Intermodal commodity flows are currently merely a sequence of separate stages. At each stage the cargo is halted while it is remarshalled, reloaded, and allocated a 'new' control reference in new systems - a time-consuming and costly process. Intermodal freight transport could be managed more effectively by means of systems that enable smooth transfer of information between all parties (i.e. the senders of goods, the companies moving the goods and the receivers). With such systems, the transport chain could be scheduled and managed as a single process over a range of modes and with different providers.