The rail logistics and transportation industry is on the brink of a new era, driven by rail trends such as technological advancements, an increasing focus on lean supply chains, and a global shift towards sustainability and efficiency.
In this blog we’ll explore the current trends shaping the rail shipping supply chain, from sustainability and eco-friendliness to the digitalization of supply chains, the integration of telematics/GPS, advancements in intermodal tracking, automated data visualization, predictive ETAs, effective capacity management, and an increased focus on customer service. We will also look at how a Rail Transportation Management System (Rail TMS) provides solutions for each of the trends we will cover.
Each of these trends reflects the broader shifts in the industry, highlighting the crucial role of a Rail TMS in addressing these challenges and opportunities.
Table of Contents
What is a Rail TMS?
A Rail TMS, such as Rail Command® from RSI Logistics, is an advanced, comprehensive transportation management tool specifically designed to streamline and optimize every aspect of your rail shipping process.
Unlike simple digitization methods such as manual spreadsheet tracking, a Rail TMS integrates rail shipping functions and processes to provide a unified platform for more effective and intelligent management of rail logistics. These systems facilitate improved planning, execution, monitoring, and optimization of rail freight movements, encompassing everything from rates and schedules to demurrage charges and equipment lease tracking. By leveraging a solution like Rail Command, you can achieve greater efficiency, visibility, and control over your rail transportation operations.
Current Rail Trends When Shipping Freight
The trends we will explore are those the rail experts at RSI Logistics consider defining for the rail freight industry. We will also look at how a Rail TMS like Rail Command provides solutions to all these trends.
First, we will break down the push for sustainability and environmental impact. After that we will cover the rail trends of supply chain digitalization, including telematics and GPS, as well as automated data visualizations and predictive ETAs. We will also look at intermodal integration and capacity management. And finally, we will touch on the growing importance of customer service and providing visibility for your clients.
Sustainability and Environmental Impact
Sustainability and eco-friendliness have increasingly become more important for any business whose supply chain involves freight.
Freight trucking, one of the most common modes of freight transport, is an outsized contributor to emissions. On the other hand, rail shipping is a much more environmentally friendly method. Regardless, even if your supply chain is primarily rail shipping, there is still an opportunity to streamline your freight transportation.
This is where a Rail TMS can provide a solution. Systems like Rail Command provide methods of automated visibility for both inbound and outbound shipments. For instance, with inbound, you can answer questions such as do I have cars to load? or do I have raw materials for manufacturing? The answers provided by Rail Command can help your supply chain be leaner and mitigate the need to order additional cars just in case. This eases the burden on the network and the resulting emissions.
Comprehensive Supply Chain Digitization
Digitization has been a trend for some time; yet as the rail industry continues to pursue digitizing various aspects of rail shipping, a new trend is also becoming notable – making that digital data comprehensive and all-inclusive.
Traditional data management methods involve taking the digitized data from your rail supply chain and manually combining it using methods like disconnected spreadsheets. With a comprehensive system like Rail Command, your digitized rail supply chain is:
- Accurate and Accessible: A Rail TMS enhances accuracy through the digitization of all aspects of your rail shipping network and makes it accessible from anywhere.
- Integrated: A unified system promotes visibility and integration of your digitized data.
- Analytical: The comprehensive aspect of Rail Command reduces the need for manual input of digitized supply chain movements, eliminating human errors and freeing up resources for strategic planning.
Intermodal Visibility Rail Trends
Intermodal, a shipping method that uses a combination of trucks and trains to move freight, is not a new trend and has been a mainstay of the North American rail network for decades. However, what is a growing trend is the power of reporting and capturing data for both modes in one comprehensive system. The alternative, and the usual method until recently, was to separately monitor two different networks and manually compare the visibility.
However, now systems like Rail Command can track the truck and rail portion of your intermodal moves within Rail Command. This allows for reporting and capturing data capabilities in a comparable way to Rail Command’s railcar services.
Automated Rail Data Visualization
Building off the comprehensive digitization trend we just examined, automated data visualization represents the next stage of the data trend. As more data points are received and aggregated into a Rail TMS, the next stage is to find insights from that data. However, studying raw data, even if it is in one place, is difficult through only manual analysis methods.
With systems like Rail Command, data visualization is automated and insightful. For instance, Rail Command includes a home command center that highlights key performance indicators such as railcars shipped, active cars status, and most recent service logs. Beyond that, every aspect of your rail supply chain has automated data visualizations – saving you time and money on finding the insights needed to manage and optimize your supply chain.
Predictive Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA)
Much like the trend of automated data visualization is building off comprehensive supply chain digitization, predictive ETAs are building off visibility and location tracking. As the rail trends of visibility and location begin to evolve and introduce Global Positioning Systems (GPS) alongside traditional Car Location Messages (CLM), the next stage is to provide a measure of predictability to that visibility.
Systems like Rail Command take the data of a shipment route and generate an ETA. From there, the ETA can fluctuate through transit as delays and challenges occur. Doing this manually would be difficult, even if all the data were in one comprehensive system, but with the automation and data models of a Rail TMS, it is all a click away.
Capacity Management
A rail trend that is central to streamlining supply chains is capacity management. As profit maximization and supply chain optimization become more important, effective utilization of capacity is becoming a prevailing trend within the rail industry.
A comprehensive Rail TMS serves as a solution to the detailed intricacies of rail capacity management. A Rail TMS leverages data to optimize order management, monitors what equipment needs to be sent to shop when, integrate with corporate systems, and more. Furthermore, by eliminating manual tracking, guesswork is also eliminated, which means that when decision makers go to view their operations within the Rail TMS, they can understand how capacity is being utilized.
Customer Service Rail Trends
In today’s competitive marketplace, the emphasis on customer service within the rail industry is more pronounced than ever. Customers are increasingly gravitating towards companies that offer not just competitive pricing, but also superior customer service. In response to this trend, leveraging technology like Rail Command becomes crucial to meeting and exceeding customer expectations.
To improve visibility and make it inclusive for your supply chain, a Rail TMS enables you to identify and address potential disruptions before they escalate. This means that any challenges in the transportation process can be managed more efficiently, minimizing the impact on your customers. You are also able to keep your customers informed about the status of their shipments in real time. Whether it is a delay or early arrival, customers appreciate being in the know, which fosters trust and loyalty.
Agile and Resilient Supply Chains
Regardless of which mode of transportation(s) your supply chain utilizes, a trend that has been front and center for years is that of companies adopting an agile supply chain and a resilient supply chain. The impact of the pandemic in 2020 highlighted how valuable agility and resiliency are. In situations where sudden shifts in the industry can drastically impact your ongoing rail shipping, it is important that you are able to adjust correspondingly and that your freight transportation can adapt while being resilient enough to keep vital shipments arriving and departing.
To improve the rail trends of agility and resiliency, companies are investing in technology that enhances visibility in their supply chains to minimize disruptions.
We put this point last because all the previous rail trends we have covered are vital to making a rail supply chain agile and resilient. Visibility of assets, shipments, and data helps you be agile. Environmental consciousness, capacity management, and customer service help you to be resilient.
With a Rail TMS like Rail Command, your rail supply chain is prepared not just to be resilient and agile but prepared for all rail trends, current and future.
The rail industry is evolving and rail trends that just a handful of years ago were far off in the future are either here and available or working on being implemented by railroads and shippers alike. Tools like GPS and telematics are being utilized throughout supply chains and data visualizations are automated and developed via data models to provide valuable insights. Supply chains are becoming leaner and eco-friendly, and customers are demanding higher service marks.
With a Rail TMS, you are equipped to collect and study your data, be environmentally friendly, monitor, track, and manage your shipments, tailor experiences to the unique needs of your customers, and more. By embracing technology like Rail Command, your company can gain a competitive edge through improved operational efficiencies, enhanced communications, and data-driven decision-making.
Explore how Rail Command can revolutionize your rail freight supply chain. Contact us today for a demo and experience the power of a Rail TMS designed by rail shipping experts for rail shipping experts.
