Implementation strategies for new-generation terminals

Manufacturers have been promoting their new terminal concepts for several years now. They claim more efficient operations, shorter handling times and lower costs compared to conventional operations. Performance evaluation studies confirm this. However, so far no new-generation terminals have been implemented, nor is there any intention yet to implement them. This is regrettable, because these terminals could significantly improve the competitiveness of intermodal transport. It is expected that new-generation terminals will perform particularly well in complex bundling networks such as hub and spoke, collection-distribution and line networks. The question now is of course, why these promising terminals have not been adopted (yet)? We could put forward many reasons, but we believe that only with a structured analysis the most important barriers in the adoption of these new technologies can be assessed. We also believe that some kind of implementation strategy should be developed in order to support the adoption of these terminals. In this paper we will elaborate an evolution path for the new-generation terminal called Megahub of the firm Noell in node Metz. The evolution path will be determined based on a conceptual diffusion model. The use of a diffusion model allows us to systematically analyse which explaining variables of the hinder adoption and diffusion of the new technology. TOWARDS NEW-GENERATION INTERMODAL OPERATIONS