Inland shipping is a branch of transport that has relatively high development potential. In some European Union countries and in Poland, the technical condition of existing waterways constitutes a significant limitation for increasing transport using barges with a capacity exceeding 300 or 500 tons. This type of transport has many advantages: it is environmentally friendly, ensures a high level of safety for the transport process, is economical in terms of non-renewable energy consumption, and could partially relieve the congested road infrastructure.
Striving to implement the principles of sustainable development of the European transport system, the European Union supports the development of inland shipping. Taking into account the natural and functional characteristics of water transport, shifting part of the potential demand for transport services from road transport to waterways has limited possibilities, however. Of fundamental importance for the further functioning of inland shipping in Europe is increasing the efficiency of transport services. One of the factors gaining increasing importance for the competitive position of this branch of transport is the dissemination of innovative information technologies and e-business methods among inland shipping carriers and in their immediate environment. Inland water transport carriers, like carriers in other branches of transport, face a challenge. Their production potential must be adapted to a production program that includes transport services carried out within integrated logistics chains. More than ever before, transport services are subject to integration with physical goods distribution processes, in which transport cost and delivery time play an equal role. Inland shipping is not in a more difficult situation than other branches of transport, although river vessels move at a lower technical speed compared to rail or road transport means. Inland shipowners, and above all skippers, i.e., private ship owners, must, however, fit into the schedules of logistics processes to perform transport in accordance with the Just-in-time principle. The primary task for this group of carriers is to acquire the skills to cooperate in large, distributed IT systems used in the process of managing logistics processes, as well as to ensure access to the appropriate technology used in these systems.