Information for transparency in transport chains

Intermodal transports chains are complex both through its numbers of players and its number of different processes. The relationships between the players are usually settled through contractual agreements. Although the players have a common goal of providing an efficient transport chain they are also to some extent competitors, both within the chain and in other business relationships. The transport market is, like most other markets, affected by the overall informatization of society which is characterized by the fact that production tends to be information intensive. Electronic business and the focus on and development of supply chains increase pressure on effectiveness and access to information on the transportation part. At the same time the technology development and the emergence of simplified and low cost communication solutions enable improvement of processes and reduction of transaction costs with information at the core. It provides an opportunity for intermodal transports as it enables real time information to be shared between the actors and thereby improve the quality. However, implementation of ICT systems opens up new possibilities and new threats, which will have implications and consequences on the business, beyond the technical aspects and effect the power balance at all levels. This thesis sets out to contribute to the understanding of the importance of information in transport chains for achieving transparency as well as its widerimplications on the players in the transport chains. In this context transparency is defined as knowledge made accessible to all relevant players involved in the transport chain and it implies: • controllability of the common task • focusing actions on a common goal • defining the players tasks (e.g. required input and output) in the framework of a common goal all enabling a high quality transport chain