Uniform order-to-cash process (from order to settlement)
The EuropeanProductionfulfillmentSystem is the basis for a Europe-wide and interoperable production process and uniform communication between all parties involved. EPS reduces the high level of complexity in interoperable transport and closes a gap in digital connectivity, thus improving the competitiveness of interoperable rail freight transport compared to road transport. We are already using the unified production process at numerous national companies to provide IT support for production execution. The system is the core component of a uniform order-to-cash process and enables us to run trains interoperably across national borders. The respective country-specific train formation and braking rules are completely mapped in EPS, so that compliance with all guidelines across several country borders can already be guaranteed during train formation at the departure station.
The system benefits both our customers and the railway undertakings (RUs). The customer receives digital information about the status of his consignment and is involved in the order-to-cash process. For the RUs using the EPS, in addition to the order-to-cash process, the system also ensures, for example, the creation of train documents, an up-to-date overview of wagon locations, activation and completion of orders as well as cost transparency for controlling.
The advantages are thus quite concrete: our processes become faster and more transparent, and the quality of our production processes is increased throughout Europe, because international documents such as the brake slip West and East can also be generated from EPS.
Access in the track area
This also makes us faster: numerous functionalities of the production process can be carried out via tablet by our employees and colleagues of the various railway undertakings in the track area and also by train drivers. In addition, all train documents are available digitally on the tablet for the train drivers.
More transparency through more interfaces
With EPS, our processes become more transparent and easier for you: Through interfaces to other company divisions such as order management, EPS receives the current consignment data and in return provides information on the current consignment status and location. In addition, EPS simplifies your accounting, because data for billing as well as information to controlling are directly integrated. EPS also simplifies communication between the various stakeholders along the transport chain. By means of interfaces via HERMES (Information Exchange System between Railway Undertakings and Railway Infrastructure Companies), infrastructure managers, wagon keepers and other RUs receive up-to-date train running data, technical wagon master data and information on train composition.
Electronic Data Interchange in Rail Freight Traffic
What do you need EPS for in the electronic data exchange between different RUs? EPS is used to comply with the EU regulation on technical specifications for interoperability (TSI) on telematics applications for freight (TAF), which defines the requirements and data formats for the electronic exchange of information and regulates the electronic exchange of data in rail freight transport. The system is already prepared for the introduction of processes and messages in accordance with TAF TSI and is thus ideally equipped for the future and cross-border traffic.
The technical advantages with EPS
- Use and generation of the TrainCompositionMessage (TCM) for infrastructure managers
- Use of the Rolling Stock Reference Database (RSRD) message by wagon keepers
- Usage of HERMES V2.0 for RU-RU communication
- TAF TSI CRD location codes (European master data) are used to represent the individual railway stations
- Prepared for the use of TAF TSI TrainID
Europe-wide and interoperable production processes
EPS is already used by our national companies in France, Poland, Italy, Denmark, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. Future use in Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic is in preparation. The development and implementation in our national companies was financially supported within the framework of the EU's Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
The system is thus the basis for a Europe-wide and interoperable production process and ensures TAF-TSI-compliant communication between all participants.
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