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Rail Shipping: How to Future-Proof and Streamline Your Operations
A Rail logistics will be more connected, intelligent, and automated. Systems will communicate with one another, and data will move seamlessly between platforms, partners, and carriers. But with more data comes more complexity, and the challenge will be knowing how to use that data. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will play a key role, helping shippers make decisions in real time and even automating them. To prepare, shippers need to simplify and modernize their processes. That means phasing out spreadsheets and manual methods, consolidating systems, and building flexibility and redundancy into operations. Systems that can’t scale or integrate will become bottlenecks. AI and automation depend on clean, structured data. Building that foundation now is essential for staying competitive moving forward. Q What advice would you give to operations leaders trying to modernize rail shipping? A Start by identifying your biggest friction points. Where are you still relying on disconnected systems? Where do challenges repeatedly appear? Then, take steps to simplify and ooad that work, whether by outsourcing elements of your rail operations or investing into comprehensive systems. A modern rail partner should bring both technology and expertise, so you don’t have to build it all yourself. The more you can simplify rail shipping, the more you can focus on your core business. That’s what transformation should look like, and that’s where we help our customers every day.
Q Where do you see the biggest challenges in rail shipping today? How is data changing that? A One of the biggest challenges in rail logistics is that data is everywhere but rarely connected. The rail industry has lagged behind other industries in harnessing real-time data and turning it into actionable intelligence. Shippers rely on multiple systems across their rail supply chain, but these platforms don’t communicate, leading to disconnected and siloed data. These silos make it dicult to unite logistics and operations data. Without a unified structure or platform, it’s dicult for shippers to see the full picture and even harder to make data-driven decisions that optimize performance and cost. However, that’s beginning to evolve. The industry is moving towards connected, centralized systems that break down these barriers. Rail transportation management systems (Rail TMS), for example, integrate data from across the rail supply chain into a single source of truth. Initiatives like the RailPulse coalition are also advancing the industry by advocating shared telematics data that improves visibility across the network. At RSI Logistics, we’re focused on helping shippers move from reactive logistics to proactive operations through workflows and decision models that not only show what’s happening but also suggest or automate what to do next. Q What will rail logistics look like in ve years, and what should shippers be doing today to prepare?
Michael Bruce Senior Vice President RSI info@rsilogistics.com www.rsilogistics.com 517-349-7713
38 Inbound Logistics • July 2025
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