Collaboration Concepts for Co-modality
The role of horizontal collaboration in supply chain optimization
| Business | Period | Project Coordinator | Funding Scheme |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industry | 2011 - 2014 | NEDERLAND DISTRIBUTIELAND VERENIGING |
FP7 - Transport |
Challenge
Based on over 100 interviews with industry players, it was found that Horizontal Collaboration was seen as a major next step in Supply Chain optimization to reduce costs and carbon levels. However, the missing link was identified as a lack of a structured approach to making collaboration happen. The most critical issue to ensure the success of Horizontal Collaboration was the mental shift required, depending on the company culture and the characteristics of transparency and trust among the collaboration partners. Gain sharing tools were deemed crucial to create stability and fairness in the collaboration.
"Collaboration Concepts for Co-modality" was a project aimed at developing, professionalizing, and disseminating information on the business strategy of logistics collaboration in Europe. The goal of the project was to deliver a concrete contribution to increasing load factors, reducing empty movements, and stimulating co-modality through collaboration between industry partners, thereby reducing transport externalities such as greenhouse gas emissions and costs.
Our role in the project
As part of this project, our role involved the following key responsibilities:
- Development of an Online Game: we developed an interactive online workshop in the form of a game. The game served as a practical tool to facilitate collaboration among participants, allowing them to understand and experience the dynamics of Horizontal Collaboration firsthand. By engaging with the game, participants gained insights into the challenges and benefits of collaboration, promoting a mental shift towards a collaborative mindset.
- Development of the CO3 Calculator: we also created the CO3 calculator, which was an online tool with two additional modules. The first module provided a collaboration and co-modality example, showcasing successful case studies and practical implementation strategies. The second module included a Shapley calculator, which was utilized to determine fair gain sharing among collaborative partners. The CO3 calculator aimed to provide stability, fairness, and transparency in collaborative efforts.
Conclusions
Through the development and validation of new value chains and business strategies among major companies and shippers, the CO3 project developed and validated (demonstrated) significant logistic cost reductions of 10-20% and carbon footprint reductions of 20-30%. Additionally, an international legal framework was elaborated for this purpose by leading law firms. The project highlighted the indispensable role of a neutral trustee in facilitating the collaborative process and ensuring compliance with competition rules. Over a project period of three years (September 2011 - August 2014), the developed tools, technologies, and business models were applied and validated in the marketplace through pilot studies and six test cases.
Explore our related services
- Technical and economic feasibility studies
