Approach for handling heterogeneous goods in intermodal freight networks - revisited

Other conference contribution, 2013

At the 9th WCTR in Seoul, we outlined six approaches for coping with heterogeneous goods in freight networks and gave common real-world examples of Logistics Service Providers’ actions. This article is a follow-up that re-uses the conceptual framework created in 2001 to develop the theory further and to analyse how the approaches are used in real-world network operations in 2013. We have found indications that European transport of heterogeneous goods has become increasingly complex and certainly more complicated over the studied period, not least of all due to the growth in transport network size and scope. Some of the tricks used by Logistics Service Providers to cope with the heterogeneous goods are de-scribed, characterised, segmented, and analysed to arrive at relatively generalised knowledge. Finally, a case study shows how a Swedish Logistics Service Provider has changed its consolidation network to encompass logistically demanding pharmaceuticals in its general flow.