Information technology (IT) systems play a crucial role within logistics and physical distribution. The transport operation located within the physical distribution relies largely on IT resources in order to accomplish a number of core functions: delivery confirmation, delivery incidents, vehicle location, routes optimization and drivers journey control (Gutierrez and Prida, 1998). Information is an essential complement to freight transport.

All freight must be accompanied by information to provide direction to handlers, answer controlling authorities questions (for example, customs), and reconcile the records of shippers, consignees and everyone in between. Freight transportation has benefited from radical improvements in IT in recent decades. However, progress in linking the evolving information and transportation systems has been slowed by lack of interoperability, incomplete network infrastructure and lack of expertise in some sectors that participate in the freight system (Eberts and Lauver, 1998).

The contribution of IT is apparent in two areas: management support and technical algorithms execution (scheduling, routing and so on). Areas in which IT supports the transportation business include:

inter-activity among clients, transport companies and logistic operators;

geographical information systems for managing online collections/distributions;

logistic operations and warehousing (allocations, inventory control, picking/order scheduling, and so on).

Not all goods can be moved in the same conditions. The transport of perishable goods increases delivery complexity due to the special conditions required. The type of product determines the requirements that the carrier has to provide during transportation from the supplier to the retailer: an interesting example of this is fruit, a product that is still alive during the delivery. That means CO2 emissions and water exchange, both of which mean that the atmosphere inside the container evolves. Temperature value, relative humidity levels and air renewal must therefore should be controlled (Barreiro and Robla, 2004).

A further complexity factor is that of the transport of seasonal or fashionable products because of their variable demand. In this case capacity requirements are not balanced throughout the whole period and techniques to balance the annual transport operation such as flexibility, demand relocation and stock have to be applied.

A steady increase in leglisation relating to transport has gradually changed the nature of transportation in the European Union. Some social, economic and environmental aspects have been partially developed in Section 14.1.2, European transport trends.

Recently the EU has proposed a new norm developed from the current legal framework and based on a quality certifications system that should accelerate the administrative processes related to import/export. The European Commission has proposed new rules (EP, 2006b) aimed at improving protection against terrorist attacks within the inland freight transport sector and has also proposed a regulation to improve supply chain security without creating a barrier to free trade. It wishes to enhance security across the whole supply chain by means of a common framework. The proposal is based on a mandatory system requiring Member States to create a secure operator quality label to be awarded to operators and partners in the supply chain meeting European minimum security levels, thus allowing mutual recognition of the label across the internal market. The secure operator tag applies particularly in import/export operations with non-European states.

A further aspect to be considered in tactical network design is compliance law relating to driving time and breaks. Any design process must take into account legislation regarding drivers breaks and their weekly rest.

What IT solutions would help to sustain international logistics?