Dutch companies are satisfied with inland shipping services. They just need a bit more innovation, according to research among members of shippers' organisation EVO.
The survey was conducted by Erasmus University Rotterdam. It also looked at the best scoring companies in inland navigation. Wijgula was assessed as the best inland navigation company, while NPRC emerged as the best performing charterer.
Respondents said they particularly valued inland shipping safety, booking reliability, available loading capacity, degree of contract compliance and flexibility during the contract period. In particular, companies like working closely with a few permanently selected charterers and skippers, as it creates a bond of trust and thus achieves better results than constantly changing partners.
There are still areas for improvement for inland shipping. The sector is said to be developing too few new ideas to raise its services to a higher level. Especially in the field of sustainability, there are still steps to be taken, according to the respondents. More sustainable inland shipping would give the sector a better competitive position compared to road transport, for example.
Editorial LogistiekProfs
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