Global freight traffic is growing and growing, including in Germany. Combined road and rail transport is thus becoming increasingly important. And that is why, more than ever, there is a need for high-performance container terminals for transferring goods from road to rail. The solution: automated processes that are optimally adapted to the respective location and significantly increase efficiency.

In 1960, there were just under 700,000 trucks in Germany. In 2018, there were already more than 3 million - and the German Federal Ministry of Transport expects further strong growth at least until 2030. According to the forecast of the Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV), the rail mode of transport is currently growing even faster. The current political discussion is fueling this growth: It is the declared goal of the federal government to increase the share of rail freight transport to 25 percent in 2030.
This goal is ambitious - and it requires the right conditions. One of the most important conditions: High-performance container terminals for highly efficient transfer of goods from road to rail.

For container terminal operators, therefore, one topic is on everyone's lips: How can processes be automated to increase efficiency and thus get more out of the existing possibilities?
There are many solutions for this on the market. But: "Any system is only as good as the provider can tailor it individually to the respective facility - and almost even more decisive is the possibility of being able to integrate and control already existing digital solutions such as check-in or slot management systems in the control system," Sebastian Gröger, Division Manager Process Control and Logistics at Berghof Automation, knows from experience.

For the "Operations Control System Transshipment Stations 2.0" - or BLU 2.0 for short - originally developed for DB Netz AG, Berghof Automation therefore gave particular thought to these two aspects. "Similar to a good doctor, we always start with a detailed overall view: What exactly do the processes look like at the terminal in question - and how do our specialists have to set up BLU 2.0 in this case so that it can optimally manage and efficiently control all data streams as the heart and brain of the plant," explains Sebastian Gröger, "This naturally also includes determining the interfaces required to integrate the systems already in place and to be able to process their data."

The modular structure of the system also guarantees the greatest possible efficiency in terms of system costs. "The customer receives - and pays for - only exactly what he really needs. And not, as is often the case, a powerful system of which he ultimately only needs and uses a fraction," Gröger continues. The result: With BLU 2.0 from Berghof Automation, every container terminal can be digitized flexibly, efficiently and future-proof.