Other

Lowering CO2 emissions by 60% through modal combination with a transportation distance of 1,300 km

Transport and Delivery Sustainability Labor Shortage

In collaboration with Tanico (a commercial kitchen equipment manufacturer), Konoike Transport, and the Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight), Trancom implemented next-generation modal combination logistics, shifting long-distance transport from truck to rail between Fukushima and Fukuoka.

Background and Challenges

Supporting overtime limits

A system that depends only on trucks for long-distance transportation from the Tohoku region to Kyushu may not be able to maintain itself with future labor shortages.

Transport difficulties unique to kitchen equipment

These products are produced in small quantities and in a wide variety of sizes,, and are made of stainless steel, which is susceptible to impact damage. Therefore, skilled expertise is required for loading, making transition to railway containers difficult.

Lowering environmental impact

A large reduction in CO2 emissions was sought to build a sustainable supply chain.

Solutions

Constructing a modal combination

To overcome the traditional 30 km limitation of railway transport from cargo depots, we introduced a new scheme combining the strengths of trucking and rail.

1. Collection (Trancom)
Trancom arranged for suitable trucks and collected products from Tanico’s distribution center in Fukushima Prefecture

2. Transshipment (Konoike Transport)
The products were delivered to Konoike Transport, Tokyo Rail Gate West (Tokyo) and transferred to a 31-ft railway container

3. Railway main-line shipping (JR Freight)
JR Freight delivered the container by railway main-line shipping from the Tokyo Cargo Terminal Station to the Fukuoka Cargo Terminal Station

4. Establishment of standards
We standardized transportation rules and loading methods through trial and error to effectively and safely load the diverse kitchen equipment into the container