Truck and Track Summer 2026 www.truckandtrack.com 28 INTERMODAL TRANSPORT SOFTWARE Intermodal is entering a new phase, defined not only by growth but by how effectively that growth is managed. Rail volumes are set to increase significantly over the coming decades, inland terminals continue to expand, and pressure on road networks is intensifying due to congestion, cost, and sustainability demands. The direction of travel is clear. Yet while growth is widely discussed, operational performance remains constrained - because the challenge facing intermodal today is no longer visibility but coordination. For years, the industry has invested in systems that improve visibility, enabling operators to track container status, monitor movements, and report on performance throughout the supply chain. These capabilities are now well established. Yet visibility alone does not ensure performance. As intermodal networks scale, the real test is how effectively operators can coordinate across transport, terminals, and planning functions - and how quickly they can respond to changing conditions. At scale, the challenge isn’t visibility - it’s coordination under pressure. The Limits of Fragmented Operations In a typical intermodal environment, planning, execution, terminal operations, and financial management are spread across multiple systems. Each performs its role well, providing visibility within its own domain. The challenge lies in how decisions are connected across them. The issue isn’t within any one system, but in how transport and terminal activities interact in real-time. A change at the terminal affects transport plans. A delay impacts cost and utilisation. Yet these decisions are still often made in isolation, creating operations that are technically connected but not fully aligned. This isn’t always immediately visible. It emerges over time, as plans that look optimal at the start of the day become harder to execute as conditions shift. Terminal activity creates knock-on effects that aren’t reflected in transport schedules, while local decisions are made to keep things moving without full visibility of their wider impact. Individually, those decisions make sense. Across the network, they introduce cost, reduce utilisation, and increase operational risk. A missed update becomes a missed slot. A missed slot becomes idle time. Idle time becomes a cost. This is the gap between visibility and coordinated execution, where visibility shows what is happening, but coordinated execution determines what happens next. Why Integration Alone Isn’t the Answer Many organisations have addressed this challenge by integrating systems to create a more unified view of operations. In some environments, this approach works well, particularly at a smaller scale. However, as networks expand, maintaining alignment across multiple systems becomes increasingly difficult. Integrations can connect data, but they do not always support decisionmaking across the entire operation. From Visibility to Coordination Why Intermodal Needs a New Operating Model
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