Transporeon: Winner of the Austrian Logistics Award 2024

For the project “Shift2Rail”, the transport management platform Transporeon (A Trimble Company) received the Austrian Logistics Award 2024 together with Rail Cargo. At the event, among others, Serge Schamschula, Head of Ecosystem, accepted the award for Transporeon. In an interview with Loginfo24, he explains what the honor means for the company and how the new platform “Shift2Rail” works, along with further developments at the IT company.

Von: Andreas Müller

(Ulm/Linz) Proud winner of the Austrian Logistics Award 2024 is Transporeon GmbH, which submitted the joint project “Shift2Rail” with Rail Cargo and was rewarded with the first prize. Serge Schamschula, Head of Ecosystem at Transporeon, was present at the award ceremony.

Loginfo24: Serge Schamschula, heartfelt congratulations on winning the Austrian Logistics Award 2024. What does this mean for Transporeon and for you personally?

Serge Schamschula: For Transporeon, Shift2Rail is the consistent continuation of our work to align logistics with the world around us. Just a few months ago, ALICE (Alliance for Logistics Innovation through Collaboration in Europe) published a white paper on intermodal and rail transport in collaboration with Transporeon. The core message was that the poor integration of rail freight transport into supply chain management solutions is a significant problem for the industry and hinders the use of rail. Transporeon, as one of the largest European logistics platforms, and Rail Cargo have put an end to this problem and integrated rail freight transport. This is a milestone and should especially facilitate the shift to rail for our industrial customers.

For me personally, it is also important to ensure the sustainability of logistics for future generations. At Transporeon, I can implement this concern, with an active network of 1,400 shippers and over 150,000 carriers. I find that truly wonderful about Transporeon.

Can you tell us more details about the submitted project?

Certainly. Most major steps are ultimately quite simple: What we did is the exact opposite of creating our own platform. Otherwise, we would just have another isolated solution. Instead, we realized the integration of Rail Cargo’s offerings on the Transporeon platform. Our customers can thus decide last minute to book a transport intermodally instead of by road. The decision ultimately lies with the customer; we provide the platform with the solution.

We then did the same with real-time information about the transport process, including the estimated arrival time. We combined them in the same solution, which today already shows every second truck in Europe when it is driving for our customers. It sounds simple, but in practice, it is somewhat more extensive; the crucial point is that Transporeon and Rail Cargo have found a way to share the necessary data while complying with data protection regulations. More on the topic

Are there already practical applications for “Shift2Rail”?

Yes, indeed, that is the beauty of being able to build on a platform that is used daily by so many customers. One example of a customer that I can already mention is Nestlé, which is already successfully using our solution for transports from Hungary to Turkey. In principle, all customers using Transporeon can access this solution. And customers who are already doing so can track their shipments. This includes not only Nestlé but also other companies, such as those in the consumer goods sector as well as in wood, steel, and packaging.

Recently, Transporeon published the “Green Freight Report“ for the year 2024. What are the key findings in summary?

Oops, you are asking me for the summary of the summary; the report has about 50 pages packed with insights. Well: The shift of shipments to rail is the industry’s number one priority when it comes to decarbonizing logistics. So we are already on the right track. However, sharing data poses many challenges; it is great up to the point where one should also share one’s own data. More than 40% of all logistics service providers do not want to share data, which is still a significant learning field. And perhaps a third point, the nature of the relationship management between shippers and service providers is currently undergoing change. Until recently, shippers would grab those 20% of their carriers that handle 80% of their transports and exchange information with them, verbally, in writing, and through KPIs and offline data, which service providers usually provided upon request.

This seems to be coming to an end: For various reasons, shippers can no longer be satisfied with their top 20% but must include everyone. And with the increasing volume, the ability to communicate individually with individual suppliers or simply adopt their information decreases. Therefore, the industry is increasingly relying on platforms like EcoVadis or Transporeon to gain as objective, digitally processable insights as possible and to manage their own processes and insights. This is a process that is clearly recognizable at the moment; the transition will take a longer time.

Artificial intelligence will massively influence the transformation in the supply chain. Where do you see the greatest opportunities and the biggest changes coming to the industry?

Exciting question! AI has already found its way into many small and large solutions, starting from customer service, through programming support, to accelerated learning about when a shipment that was processed today in Bologna towards Verona will arrive at Scheeldelaan 500 in Antwerp. It will be really exciting when AI helps us create proposals in response to disruptive events using risk profiles and lead time forecasts, with which we can keep the supply chain running at defined costs.

These disruptive events, whether small or massive, will not decrease. What many overlook is that the old principle of “garbage in, garbage out” still applies to AI: Conversely, for AI to meet expectations, we must part with poor planning data and instead rely on high-quality data from transport execution. This focus on high-quality real-time execution data is currently a priority for Transporeon.

What role will Transporeon play in all these changes in the near and medium term?

The concept of the “Physical Internet” emerged in research about 15 years ago, simply put, the merging of the physical and digital worlds, where a container is not just a container but part of a universe of the “Internet of Things” that communicate with each other and thus enable optimal, highly efficient, and effective coordination of individual decisions.

Transporeon has been part of Trimble for about 1.5 years. Trimble comes from the hardware sector, initially focusing on millimeter-accurate positioning, whether in satellites or agriculture. From there, Trimble has developed into software solutions to optimally manage infrastructure projects, for example. Transporeon comes from the digital world. In the combination of Trimble and Transporeon, something is emerging that will shape the future of the supply chain similarly to how the “Physical Internet” was envisioned. Transporeon’s role in this is still that of a ‘facilitator’ and ‘enabler’; our job is to provide users of our network with the opportunities and significantly ease their implementation, but the decisions are always made by our customers. We ourselves are a neutral platform.

Serge Schamschula, Head of Ecosystem at Transporeon, a Trimble company, is also the deputy chairman of ALICE (Alliance for Logistics Innovation through Collaboration in Europe) and an expert for the European Commission. Serge has studied business administration (MBA) and economics and has 25 years of experience and expertise in logistics and supply chains. The Ecosystem area at Transporeon continuously works to enhance the performance of the Transporeon network for all stakeholders.

Fotos: © Transporeon