In its internal IT development Kombiverkehr is focusing on the further expansion of digitalisation in order to streamline the way its core business is handled. As well as the software systems it has developed in-house, it also uses specialised software systems from third-party providers. The IT infrastructure is built on our internal systems, CAT (for capacity and train management) and KOBRA (commercial processing and order booking), through which the key functions of order processing, transport management/monitoring, billing and invoice verification are controlled. We also use further applications to support our own systems and ensure the digitalisation of workflows across all departments wherever possible. All manual booking procedures are handled through a SaaS solution, such as our internet booking platform, so that the orders then reach the CAT order processing system in electronic form. The 2024 financial year can essentially be summarised as “modernising and expanding the software used”. New user interfaces were created, for instance, while the systems and databases behind them were adapted to new circumstances and brought up to the very latest state of the art.
The new B2B interface installed in 2023 is performing well. Electronic data is exchanged automatically in the standardised EDIGES 4.1 format via the CT4.0 data hub, which is operated by our subsidiary DX Intermodal GmbH. More than 20 customers are already connected to it. CT4.0 allows access to timetables, bookings, terminal status, train journeys and initial and final road legs.
We have been working on a system for transport emissions accounting with the Hamburg software company shipzero since the beginning of 2025. This came about as a result of the rising demands of forwarding companies, which are increasingly having to state the emissions figures for rail in their sustainability reports. Not only does shipzero bring the necessary expertise, but its calculation methods meet both current GLEC requirements and the ISO 14083 standard.
Emissions data calculated by shipzero is to be automatically imported the same day into Kombiverkehr's order processing system, where interface solutions enable the environmental figures to reach downstream IT applications offering customer access. Emissions balances for Kombiverkehr’s customers are to be provided retroactively on the basis of shipments from the start of 2025.