John Holt leads the Railway and Logistics division at Carmen and was the co-founder of the former Opcom.

What products are you currently focusing on developing for the Railway & Logistics
market?
Current focus is on enhancing our already very strong software offering for Rail crew management by exploiting synergies within the new organization. In the area of fleet planning, we have an exciting development underway with DSB with Carmen Fleet.

In Logistics, we are focusing on our strengths in distribution network modelling and optimization, vehicle routing and resource scheduling. IPTIS, our integrated public transport journey planning software, is being enhanced to use real time information on train locations.

How has the integration of Carmen and the former Opcom been going in the past four months?
Much has already been achieved. I think it is safe to say that even after such a short time we don’t think about the “Carmen way” or the “Opcom way” but focus on what is the “best way”.

What are some of the benefits that the clients of the combined company can expect to experience in the mid to long-term future?
The Return on Investment benefits generated by optimization are at the core of all our solutions. Railway clients will also see the advantages of a complete, end-to-end software solution spanning all aspects of crew and fleet management within railways. Integration of crew management and fleet management will lead to new insights and efficiencies in operations.

How are different clients achieving impressive efficiency gains through use of Carmen products and services in Rail & Logistics.
In the area of rail crew management, we deliver direct savings in crew costs through automatic construction of optimized shift sets obeying all rules and regulations. These are then assembled into efficient, legal rosters. Staff preferences are taken into account in assigning work. The rosters are also designed to be user friendly in terms of things such as the fatigue index. In addition, planning cycles are greatly reduced, allowing many scenarios to be evaluated quickly.

In the logistics areas, one example is the savings from redesign of distribution networks. Royal Mail saved at least GBP 50 million annually as a result of a major network optimization project. Finally, IPTIS allows the planning of optimal journeys for train and bus travel via the Internet. It lets our clients operate websites attracting hundreds of millions of enquiries annually.

What can Carmen’s rail clients expect from products in the future, particularly the fleet products?
To remain market leader in resource management software for railways will require continued evolution towards a complete offering for both crew and fleet, addressing the entire set of business processes and incorporating new technologies over time. This is where we are going! Clients will see the management of fleet extending from longterm planning through to the day of operations and can expect to see ready integration with their corporate systems.