A Sector-Specific Digital Maturity Model for Inland Waterway Transport

This article presents a sector-specific digital maturity model (DMM) to assess digital transformation in inland waterway transport (IWT). Inland waterway transport plays a crucial yet underutilized role, and digitalization can enhance its efficiency, safety, and competitiveness. This study proposes...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Agnieszka A. Tubis, Emilia T. Skupień, Kasper K. Jędrzychowski, Hubert Jędrzychowski
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Systems
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-8954/13/5/347
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849719758035877888
author Agnieszka A. Tubis
Emilia T. Skupień
Kasper K. Jędrzychowski
Hubert Jędrzychowski
author_facet Agnieszka A. Tubis
Emilia T. Skupień
Kasper K. Jędrzychowski
Hubert Jędrzychowski
author_sort Agnieszka A. Tubis
collection DOAJ
description This article presents a sector-specific digital maturity model (DMM) to assess digital transformation in inland waterway transport (IWT). Inland waterway transport plays a crucial yet underutilized role, and digitalization can enhance its efficiency, safety, and competitiveness. This study proposes a structured model to evaluate digital maturity in four key areas: (i) Customer Area: manages orders and cargo handling, (ii) System Management and Compliance: covers documentation and regulatory processes, (iii) Ship Maintenance: shifts from reactive to predictive maintenance, and (iv) Operational Management: enhances navigation and communication. The model uses a five-level maturity scale, assessing technological adoption and operational efficiency. It is validated through the assessment of two European inland waterway transport systems: the Oder and the Rhine. The analysis shows that the Rhine system has higher digital maturity, particularly in customer service and system management, while both systems exhibit similar gaps in operational ship maintenance. The results demonstrate that the model can be used as both a benchmarking tool and roadmap for digital transformation. The study underscores the need for continuous technological advancements and contributes to both academic research and practical applications in transport system digitalization.
format Article
id doaj-art-395c35b7e12e48a9ba0328d65b7773a7
institution DOAJ
issn 2079-8954
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Systems
spelling doaj-art-395c35b7e12e48a9ba0328d65b7773a72025-08-20T03:12:05ZengMDPI AGSystems2079-89542025-05-0113534710.3390/systems13050347A Sector-Specific Digital Maturity Model for Inland Waterway TransportAgnieszka A. Tubis0Emilia T. Skupień1Kasper K. Jędrzychowski2Hubert Jędrzychowski3Department of Technical Systems Operation and Maintenance, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wroclaw, PolandDepartment of Technical Systems Operation and Maintenance, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wroclaw, PolandInvestment Department, State Water Holding “Polish Waters”, 00-848 Warsaw, PolandAQUE.pl Inland Navigation Consulting and Training Company, 69-100 Słubice, PolandThis article presents a sector-specific digital maturity model (DMM) to assess digital transformation in inland waterway transport (IWT). Inland waterway transport plays a crucial yet underutilized role, and digitalization can enhance its efficiency, safety, and competitiveness. This study proposes a structured model to evaluate digital maturity in four key areas: (i) Customer Area: manages orders and cargo handling, (ii) System Management and Compliance: covers documentation and regulatory processes, (iii) Ship Maintenance: shifts from reactive to predictive maintenance, and (iv) Operational Management: enhances navigation and communication. The model uses a five-level maturity scale, assessing technological adoption and operational efficiency. It is validated through the assessment of two European inland waterway transport systems: the Oder and the Rhine. The analysis shows that the Rhine system has higher digital maturity, particularly in customer service and system management, while both systems exhibit similar gaps in operational ship maintenance. The results demonstrate that the model can be used as both a benchmarking tool and roadmap for digital transformation. The study underscores the need for continuous technological advancements and contributes to both academic research and practical applications in transport system digitalization.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-8954/13/5/347inland waterway transportationdigital transformationmaturity model
spellingShingle Agnieszka A. Tubis
Emilia T. Skupień
Kasper K. Jędrzychowski
Hubert Jędrzychowski
A Sector-Specific Digital Maturity Model for Inland Waterway Transport
Systems
inland waterway transportation
digital transformation
maturity model
title A Sector-Specific Digital Maturity Model for Inland Waterway Transport
title_full A Sector-Specific Digital Maturity Model for Inland Waterway Transport
title_fullStr A Sector-Specific Digital Maturity Model for Inland Waterway Transport
title_full_unstemmed A Sector-Specific Digital Maturity Model for Inland Waterway Transport
title_short A Sector-Specific Digital Maturity Model for Inland Waterway Transport
title_sort sector specific digital maturity model for inland waterway transport
topic inland waterway transportation
digital transformation
maturity model
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-8954/13/5/347
work_keys_str_mv AT agnieszkaatubis asectorspecificdigitalmaturitymodelforinlandwaterwaytransport
AT emiliatskupien asectorspecificdigitalmaturitymodelforinlandwaterwaytransport
AT kasperkjedrzychowski asectorspecificdigitalmaturitymodelforinlandwaterwaytransport
AT hubertjedrzychowski asectorspecificdigitalmaturitymodelforinlandwaterwaytransport
AT agnieszkaatubis sectorspecificdigitalmaturitymodelforinlandwaterwaytransport
AT emiliatskupien sectorspecificdigitalmaturitymodelforinlandwaterwaytransport
AT kasperkjedrzychowski sectorspecificdigitalmaturitymodelforinlandwaterwaytransport
AT hubertjedrzychowski sectorspecificdigitalmaturitymodelforinlandwaterwaytransport