e-Logistics system

An integrated e-Logistics system should be operated and managed by a neutral organisation. The e-Logistics system needs an open, standardised transaction format. It should encompass operational incentives (such as priority services to terminals, access to updated transport information) for its users and should be built in stages starting with, for example, port/terminal community.

The functionalities of the integrated e-Logistics

systems

The e-Logistics system should use international open standards and should be supported by an open on-line (co-modal) platform. It should be able to provide information of available logistics services across Europe; it should encompass financial incentives for the users. On service provision/portal level the system should be able to offer an alternative for proprietary e-Logistics solutions and applications. However, the system cannot be isolated from the world around it and thus needs interfaces with the proprietary applications.

Objectives of an e-Logistics system

The integrated e-Logistics system should be an initiator for interconnected national e-Logistics platforms for pan-European coverage. It should not be targeted to SMEs only; it should focus on the provision of alternative, but not exclusive, standards for the development of ICT for logistics.

Foreseeable impact of an e-Logistics system

The integrated e-Logistics system should not create additional costs in the management of transport chains; the system will reduce investment costs for logistic ICT platforms; the power of larger companies over SMEs won’t be increased.

Vision of an integrated e-Logistics system

One of the main requirements for the future e-Logistic system is the improvement of standardisation for interfaces, data exchange and software development. The system will rely on a decentralised and autonomous information access and communication process. Competitive and sensitive commercial data, due to privacy and security reasons, should be excluded from the open system.

EC Co-modal transport policy

The EC Co-modal Freight Transport Policy has important effect in the real world: it will make the freight transport sector more efficient and more competitive, without making it less sustainable.


3

WP2

Analysis of Logistic Needs Pedro Mano TIS (PT)

The final WP2 deliverable has already been produced. About 70 projects (research and commercial) were reviewed on their information regarding ICT applications for e-logistics, functional needs of the multimodal logistics chain and commercial choices of the 3rd party logistic players. The findings of this review were confronted and cross-checked with the results from the 1st round of the Delphi survey. These findings were also shared with the Consultation Board and the public of the Workshop held in Carcavelos/Lisbon, which included representatives from large logistic operators to smaller road transporters, including also representatives of port authorities.

The WP2 final report has been a fundamental input for the production of the KOMODA’s Vision and Roadmap. In terms of logistics needs for ICT integrated applications, the core of this WP, it has been found that numerous ICT applications are needed to support planners, fleet operators and drivers in the running of commercial freight transport, from long distance freight shipments to urban goods deliveries. Integrated ICT applications increase the efficiency of operations, make the use of different transport modes possible, reliable and competitive, and also improve the level of security and safety. Some examples of logistics needs that need ICT applications has been found in a comprehensive way in one of the projects reviewed.

Figure 1: Examples of Logistics Needs (Source: ARTEMIS project)

An integrated eLogistics system, for which KOMODA produces a roadmap, is therefore expected to contribute to:

Ensure an open market; Permit economies of scale; Encourage investment; Avoid additional long term costs.

From the perspective of the studies reviewed, the list of e-Logistics needs identified can be analysed against the functionalities developed. From the table above, we can extract that several existing functionalities meet several e-Logistics needs at the same time. However, there isn’t any single functionality meeting simultaneously all the needs listed. “Integration with order management systems and bookings” naturally covers all the decisions on purchase, movement and production, as well as costumer interface and e-commerce applications.

Integration with

order

management

systems and

booking

(customers,

carriers)

Cargo

Monitoring

systems

Vehicle Tracking

and tracing

systems

Route guidance

systems-GPS

Multimodal

Route planning

Transport

resources

allocations

(Fleet

management)

E-Commerce

applications

(transactions

with

stakeholders

and transport

partners)

Full Logic

Integration of

multiple modes

Processes and

transactions

merged in a

single platform

Specific

parameters such

as: cargo

temperature; door

open/close, etc

Monitoring and

Benchmarking

readiness to

assess

performance of

logistic processes

NETWORK STRATEGY

Network Planning ● ● ●

Warehouse design ● ●

CUSTOMER INTERFACE:

Sales order Processing ● ● ● ●

Invoicing ● ● ●

Sales analysis ● ●

DECISIONS ON PURCHASE,

MOVEMENT AND

PRODUCTION:

Demand forecasting ● ● ● ● ●

Inventory management ● ●

Manufacturing decisions ●

Supply chain integration ● ● ●

Procurement ● ●

TRANSPORT

MANAGEMENT:

Routing and scheduling ● ● ● ●

Vehicle tracking ● ●

Fleet management ● ● ●

Fleet costing ● ●

Warehouse management

and operations● ●

Communication support

tools● ● ● ● ● ●

E-COMMERCE

APPLICATIONS:

Electronic funds transfer

(EFT)● ● ● ●

Electronic data

interchange (EDI)● ● ● ● ●

Private value added

networks (VAN).● ● ● ●

E-LOGISTIC NEEDS

FUNCTIONALITIES

Integration Features Parameter Monitoring

Figure 2: Logistics needs versus existing functionalities


4

WP3

Analysis of Obstacles & Opportunities George Charalampous CERTH/HIT (GR)

Key objectives of WP3 were to identify the existing operational, economic and legal barriers to an integrated e-logistic system Europe-wide and also to highlight the respective operational, economic and legal issues which are constructive to an integrated e-logistic system Europe-wide based on the principles of co-modality. To achieve the objectives of WP3 a detailed methodology was followed including: - Identification of Obstacles and Opportunities concerning e-logistics systems based on detailed desk studies /RTD projects reviews and questionnaire surveys -interviews with key stakeholders for the identification of operational, economic & legal barriers and the respective issues constructive to an integrated Europe-wide e-logistic system based on the principles of co-modality -Synthesis with Delphi results that came out of WP1 for the consolidation of the final results of the barriers and opportunities - Validation of the results through a dedicated Workshop, a bottom- up and top-down approach and a Round table discussion with main transport stakeholders, decision makers and IT companies - Formulation of an Action Plan with policy recommendations vis-à-vis the Integrated e-logistics system for practitioners and decision The results and outputs of this work is presented in two deliverables namely -D3.1 Synthesis of obstacles and opportunities with WP1 DELPHI survey report -D3.2: Action Plan An overview of the two Deliverables of WP3 with highlights on their methodology and key results is presented below:

D3.1, released in March 2009

The first Deliverable of WP3 focused on the identification and analysis of the existing barriers and potential opportunities towards the development and successful implementation of an integrated Europe-wide e-logistics platform. The identifications of those critical parameters (obstacles and opportunities) was based on a combined approach of literature review and questionnaire surveys. The questionnaire survey was built upon the findings of the literature review and the questionnaire used for the prioritisation of those barriers considering implementing an E-logistics platform was divided accordingly in several different categories (operational, economic, communication etc). The research aimed to capture the opinion of an important group of stakeholders involved in intermodal transportation such as: Logistics and Transport service Providers, Academic/research, Terminal operators, Shippers and Authorities and Policy makers while special emphasis was also placed on SME’s and their priorities, needs and problems. The key barriers identified by WP3 review are presented below:

Further to the identification and prioritisation of existing obstacles in the implementation of an e-logistics platform, the deliverable examined the existing opportunities. An important number of opportunities and possible added value that an e-logistics platform could bring also in relation to the co-modality perspective was identified through the respective literature survey that was implemented.

The identified parameters were tuned for the needs of the questionnaire survey and indicate the preferences of the industry towards the improvement of their operations and enhancement of the European transport policy for freight transport. The most important opportunities to support the optimisation of the supply chain operations through an integrated e-logistics system are presented the next figure:

D3.2 released in July 2009

Taking up from the first report of WP 3, Deliverable D3.2 goes one step further and following a two step approach concludes to the formulation of an overall framework of a proposed action plan for the implementation of an integrated pan European e-logistics platform. The methodology for the formulation of the action plan includes two major steps: -the first step is dedicated in the analysis of the barriers identified in the first round of the questionnaire survey and in an additional round that took place aiming to further focus on the barriers already identified. Important input comprised the results of a dedicated KOMODA workshop for the validation of the barriers -the second step aimed at the identification of the future trends in ICT and freight transport and logistics. A bottom up and a top down approach provided the opinion of the industry along with the existing initiatives at a European policy level respectively. Both approaches helped providing a spherical view of the picture that e-logistics, freight transport and ICT might have in 10-15 years from now. The results of this exercise leaded to a solid description of the basic assumptions for the operating environment in which a European e-logistics platform will operate

Step1: Analysis of barriers and future trends in Co-modality and ICT in freight transport

Step 2: Synthesis of main components and Action Plan formulation

Analysis of

barriers

-1st round of DELPHI

-Validation Workshop

2nd round of DELPHI survey

Future Trends in

Comodality & ICT in

Freight Transport

BOTTOM -UP

Approach

TOP-DOWN

Approach

ACTION PLAN

Analysis of

barrier

Future

Trends in

Comodality

& ICT in

Freight

Transport

The report ends up to the provision of an Action Plan which, since it is formulated at the framework of a research project that aims at making the initial proposals for an innovative concept such as the European e-logistics platform, is not based on a strict time plan but provides actions of a range of: - short terms (indicatively 2010-2012) - medium term (2013-2018) - long” term effort (2019-2025) Based on the structure of the EC Action plan and in accordance to the classification and rationale of the barriers and opportunities that was used for the purposes of D3.1, the proposed actions required for the alleviation of the barriers can be similarly classified into actions related to: 1. Business and Feasibility analyses (horizontal research actions) 2. Policy Initiatives and regulatory framework 3. Technology Research and development (vertical research actions)


5

WP4

Definition of a road-map of action for innovative and change Michael Schygulla PTV AG (DE)

The first outcome of WP 4 is a multifaceted idea of a possible future e-Logistics system (landscape) throughout Europe with the specific target to support the co-modal approach. In a very diversified logistics world in the different regions and sectors the realisation of an e-Logistics system covering all aspects including co-modality throughout Europe is a rather ambitious intention. Within the last few months the idea became more concrete with different aspects. Trend in technology is going on the one hand in the direction of more decentralized planning solutions due to high performance mobile devices and the need for flexible supply chain event management, on the other hand not every

company, especially not SMEs are able to invest large amounts in high technology devices needed for RFID and enhanced planning solutions. The idea therefore is to provide these enterprises with optimization tools and software elements (see trends for SAAS and cloud computing) through a co-modal e-Logistics platform. The architecture for that could look like the following approach:

Receiver

(USER)

Sender

(USER)

Translator (standards converter)

ERP

(Air)

ERP

(Road)

ERP

(Rail)

ERP

(Sea)

ERP

(Inland)

IT Tools (forwarder site)

Communication (periodic and on-line)

Constraints

Business rules

Expectation

Needs

Preferences

Information

Confirmation

Fleet

Destinantions

Capacity

Utilisation

...

(Web) Interface (PC, phone, etc.)

KOMODA Platform

Operator of the

platform

Standards

Stakeholders

Policy,

Business rules,

Education, R&D,

E-initiatives of EC per

mode of transport

Technology

Specialised Applications

(support co-modality,

use MAS and MCDA)

Routing

Scheduling ...

(...)

BookingFuture results

(reliab le results of other EU

projects on co-modality

SA

DW

...

SA

DW

SA

DW

SA

DW

SA

DW

Future results

(MAS technology develompent)

HAg.

HAg.

HMA

HMA

Several other elements have been discussed and depicted in the KOMODA WP4 Report D4.1. Characteristics and background of the e-Logistics system especially with regard to different optimization methods are being outlined. The current state of the work in WP4 is to consolidate different measures and realisation steps for a possible future e-Logistics system in a Road Map. Several steps will be taken for this:

• Draft of the current situation in e-Logistics in a very condensed and impressive way, based on the previous work results

• Short illustration of Road Mapping approach with direct relation to KOMODA and its strategy • Use of Vision as basis for Road Mapping • Showing alternative ways to reach such a system (from different angles) • Outline of different measures within such ways • Consideration of different regional aspects, conditions, needs, barriers • Consolidation of measures/ actions and allocate them to timeline with different timeframes

For the Final conference a first draft of a possible Road Map will be presented. All aspects will then be considered until the end of KOMODA project 31st of Dec.


6

You are still in time to share your experiences with other users and acquire new knowledge: visit the

KOMODA website www.komodaproject.com, register and access to the portal!

WP5

Dissemination, valorisation of results, and exploitation activities Alessio Pomarè M.A.R.I. (IT)

One of the aims of the project is the transfer of knowledge, exchange of good practices and the stimulus to further research, without to re-invent the wheels. To this purpose a website and an internal portal called Electronic Knowledge Dissemination System, were developed since the beginning of the project. It can be said that the project website well achieved the purpose of disseminating KOMODA activities, results, workshops and conferences, general information and other dissemination material such as newsletters, presentations, articles and so on. At the same time the website

updated visitors with news from the EU transport world and EU events. The core of the website is the internal portal accessible only to registered users, which has currently reached a number of 92 people, coming from industry, research entities and public bodies. It was developed with the intention of disseminating the concept of elogistics for co-modality and stimulating the communication and the sharing of knowledge among the actors involved in this field of business. The portal has been continuously developed and enriched during the project lifetime with information on ongoing and past projects, intermodal industrial good practices, a mutual exchange library and a section dedicated to the exchange of project ideas and proposals of future collaborations. In order to reach the aim of stimulating and developing transfer of knowledge, mutual exchange and promoting cooperation, the website and the portal will be kept alive for additional 24 months after the project ending.

The Marco Polo programme’s mid-term review

In order to broaden the scope of its successful Marco Polo programme, the European Commission recently engaged in a

review of the programme’s rules and legal base. The amendments to the programme are intended to increase its

effectiveness in terms of shifting cargo from road transport to transport by sea, inland waterway and rail.

The Regulation (923/2009) was adopted by the Council the 16th of September, 2009, and the new rules will apply to

the next call of proposals, due for the beginning of 2010.

The amendments aim to facilitate the participation of small and

micro enterprises, by allowing single undertakings to apply for

funding and lowering the eligibility thresholds for proposals, with a

special reduced threshold for proposal submitted by inland

waterway transport enterprises.

The funding intensity was increased and the programme’s implementation and administrative procedures were

simplified.

Another measure taken was the shortening of the period going from the day of application to the signature of the grant

agreements, enabling beneficiaries to get a quicker feedback from the Commission.

The new rules were presented at the Marco Polo Baltic Conference, held in Gdansk, Poland, just one week after the final

legislative act, the 23rd and 24th of September. The conference was also the chance to talk about the evolving policy

context and the latest news on the 2009 call for proposals.

MARI and its associate partners are ready to offer advisory service on the proposal preparation, as well as on the

management of the related projects.

News from the intermodal transport world


7

The winners of the EIA “Intermodal Award” for best practices are…

Here we come to the 9th edition of the European Intermodal Award for best practice. The ceremony took place the 19th of October, 2009, in Vilnius, during a Gala reception at the Asia-Europe Transport Development Forum. The shortlisted candidates were: Coca Cola Drikker (intermodal transport on long distances); ERS Railways B.V. (shuttle trains China-EU); JSC Lithuanian Railways (“Viking” combined transport train); Procter & Gamble (Manufacturer Fast moving Consumer Goods). Two were the winners: JSC Lithuanian Railways and Procter & Gamble. The main winning element within the JSC Lithuanian Railways case “Combined transport train – Viking” was the long term market implementation of a combined transport shuttle train connecting countries of the EU and CIS from the Baltic to the Black Sea, able to carry containers and semi-trailers for 1700 km within 52 hours. The Belorussian and the Ukrainian Railways were involved in the project as partners.

The other winner, the Procter & Gamble application TINA (Trains Intermodality: a New Approach) was developed in cooperation with P&O Ferrymasters. TINA project is part of P&G’s Sustainability Strategy that focuses on ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. Beyond economical argumentations, TINA had a winning element in its environmental and social aspects, that are taken into consideration without giving in on quality or price aspects; for the whole transport network, costs and overall transit times have been better or equal to road alternatives.

“Supply Chain Resilience” Report

A new research by the Business Continuity Institute and Zurich Insurance revealed a 35% increase in supply chain disruption over the last year. Manufacturers, with a reported 58% rise in disruption, were particularly hard hit. The main causes of disruption, according to the survey, were the economic recession, the IT and telecom disruption and the swine flu. As a consequence, there have been some negative impacts: a loss of productivity, a loss of revenue, delayed product availability and increased customer complaints. About 75% of panellist experienced disruption in the past year; two thirds

believed that they had been only partially successful in getting their business continuity needs adopted through their supply chain and about a quarter had either not tried to do this or had not been successful at all. Organisations have become more vulnerable in the last years: after long periods of outsourcing, extended supply chain and focus on core competency, they have now to afford, due to the economic recession, growing episodes of supplier insolvencies, reduced capacity and the tightness of credit markets. In this context, a larger use of insurance products for financial protection was to be hoped but, due to the immaturity of the market for such products, the response was low.

2nd European Conference on ICT for Transport Logistics - ECITL ‘09

The 2nd European Conference on ICT for Transport Logistics was held on the 29th and the 30th of October in the beautiful environment of the Island of San Servolo, Venice. The international event was organized by five EU funded projects regarding communication technologies and how they can be integrated to provide value-added services in transport logistics. The main aim of the conference was explaining how ICT can support operations and overcome information gaps between stakeholders in a market, like that of transport and logistics, where subjects have often to deal with lack of information. Other main conference topics regarded the current and future challenges that need to be addressed, the e-Logistics, the ICT implementations and the possible impact on business models. The e-Logistics theme was treated during the speech of Thomas Zunder, Senior Research Associate at the Newcastle University and member of the KOMODA consortium, who gave a comprehensive picture of available applications used in transport operations and presented the results of the Delphi Study. The conference was attended by over 100 international participants, with representative from both research and industry communities, thus stimulating information exchange. What emerged from this large and high qualified audience was the importance of freight logistics for the European economy and the need to harmonize the interfaces between the different transport modes and institutions. The 3rd edition of the European Conference on ICT for Transport Logistics will be held in Bremen on the 4th and 5th of November 2010.


8

1st B2B LOCO Workshop

“Increasing availability of transport and logistics services for SME’s

in new European Union States – result of focused development of co-

modal transport”

Vilnius (Lithuania), 15th December 2009, Vilnius Gedimino Technikos Universitetas

The workshop will try to prove the increasing availability of transport and logistics services for SME’s in new European Union States through the results of the development of co-modal transport. The workshop aims to provide SME’s with European best practices within co-modality as well as promote and spread new ideas to support the system of green co-modal transport. The main purposes of the event will be:

present the possibilities of practical implementation of projects’ results and achievements into the business activities;

familiarize the participants with strategies of development of co-modal transport; stimulate new ideas to support the systems of co-modal transport; provide a critical mass and a good communication channel to and between SME’s. establishing the local networks of partnership between companies and researchers; creating opportunities for new projects among participants; supporting SME’s in 7 Framework Programme.

The workshop will be held together with Lithuanian Intermodal Transport Technology Platform (LITTP) FORUM. The detailed programme of the Workshop will be available at http://www.b2bloco.eu/events/index.html

Green Corridors Conference

Brussels, 9th December 2009, Albert Borschette Conference Centre

Green Corridors are a European concept denoting long-distance freight transport corridors where advanced technology and co-modality are used to achieve energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact. Launched in the Freight Transport Logistics Action Plan, Green Corridors support the EU's agenda towards decarbonising transport while emphasising the need for efficient logistics. The conference aims to take stock of existing Green Corridor projects across Europe, to discuss the main issues related to their implementation and to launch new initiatives in support of the Green Corridor concept. The programme and the registration form are available at http://ec.europa.eu/transport/sustainable/events/2009_12_09_green_corridors_conference_en.htm

“Outfitting in Ship Production”

EVENT: 4th European Conference on “Production Technologies in Shipbuilding”(ECPTS) 2010

DATE: 29th-30th April 2010 VENUE: Papenburg (Germany) KEY TOPICS: The main topics of the conference will be the integration of outfitting and production processes, the integration and the modularization of equipment systems and the optimization of co-operation between supplier and shipyard. ORGANIZERS: The conference is organized by CMT (Center of Maritime Technologies), VDI (Association of German Engineers), STG (German Society for Maritime Technology), IMAWIS and the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Marine Technologies of the University of Rostock. TARGET AUDIENCE: ECPTS 2010 conference should be attended by representative from design and production departments of shipyards, engine and equipment manufacturers, service providers, classification societies, engineering offices, shipping companies, research institutes and universities. The conference is expected to attract a large international audience and to provide a forum and means of professional development for all parties specially interested in ship outfitting systems. FURTHER INFORMATION: For further information about the conference please visit the official website www.ecpts.de or contact the programme committee at [email protected]

Events


9

Public Final Report

Will be available on the website

within February 2010

Website and Portal

Will be active until 2012

What’s next

Contacts ILIM – Project Coordinator ul. Estkowskiego 6 61-755 Poznań, Poland

Tel. +48 (61) 850 49 32 fax +48 (61) 852 63 76

e-mail: [email protected]

website: www.ilim.poznan.pl

MARI – Responsible for the �ewsletter and the

dissemination, exploitation activities

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Letter from the Coordinator

Dear readers, supporters of the KOMODA Project,

KOMODA Project inevitably heads towards its final phase. We have developed a vision for the European e-Logistics system, which will assist

logistics decision makers to optimize their freight transport activities in co-modal way.

We are sure that within the next 10-15 years, companies operating in the freight market receive much greater support from the ICT sector than is

currently the case. The logistics world around us will be quite different. Just to mention intelligent transport systems with vehicles communicating

with one another and external infrastructure sensors, widespread use of wireless and secure data exchange in integrated communication systems of

collaborating companies as well as real time tracking and tracing of goods with the use of RFID and enhanced tags.

The logistics of the future may be briefly characterized by the words, flexibility, optimization, collaboration, compromise and trust.

Currently, we are working intensively on the roadmap leading to the realization of this vision, which will be presented at our final conference in

Thessaloniki.

Taking the opportunity of the last issue of the KOMODA Project's newsletter we would like on behalf of the entire consortium thank all those who

supported us with their knowledge and expertise, inspiring us in our work. Many thanks to all logistics and ITC experts who took part in the survey

and those who shared their suggestions on our web site. We would like to express our gratitude to the Consultation Board members for their valuable

comments and advice. We hope that our work will inspire all those who are interested in improving their ongoing logistics processes.

Yours sincerely,

Leszek Andrzejewski Ewa Dobrzeniecka

ILIM – Institute of Logistics and Warehousing, Poznan Poland - KOMODA Project Coordinator

Documents

KOMODA E WSLETTER