Link: Intervista | combinato strada-rotaia anche per le piccole imprese - TrasportoEuropa

Original article in Italian

Interview | Road-rail combination also for small businesses

The development of unaccompanied combined road-rail transport is supported by some public contributions and by the improvement of some railway lines, which allows the passage of semi-trailers up to four meters high. Technology also helps, offering systems for loading semi-trailers onto trains even without lifting systems. But there are still obstacles, especially related to the level of organization that this transport requires. In fact, transport companies must have road tractors and drivers at the various railway terminals to carry out the road section of the semi-trailers. In the absence of their own vehicles, companies must find road transport suppliers in the various locations they serve. A difficult situation for small and medium-sized transport companies, which has so far prevented many of them from accessing this mode.

However, if you want to develop the road-rail combination, you have to overcome this limit and there are those who are doing it, making their expertise in the sector available . Among these we meet Alexander Gieren, an Italian- German who has worked for a long time in Italy and who boasts a long experience in intermodality gained in companies of the caliber of Ambrogio Intermodal, Arcese, Fercam, P&O Ferrymasters and Nothegger. At the beginning of 2021, Gieren decided to start his own business, founding the company Agieren in Germany, which has the main purpose of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises to enter the world of intermodality.

“The mission is to bridge the knowledge and mindset gap that often holds small and medium-sized businesses back ,” he explains to TrasportoEuropa. “These companies, accustomed to road transport with simple instructions from point A to point B, are faced with the complexity of intermodality that requires at least three different operators: for the first mile, rail and last mile. Agieren acts as a facilitator, connecting these companies with reliable rail and last mile operators. We offer six to twelve months of consultancy, with weekly video calls to guide companies step by step towards autonomy in the world of intermodality. We also connect them with foreign companies for logistical issues such as parking and repairs.”

Its main clients are transporters: “Let's take the case of a German transporter who wants to enter the Italian market, perhaps focusing on the Veneto region, but doesn't have a network of clients. In this case, we provide him with an analysis of potential clients by product sector and we handle cold calls on his behalf, getting to speak to the decision makers in the transport sector. Once we reach the right interlocutor, we put him in touch with our client's sales representative. We also offer an active sales service for foreign clients who want to expand in Italy, calling Italian clients in the name and on behalf of our client”. The opposite is also true, because its founder's knowledge of Italian and German languages ​​and transport allows Agieren to operate in both countries.

The Agieren team consists of four people, who follow Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Germany and Benelux. But beyond strictly operational issues, what are the main difficulties that small and medium-sized enterprises encounter in approaching intermodality? “The main one is the lack of clarity and the lower bargaining power compared to large companies with respect to the railways. Small companies are often penalised in terms of priority and therefore perceive the road as a more reliable alternative. Paradoxically, the small entrepreneur sees in intermodality the advantage of being able to double the number of semi-trailers in circulation with the same number of drivers, but the disadvantage is still linked to the type of service, which is not yet fully comparable to road transport”.

Agieren also solves the main operational obstacle: having a traction service at the departure and arrival terminals. “It’s true. The fear of entrusting your semi-trailer to unknown traction operators abroad is a brake. At Agieren, we present our customers with at least two or three traction operators for each rail terminal, selected based on our past experience and with a low percentage of damage and accidents. We reassure customers about the professionalism of the traction operators, but it undoubtedly remains one of the major concerns”.

Another support provided by the company concerns the search for return loads: “This is a problem that exists both in intermodality and in purely road transport, especially for an exporting country like Italy. The imbalance between import and export is a constant. Precisely for this reason, we also offer targeted commercial support to find return loads, especially for flows from Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands to Italy”.

As for the future of intermodality , Gieren sees above all the unaccompanied rail transport of semi-trailers, for which there are now also solutions for loading onto wagons without cranes. “In this case, I initially advise customers to rent craneable semi-trailers for the first few months of consulting, avoiding initial investments.” Swap bodies, on the other hand, require a more complex logistics structure, also on the part of the recipient.

Finally, there is the important issue of costs, because intermodality is traditionally seen as more expensive than road transport altogether. For Gieren, this is a prejudice: “Intermodality brings economic advantages with certain types of goods, although it is true that not all of them are suitable for rail transport due to timing. However, the main advantage for a road haulier is the possibility of at least doubling the loads in circulation, increasing turnover even at the same cost per single trip. Although rail is still perceived as complex to manage and therefore companies prefer road for immediacy, in the long term intermodality pays off. Furthermore, the growing shortage of drivers makes intermodality an increasingly attractive solution, offering drivers more local jobs and a better quality of life.”