At the EU level, in spite of focusing on the low-carbon economy, synchromodality in logistics operations is unknown in the most regions of Europe. From an environmental perspective, while the majority of attention are on the shipping industry decarbonization, a systemic synergic approach in logistics, hinterland, and transport can significantly promote the environmental performance of freight transport.
There are four drivers that are considered the ones which can accelerate the door-to-door supply chain towards connective networks within a synchromodal framework:
(i) the high and unstable prices of fuel that triggers the necessity for cost-saving transport solutions;
(ii) the enormous rise in overburdened road infrastructure;
(iii) the increasing complexity of the supply chains world-wide that puts extreme pressure on the systems and increases the risk for critical failures and
(iv) increased environment-conscious and public awareness about road traffic side-effects on local communities.
Strict environmental regulations at interregional, and international level such as Paris Agreement, and International Maritime Organization (IMO) members’ agreement to reduce its emissions by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 20081. However, there are challenges for applying the synchromodal transport framework at port hinterlands. First, is networking and collaboration with the core of trust and customer relationship concept. The establishment of such a network is based on mutual respect and trust, as the most important prerequisite for synchromodal processes. Due to the fact that many entities are not willing to cooperate with competitors, a new way of thinking is required to generate a synchromodal network which is concentrated on trust and the advantages of cooperation instead of competition. The second limitation is complexity in planning. Planning and also the simulation of transport routes is vital to create an effective transport network. Items such as new customer preferences, route traffics, and accessible resources of logistics nods should be assessed and examined prior to planning. Monitoring and forecasting are crucial factors for optimization of the transport performances. Accordingly, a freight transport network is to be set up based on the demand mapping and forecasting tools. The third restriction is the connectivity of the existing different ICT systems and data-sharing platforms.
