#Whitepaper
4RC – A COMPLETE INTEGRATED ORDER-TO-CASH SOLUTION
1. The Rail Cargo Market
In spite of the obvious advantages of lower long haul costs and a smaller C02 footprint, the rail cargo market is growing but not at the same pace as the global logistic market. Margins are under pressure and, in most markets, regulators hope to introduce increased competition by deregulating the market and stimulating new entrants. The international rail cargo market is generally characterized by high administrative costs and complex coordination to deliver cargo between customer sites. It is a volume or niche game to reach sustainable profitability and the rail cargo operator who customizes its services and maintains efficient processes will win the game.
The 4RC Solution
is built up of fully integrated processes resulting in a solution responding to all of your business processes from the start2. The Market Vision
Rail cargo services remain an essential, environmental friendly transportation service fully integrated in the global logistic supply chain. The vision for this market is to establish fully digitized intuitive solutions with the customers’ end-to-end
transportation needs as the focus. Service providers will provide fully transparent booking applications including suggested best options to customers with real-time capacity available. It is clear to Ab Ovo that the digital transformation is a positive trend for rail cargo operators. The required technology is available and affordable for new entrants and niche players on the rail cargo market. There will be simple booking systems connected to planning systems and to infrastructure managers worldwide.
Thus, payments and settlements will be completed in real-time at delivery. Goods will be tracked, at any time, door-to-door independent of modality.
3. The Ab Ovo 4RC Solution
Ab Ovo has developed a modern and complete order-to-cash solution with all necessary processes integrated to allow rail cargo operators to receive orders, compose and run trains, and produce invoices. This offers an all-in-one system named
4RailCargo (4RC). 4RC is an order-based solution which includes all functionalities necessary for rail cargo operators to run trains. 4RC comes with a feature rich basic package that may be enhanced with optional features. This exceptional content
is the product of the decades of industry experience of Ab Ovo. 4RC will grow with you and will be kept fit for your future; the roadmap will be open for your customization and suggestions.
4RailCargo
is a complete solution including all processes for a rail operator to run trains. Choosing our Add-Ons make the solution grow with your business needs4. The Integrated Solution
The 4RC solution is built up of fully integrated processes resulting in a solution responding to all of your business processes from the start. There’s no need to compromise on functionality or spend large amounts on customized integration. 4RC delivers it all. The main processes are:
- Contracts
- Transport Files
- Planning & Execution
- Production
- Finances & Invoicing
- Standing Data
The integrated processes include all features necessary for a rail cargo operator’s planning and daily operation. In addition, each process includes optional features to further enhance and automate business processes. Planning & Execution includes planning capacity for trains and crews. The customer portal, open for your customers, will reduce the workload of your administrative staff enhancing responsiveness and the level of service for your customers.
If it meets your needs, you can add an option for planning of wagons to the solution. The reporting module includes all necessary operational reports on station/wagon/ track overview, track list, wagon and train event history, wagon defects, historical train lists, etc.
5. Mobility Solution
The mobility solution in 4RC includes an intuitive mobile application for both locomotive drivers and ground staff. Drivers will have all the details regarding assignments such as timetable, path and
important train documents. The ground staff has, on their mobile phones, all information regarding wagon inspection, train checks, shunting and other train handling activities such as composition,
departure and arrival. This allows the drivers and staff can register actual working time and over time. They see the planned shifts and task included in each shift.
4RailCargo
takes care of the complete migration6. Implementation Start-up
The implementation of the 4RC full featured basic package follows a structured and well documented process. This standard implementation package includes all resources and services necessary to secure a smooth and seamless start-up. Project management and training of key users is included in the package. We make sure your start-up will run swiftly and smoothly. Standing data or master data from your legacy systems can be registered manually or uploaded via our standard .csv or .xml formats. If you are too busy running trains our optional start-up package takes care of the complete migration from your legacy system to 4RC.
4RailCargo
all benefits8. The Look
4RC comes with a responsive and intuitive user interface. All icons have clear help texts for the unexperienced user. The navigation in the application is tailored to the business process for the highest ease of use.
9. The Key Benefits
The customer benefits are clear – 4RC contains all data about customers, contracts, prices, time schedules, rolling stock and crew so the rail cargo operator has full control of its business and achieves efficient processes. This is a completely integrated solution. Claims are clearly alerted for the financial department. With unit based planning and tracking, 4RC reduces the amount of manual work and improves the quality and reliability in the business processes. 4RC secures compliance to labor rules and constraints resulting in increased performance and utilization. The safety risks decrease by using hard and soft rules for maintenance, route knowledge and traction knowledge. Complete disruption management increase s punctuality rates and reduces the operational costs.
