The Advances (Added Value Network Concerning European Shipping) Thematic Network was intended to be an arena in which all the relevant actors; shippers, ports, shipping operators, and land transporters met to achieve a common understanding of how to combine the industrial concept of total logistics quality with the IMO and European desire for improved safety at sea into one, coherent operational platform. The knowledge base generated in the Thematic Network was used to co-ordinate relevant European and national research.

The objective of Advances was to establish an extensive network for:
•    Establishing a common understanding of Added Value shipping among policy makers and the industry
•    Identifying the missing elements needed for establishing Added Value shipping operations as integral parts of European intermodal transport systems.
•    Evaluating previous and ongoing research to clarify the availability of the required elements for Added Value shipping.
•  Initiating new research and development in order to close the gap between status- quo and the future quality requirements.
•    Validating of practicality and viability of Added Value shipping and Added Value elements.
•    Disseminating the intermediate and completed results of relevant projects in an effort to provide an operational platform for the industry for adapting these new quality elements, as they are becoming available.

The type of intermodal transport system that was being enabled through Advances lead to extensive use of telematics in mobility industry, and is considered to make a major contribution to innovative developments in Europe.

Advances also helped bringing policymakers and industry together in order to ensure that there are only winners in the "battle" for Added Value shipping.
The Advances Network activities went along two parallel paths:
•    Concertation and dissemination, bringing together all the stakeholders to provide a common understanding of the relevant processes and elements, and how they best may be employed. The backbone of these activities is 4 regular meetings per year. The budget for Concertation and Dissemination provides the means to ensure that the appropriate interests can attend and contribute.
•    Establishment of an Added Value shipping knowledge base taking input from and providing output to the process of concertation and dissemination, and using this knowledge base to co-ordinate EU- and national R&D projects.