Why RFS Will Grow in Europe

Several factors are driving the expansion of Road Feeder Services in Europe:

1. Aggressive Sustainability and Decarbonization Goals: European regulations are pushing for greener transportation methods, which makes optimizing ground logistics essential.
2. E-commerce Boom and Fulfillment Centers Near Airports: With the rise of e-commerce, fulfillment centers are popping up closer to airports, further emphasizing the need for seamless road-to-air connectivity.
3. Airport Congestion and Slot Availability: Major airports face growing congestion and limited slot availability, underscoring the importance of efficient, optimized Road Feeder Services.

The key to optimized, more efficient RFS…​

The Challenge of Managing RFS

The complexity of managing long-distance trucking and RFS creates a number of challenges:

• Non-coordinated truck arrival times lead to congestion and inefficiencies at and around the yard or cargo hub.
• Severe congestion and waiting times at airport hubs cause delays and frustration.
• Demurrage fees and missed shipping deadlines impact the bottom line.
• Stock shortages can have ripple effects, especially in time-sensitive industries like pharma or peak shopping periods such as Black Friday and holiday seasons.

This growing complexity significantly threatens air cargo's reputation as a critical logistics solution. If we can’t meet delivery expectations, we risk losing the trust businesses place in air cargo to deliver speed and reliability when it matters most.

Landside-Airside: A Complex Intersection

The landside-airside handover of RFS cargo is often where the key bottleneck. Trucks arriving at airports face not only road traffic but also congestion from local forwarders and other trucking companies, all competing to pick up or drop off cargo at the same time. Without a coordinated, streamlined approach, this leads to delays and inefficiencies.

The landside-airside handover of RFS cargo doesn’t happen in isolation.

A Solution: Integrating RFS into Landside Management

At Nallian, we strongly believe that Road Feeder Services should not be treated as a separate entity but as an integral part of overall landside management. Our approach to optimizing landside management includes several key features:

• Flexible Dock Door and Personnel Management: Adapting resources to meet the real-time demands of truck arrivals.
• Booking and Updating Slots for Pick-Up or Delivery: Allowing slots to be booked in advance or updated ad hoc to accommodate dynamic schedules.
• Integration with Cargo Management Systems: Linking shipment data (MAWB/ULD) to booked slots, ensuring cargo matches available resources.
• Active Access Control for Trucks: Managing truck access to warehouses per the agreed schedule.
• Streamlining Truck Movements: Calling trucks forward as dock doors become available reduces waiting times and improves flow.

These features are core components of our Truck Visit Management Solution, designed to handle local and long-distance truck movements. Integrating RFS into a broader landside management framework can reduce inefficiencies and deliver better results for all parties involved.

Learning from a Pilot

We recently conducted a pilot to integrate RFS management with trucking companies' Transport Management Systems (TMS). The goal was to simplify slot booking and provide real-time ETA updates based on traffic data. However, this pilot faced certain challenges:

• Constant ETA Updates: Moving targets made aligning dock door availability with truck arrivals difficult.
• Capacity Mismatch: At arrival, dock doors and personnel were not always available, resulting in delays.

The key takeaway? We need to strike a balance between real-time updates and the need for advance notice to ensure capacity can be reserved. A priority service for trucks arriving at unpredictable times isn’t feasible without proper planning.

What’s Next: Collaborative Solutions for RFS

At Nallian, we are setting up a collaborative knowledge exchange platform with key players in the European RFS landscape. Together, we aim to find answers to questions like:

• How can warehouse handlers adapt when multiple trucks arrive simultaneously due to traffic delays?
• What criteria should define truck movement priorities in such situations?
• How accurate and available is ETA data from trucking companies today, and how can it be better integrated?
• Are there existing platforms that gather this data, and should we partner with them to streamline the onboarding of trucking companies?

This collaborative approach, combined with Nallian’s expertise in Landside Management Digitalization, will lead to a practical, scalable solution for RFS.