Challenge

Accelerate Innovation in a Traditionally Slow-to-change Industry

The rail industry is not usually a hotbed of innovation. Most operators are either state-owned or quite recently spun out from public ownership. The very nature of heavy engineering, slow-to-evolve infrastructure, and necessary safety regulations add further inertia to change.

Lineas, Europe’s largest private rail freight operator, shares this public sector heredity. In 2010 the company was 100 percent owned by Belgium’s national railway company and then spun out with private equity investment in 2011, rebranding as Lineas in 2017.

The company’s rebranding signifies the enlarged mission to provide rail freight services across Europe, which, as CIO Mark Geuens explains, is challenging.

So-called “modal shift” allows companies to improve their supply chain while decreasing their impact on mobility, climate, and air pollution. European Union legislation and increasing ESG pressure from shareholders make this a top priority for businesses.

However, delivering a frictionless customer experience is extremely hard from an IT perspective. “We were dragging a complex legacy behind us,” explains Mark. “We had rigid systems from our state ownership days and a mix of technologies following several acquisitions. Moreover, door-to-door logistics involves multiple parties. Lineas does the long haul, but partners deliver the first and last miles between railyard and customer.”

Using OutSystems, Lineas developed three “Control Towers,” for significant aspects of the Lineas business. These three entities are:

• Customer Care Control Tower provides the data and processes needed by customer service agents and the customer self-service portal, including track and trace and proactive notifications.
• Supply Chain Control Tower provides the ability to plan and monitor logistics across Lineas’ multi-partner ecosystems.
• Product and Network Control Tower includes the granular master data of Lineas’ locations, products, and services needed for detailed planning and pricing.

Today, 75 percent of European freight travels by road. Every year each driver spends 120 hours in traffic jams, and around 50,000 people die prematurely because of air pollution and road accidents.

The market expects overall freight volume to grow 30 percent by 2030, and the benefits of rail freight are undeniable. It emits nine times less CO₂, eight times less air pollution, and burns six times less energy.

“Our golden triangle program will deliver full transparency of consignments, including ETAs, deviation management, full track and trace, and proactive notifications,” explains Mark. “Delivering trust and convenience to customers underpins modal shift.”

Looking at the internal benefits to Lineas, Mark says, “We’ll have end-to-end control of deliveries across the partner ecosystem. Realtime trusted data will help us optimize the use of our resources, including trains, wagons, railyards, and personnel.”