Transporting products over long distances can help companies large and small access markets for their products. Feed is no exception, and our sector like many others relies on the global freight and logistics industry to get products where they need to go.
It’s easy to see transport as a practical step in the chain. A product is loaded, moved, and unloaded. For some companies, it can even be a bit of an afterthought.
In truth, safe transport is also about information. What was previously in the loading compartment? Was it cleaned, and how? Who is responsible for each step? And, in the event of a contamination, does everyone in the chain have the information they need to make the right decision at the right time?
Information and products travel together
These questions matter for every mode of transport, but particularly for rail logistics where the company organising the transport is often not loading the product themselves.
Austrian rail logistics company Rail Cargo Group, for example, manages end-to-end logistics solutions in 18 countries and operates on average 1,116 trains every single day, year-round.
Unlike a truck where the driver may be closely involved in loading, checking, transporting and unloading a compartment, a logistics company like Rail Cargo Group offers a different service.
As Stefan Hackl describes it: “In the feed sector, we organise the rail transport and provide the wagons, while loading and unloading are handled by our customers or their partners. We work closely with our clients to ensure that the right wagons are used for the right purpose and that each transport runs smoothly. Rail freight is a highly reliable and well-regulated system: cross-border transports require careful coordination of documentation, technical standards and certifications — and this is exactly where our experience and network add value.”
“Close communication with our customers is key to ensuring smooth and reliable transports.”
The value of certification
This underlines one of the critical ingredients of a safe feed chain: dependable information.
Assumptions create risk. If important information is left out, or responsibilities are unclear, then the cleaning regime may not be sufficient, or safety checks may be missed. “In feed logistics, every party in the chain has a responsibility to pass on the right information,” according to Helmut Tschida. “Clear communication helps us avoid assumptions and ensures that everyone has what they need to fulfil their role safely and reliably.”
In that way, communication is about more than record keeping or sending messages. It is about setting each other up for success. Rail Cargo Group uses ‘agri-only’ wagons for transporting feed and food materials, which helps with compliance and load management, but that is not the case for all transport companies. A decision based on incomplete information can ripple throughout the chain, and if you are the next customer to use that compartment, or even the end consumer, then you rely on everyone before you having shared the right information.
That is where GMP+ certification adds value. It gives companies in the chain a common language and shared goal. It helps everyone, including transport companies, understand what records they need to keep, what risks they need to manage, and what information their customers and suppliers need in order to make safe decisions.
For Rail Cargo Group, GMP+ certification began as a response to customer requirements. But over time, the value became broader. Certification provides a framework that helps avoid disagreement and supports continuous improvement.
Helmut describes the implementation as something that needed to get “in mind”. Now, it is part of how colleagues are trained, how sales teams understand what they can promise, and how customer expectations are managed throughout the relationship. “For me, it always comes back to hygiene. In our trainings, we emphasise that these products are part of the food chain. Ultimately, the goal is to handle them in a way that you would feel confident consuming them yourself.”
Stefan agreed: “Certification is not about being the cheapest option. It is about giving customers confidence that clear standards are in place and consistently followed.”
The right decisions
The flow of information is becoming increasingly important in feed sustainability also. Retailers and value chain partners need data to calculate emissions, understand their social and environmental impact, and report on that impact.
Rail Cargo Group already has a decade of experience with shipment-level emissions calculations. Transport by rail had some inherent advantages already; trains can transport large volumes over long distances more efficiently, especially when regular flows can be planned in advance. Helmut explains that, environmentally, rail transport can have significantly less energy use (up to six times less) and fewer emissions than other means of transportation like trucks.
The logic is similar to feed safety. The right data needs to travel through the chain so that each actor can make the right decisions.
For safety, that may mean previous loads, cleaning status and intended use. For sustainability, it may mean transport emissions, energy sources, route data or product footprint information that are used to inform product Life Cycle Assessments, Scope 3 emissions analyses, and value chain reporting. In all cases, the chain only works when companies are willing and able to share honest, timely and usable information.
A long-term view
The future of rail freight will include more digitisation and automation. Rail Cargo Group points to developments such as using data lines for Digital and Automatic Coupling, and opportunities to measure not just the quantity of transported materials, but quality too. It’s not uncommon for consignments to be held in containers for longer periods of time, but in a warming world this will have increasing implications for quality and safety.
But rail is also an industry with long investment cycles. Traction units, freight wagons, and infrastructure are major assets that remain in use for decades. Change takes time, and digitalisation will not happen everywhere at once.
That makes the human and organisational side of communication even more important. Digital tools can make information easier to collect and share, and standards can clarify what information is needed. But they only work when companies use them properly, share what others need to know, and understand their responsibilities in the chain.
Safe and sustainable feed therefore goes beyond your company’s practices alone. It is about choosing partners who understand the importance of sharing the right information, clarifying responsibilities, and strengthening a safe and responsible feed culture.