Intermodal Planning
Intermodal planning coordinates the movement of goods across multiple transportation modes—road, rail, sea, or air—to maximize efficiency, reduce costs, and ensure smooth transitions within a shipment journey.
What Is Intermodal Planning?
Intermodal planning involves creating a transportation strategy that leverages multiple modes of transport to move goods efficiently. For instance, a shipment might travel by rail for long distances and then switch to trucks for last-mile delivery.
This approach reduces transit times, lowers costs, and minimizes environmental impact. Effective intermodal planning requires coordinating schedules, routes, and handling processes to ensure smooth transfers between transport modes, often using advanced TMS or logistics software.
Use Cases of Intermodal Planning
Combining sea and rail transport for efficient cross-continental shipments.
Using rail or sea for long distances and trucks for last-mile delivery.
Reducing emissions by favoring rail or sea transport over road where possible.
Shipping large quantities of raw materials or products efficiently.
Coordinating container transfers from ships to trucks or trains.
Simplifying customs procedures and improving delivery times.
Combining fast air transport with cost-effective road or rail for urgent shipments.
Managing peak demand by balancing capacity across different transport modes.
Why Intermodal Planning Matters
- • Maximizes efficiency by leveraging strengths of multiple transport modes.
- • Reduces transportation costs and operational delays.
- • Ensures smooth transfers between modes for reliable delivery.
- • Supports sustainability goals through eco-friendly transport options.
- • Enhances supply chain flexibility and resilience.
How to Optimise Intermodal Planning
- ✔️ Use TMS to coordinate schedules and routes across all transport modes.
- ✔️ Track shipments in real-time to anticipate delays and reroute if necessary.
- ✔️ Optimize mode selection based on cost, distance, and environmental impact.
- ✔️ Collaborate with carriers and port operators for seamless transfers.
- ✔️ Maintain clear documentation for cross-border shipments and customs.
- ✔️ Analyze past journeys to improve future intermodal route planning and efficiency.
Streamline Your Supply Chain with Intermodal Planning
Optimize multi-modal transportation to reduce costs, improve delivery reliability, and support sustainability goals.
Request a Demo