Distrivaart

Feasibility study of transport of pallets with inland shipping in Belgium

We investigated opportunities to transport pallets with fast moving consumer goods via inland waterways in Belgium.  This innovative logistics concept elaborated in the Netherlands. Distrivaart is proclaimed as one of the main topics of the recently formed knowledge centre Vlaams Instituut voor de Logistiek.

In the project "Feasibility of Inland Shipping Networks: Distrivaart", the problem at hand was the design of a hub network using inland shipping for the transportation of palletized fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), with the aim to establish economies of scale and scope through collaboration. Retail organizations like Albert Heijn, Schuitema and Laurus and manufacturers like Heineken, Interbrew, Grolsch, Unilever, Coca Cola, and Kimberly-Clark participated in the project. The objective of the project was to develop a hub network in which economies of scale and a sufficient level of reliability was reached by collaboration and in which the hubs or transshipment terminals are interconnected by inland shipping.

reports

TNO report on Distrivaart Netherlands - Network development: distrivaart_netwerkontwikkeling.pdf (Dutch)

TNO paper on Distrivaart Netherlands: distrivaart_nl.pdf (Dutch)

Presentation of the feasibility study Distrivaart Belgium: distrivaart_slides.pdf (Dutch)

period

2002

funded by

Nederland Distributieland

researchers

Bart Vannieuwenhuyse

partners

TNO (project leader)

contact

Griet De Ceuster

+32 16 31.77.30