Logistics · Rail Freight

IoT Restructuring in Rail Freight

Starting point

A leading rail freight operator ran an IoT business unit with high complexity and an uneconomical cost base. The systems had grown organically, not by design: tracking accuracy too low for track-level positioning in marshalling yards and ports, IT operations expensive, sales lacking a clear market focus. The unit was under pressure to demonstrate its contribution to the group's bottom line.

What we did

We restructured the IoT unit along three dimensions: operationally (processes and resources), technically (migration to an auto-scaling Kubernetes cluster), and commercially (market-oriented sales strategy, end-customer app for mobile and desktop). In parallel, we developed a high-precision locomotive tracking solution in cooperation with DLR (German Aerospace Center) — EUR 250,000 in grant funding, tracking accuracy improved from 7.5 to 1.75 meters.

Results

80 %

Operating cost reduction

750.000 €

Follow-on funding secured

1,75 m

Tracking accuracy (from 7.5 m)

+25 %

Market penetration

What we learned

IoT units rarely fail because of the technology — they fail because of the business logic. Anyone looking to cut costs and grow market presence simultaneously must move operational, technical, and commercial levers in parallel — not sequentially. Sequential is the more expensive option.

This is the summary. How we approached it methodologically — which architectural decisions we made, what we discarded and which patterns can be transferred to other contexts — we discuss in a personal conversation.

Not because we want to sell you something. But because this depth is what our clients engage us for — and it does not belong on the open internet.