Today it is very difficult or even impossible for SME freight forwarder to use eco-friendly intermodal transport solutions. One of the main barriers are high upfront investments regarding purchase of intermodal equipment. Missing network opportunities are another barrier: for the last mile the loading unit has to be picked up at the rail terminal and transported to its destination via truck again. However, this second end of the supply-chain is missing for SMEs. These hurdles make intermodal systems unaffordable and unattractive for most smaller and mid-size transport companies.
FIT4RAIL strives to overcome SMEs´ main entry barriers to the intermodal market and thus to facilitate offering green shipping solutions to their clients
The action FIT (Facilitating Intermodal Transportation) strives to overcome these entry barriers for SMEs by demonstrating an innovative solution to integrate loading technologies for standard trailers with an end-to-end IT platform to manage first/last mile transportation.