SYNCHRO-NET & Customs

Synchromodality & Customs Operations Optimization

Synchromodal logistics optimization has the potential to significantly reduce costs in international freight operations while also reducing environmental impact and making the supply chain more sustainable.

Synchromodality refers to the ability to dynamically switch between modes of transport in response to operational events such as delays or changes in the urgency/priority of freight.

Instead of having a single "fixed" route for goods, the path of the consignment can be dynamically planned based on the current state of the market, and re-planned in response to delays or other operational problems.

Opportunities for Customs

At first sight this increased fluidity in the network might be expected to present customs operations with additional challenges. However, in fact the adoption of synchromodality by freight operators actually leads to significant benefits for customs and border control agencies.

Synchromodal logistics exploits technologies and initiatives such as Single Windows, Blockchain, digitalisation and Internet-of-Things.

Synchromodal optimization algorithms exploit the increased availability of real-time data to reduce costs for shippers and logistics companies, while also increasing reliability and service levels.

These substantial commercial benefits accelerate the uptake of digitisation along the supply chain, with the spin-off benefit that good, high quality data is available in a convenient format to be used in risk assessments and other analysis by customs organisations.

Furthermore, the "de-stressing" aspect of synchromodal optimization leads to better, more predictable flows of goods in ports and terminals. This in turn makes it easier for customs operations to balance workloads and manage resourcing levels and capacity.

World Customs Organisation

MJC² has presented the synchromodal logistics concept to the World Customs Organisation's Permanent Technical Committee. The discussion focussed on the SYNCHRO-NET project, which is an ambitious collaborative initiative involving MJC² working with 20 supply chain optimization partners, including major global organisations Kuehne+Nagel, Cosco and Dell, co-ordinated by DHL.

Opportunities to use synchromodality as a way to drive increased collaboration between logistics operators and customs operations were presented. The use of these algorithms promotes efficient planning and management of processes at ports and terminals, reducing bottlenecks and smoothing flows through these key nodes in the supply chain.