Syncrotess for Intermodal Terminals combines the world's most advanced optimization with a purpose-built Intermodal Terminal Operating System (TOS).

Contact

Alex van Winckel
Consultant
Tel: +49 (0) 2408 / 9456 - 6000 A.vanWinckel@informinform-software.com

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Ship Control

Yard Control

Gate Control/TSM

Vehicle Control

Crane Control

Rail Control/TLO

Booking & Billing

AI & Optimization

Intermodal TOS Modules

Our modular Intermodal TOS design allows terminals to select the features they require to build a custom Terminal Operating System to suite their specific needs. As your terminal grows, add additional modules to increase your TOS functionality to match your needs.

Booking

The booking functionality allows for manual bookings as well as interfacing to third-party systems to receive automated booking data into Syncrotess.
Improved visibility of inbound trucks
- Syncrotess supports interfaces to third-party booking systems
- Conflicts between bookings will be highlighted.
Billing

All operational data is transferred to the billing module to determine whether the handling/service of a load unit is to be invoiced.
Streamlined billing
- Customer specific set of rules to configure which handling/service is to be invoiced
- Individual price lists per customer/per invoiceable service
- Send invoice data to third-party accounting system.
Gate Control

Check of incoming trucks and load units to determine the best sequence of handover positions.
Streamlined gate processes
- Collecting pictures of trucks and load units, and several details such as license plates, LU number, damages and warning plates using Syncrotess Standard OCR interface
- Speed up the manual process of checking load units via mobile application
- Providing truckers with transport orders.
- Optional: Add-on Time Slot Management or Truck Scheduler

Yard Control

Get full transparency of all terminal processes, positions of load units, as well as internal and external resources in your terminal.
Intelligence for the heart of your terminal
- Configure areas/slots for preferred load unit types
- Configure areas/slots for forbidden load unit content (hazardous goods)
- Lock/unlock areas/single slots
- Set maximum stacking heights
- Optional: Add-on Yard Optimizer and Machine Learning.
Vehicle/Crane Control

Get full transparency of internal resources, their current status and position, as well as actual and planned work orders.
Driving your terminal forward
- Real time overview of all existing work orders
- Dispatcher can assign work orders to dedicated resources
- Direct feedback when a work order was completed by a resource
- Optional: Add-on Vehicle Optimizer or Crane Optimizer.
Ship Control

Management of incoming and outgoing ship voyages including administration of ship schedules.
Keeping waterside operations afloat
- Administration of ship schedules
- Quay management
- Pre-stowage functionality.

Rail Control

Provides management of all rail related base data to allow manual train planning using drag and drop functionality.
Keeping your rail humming
- Management of many types of rail car base data
- Management of train timetables as well as track occupancy
- Optional: Add-on Train Load Optimizer.
Maintenance & Repair

Administration of damages and load units which needs to be repaired. Client individual calculated estimates can be automatically sent vie email out of Syncrotess.
Full-service intermodal facility TOS
- Management of load unit specific damage kinds
- Managements of configurable kind of repair services
- Confirmed estimates can be converted into specific services
- Service details will be transferred to the billing module to be invoiced.
Reporting & KPIs

Syncrotess comes with a set of predefined business reports to give specific insights in your daily operations.
Transparency for all stakeholders
- Standard reports based on operational data
- Statistical database to run extensive queries to gain deep insights
- Third-party BI software can be easily connected.

+ AI and Optimization

At the heart of INFORM's Intermodal TOS is a powerful AI & optimization engine that, when added to your TOS's configuration, streamlines your terminal's efficiency and productivity helping you to reduce costs, improve revenues, and manage increased terminal complexity.

Vehicle Optimizer

Vehicle Optimizer increases vehicle utilization across all equipment types while reducing travel and lowering maintenance costs.
Increased vehicle utilization and reduced travel
- Simultaneous real-time optimization of all equipment and jobs
- Reduced idle-time of equipment
- Execution of jobs within their accepted time windows
- Combines jobs where possible for enhanced productivity
- Pooling and/or gang functionality
- Integration of positioning and safety systems
- Optimization of all vehicle equipment types and operational mode (manual, semi- and fully automated).
Crane Optimizer

Crane Optimizer increases crane productivity by reducing travel and equipment interference as well as leveraging double-cycling moves when suitable.
Minimized travel and improved service quality
- Simultaneous, real-time optimization of all equipment and jobs
- Optimized crane routing
- Reduced crane idle times
- Execution of jobs within their accepted time windows
- Double-cycling proposed when resonable
- Dynamic crane working areas
- Integration of positoning and safety systems
- Optimization of all crane equipment types and operational mode (manual, semi- and fully automated).

Train Load Optimizer

Train Load Optimizer plans and updates the stowing of outbound trains while improving slot utilization and business objectives and practices.
Better all-around performance
- Maximized train/slot utilization
- Real-time re-optimization of load plan and adjustment to situation changes
- Adherence to rail car, axle, trailing load, center of gravity and hazardous good rules/restrictions
- Minimized yard re-handling, loading distance, and pin configuration changes
- Supports single and double stacked trains.
Time Slot Management

Time Slot Management shortens external truck queues and traffic while alleviating gate congestion through optimized arrival time slot allocations.
Shorter queus for improved turnaround
- Intelligent external time slot booking system
- Clear communication of allocated gate arrival time
- Minimized gate wait times and significant decrease in bottlenecks
- Dynamic real-time monitoring and automatic schedule adjustment.

Yard Optimizer

Yard Optimizer provides an optimized yard allocation for load units to reduce rehandles and improve resource and storage area utilization.
Improved utilization and transparency
- Efficient storage area and resource utilization
- Optimized housekeeping moves if desired during off-peak hours
- Minimized load unit rehandles
- Balance between scattered stacking and targeted stacking functionality
- Improved stack height potential
- Real-time knowledge of all load unit positions
- Optimization of all yard types.
Machine Learning

Machine Learning improves the accuracy of operational data used for real-time operational decision-making and long-term strategic management planning.
Better input data accuracy
- Improved optimization capabilities
- Better overall data quality for long-term strategic planning and real-time decisions
- Improved automated terminal performance and storage area utilization
- Minimized load unit rehandles
- Improved equipment maintenance schedules.

Syncrotess Intermodal TOS Benefits at a Glance

Significantly higher data availability and transparency.
Increased efficiency due to automated and optimized job assignment.
Improved efficiency in train planning.
Significant reduction in truck cycle times.
All in one system including: incoming orders, order execution, and billing.
Support in reaching your sustainability goals.
Scalable – start with what’s required and grow alongside your terminal.
Future ready system – automation ready, machine learning ready, integration ready.

Selected Success Stories and References

KTL Pushing the Boundaries of Intermodal Terminal Operations

Operating a full-service intermodal terminal within the world’s largest integrated chemical complex is a tough challenge. Expanding it beyond its physical yard and designed capacity limits is an ambitious project, requiring not only a state-of-the-art TOS, but a TOS with optimization capabilities based on AI algorithms.

Read the Full Success Story

Samskip Setting the New Standard for Intermodal Terminal Operations

Upgrading to a new TOS is a major project and an ambitious undertaking for any terminal operator. After all requirements were specified, a roadmap was outlined that ensured a smooth transition from the old to the new system. In March 2018, the go-live was successfully completed. What Samskip got was not only a full-blown, state-of-the-art TOS, but a TOS with optimization modules powered by algorithms.

Read the Full Success Story