The Benefits Of Intermodalism

Intermodalism comprises the different means of transportation, including air, road, sea, rail and pipelines. However, as each of these transportation modes have a drawback, rendering the sole use of a mode for all transportation needs ineffective, a combination of different modes should be used to enable effective transportation of goods and services from the point of departure to the destination.

Purpose of Intermodalism

Shipping companies need to use intermodalism to their advantage by ensuring that a combination of the best means of transport is used to deliver cargo or freight as effectively and cost efficiently as possible.  Transport and freight companies need to match the product they deliver to the most efficient means of transportation. The following needs to be considered:

  • The size and weight of goods transported
  • The distance between the point of departure and destination
  • The infrastructure available at the point of departure and destination
  • The flexibility offered by the different transport modules
  • The perishable nature of the goods being transported

Each mode of transport holds its own advantages and some will be more suited for the products you need delivered than others. Road is more suitable for short to medium deliveries while rail and sea transport are more suitable for bulk commodities with longer transit times.

What Role Does Software Play In Intermodulism?

Your choice of transport will further be determined by the supporting technologies at your disposal and the integration capabilities offered by the transportation methods. Should you need to transport goods from a warehouse to different locations surrounding your local destination, road or rail transport will be a suitable option and will require integration with your warehouse software solution.

Warehouse software offers integration capabilities with transport software, such as mobile software which can be configured to monitor the road transportation process. Further, container software can be integrated with your company’s software solutions to enable container tracking and visibility.

For optimal cost savings and efficiencies when transporting cargo, the best transport modes should be combined and then integrated with existing supporting technologies.

Find out more about Dovetail’s Warehouse Software Solutions.