magazine - dachser.com · COVER STORY 06 DACHSER magazine “Despite the positive logistics climate...

TAILWIND FOR AIR & SEA

CONNECTINGWORLDS

FOOD LOGISTICS ONLY THE BESTFOR EUROPE

PACKAGINGMATERIAL PALLET EXCHANGE:WHAT’S NEXT?

ISSUE 2/2018

THE WORLD OF INTELLIGENT LOGISTICSmagazine

02 DACHSER magazine

NUMBERS THAT COUNT

In summer, when the mercury in thermometers rises, some of us think we sweat at work. So it may be some consolation that others have it worse.

THE HEAT IS ON

is the absolute minimum mixing

temperature for laying asphalt and ensuring a smooth road

surface. Even allowing for a safety buffer, this still means

that road workers spread and compact the asphalt

at exhaust steam temperatures of around 160°C.

150°C

is the temperature faced by those walking on hot coals.

Participants in what are billed as “barefoot adventure courses” can expect walking on hot

coals to bring them a positive attitude, confidence, and inner strength.

900°C

—industrial steelworkers endure such temperatures

every day, all year round. In addition to mandatory protective gear,

steelworkers swear by double stockings and long underwear to protect

their skin from the heat—even in summer.

is the highest temperature ever recorded

during a running event. At last year’s Silk Road Ultramarathon,

25 athletes braved not only the heat of the Iranian desert

but also snakes, scorpions, and giant spiders. The runners

clocked up 250 kilometers over six days.

is the temperature inside a charcoal pile, in which people

used an air-free technique to turn wood into charcoal. Charburners monitoring the

process would have to endure brutal temperatures. Once an invaluable fuel for

metalwork, today charcoal is really used only during leisure time—for barbecuing.

60°C

78.2°C

280°C

DACHSER magazine 03

CONTENTS

04

22

16

28

Publishing informationPublished by: DACHSER SE, Thomas-Dachser-Str. 2, D – 87439 Kempten, internet: www.dachser.com Overall responsibility: Dr. Andreas Froschmayer Editor-in-Chief: Christian Auchter, tel.: +49 831 5916-1426, fax: +49 831 5916-8-1426, e-mail: [email protected] Editors: Theresia Gläser, Annette Rausch, Christian Weber Editorial Assistant: Andrea Reiter, tel.: +49 831 5916-1424, e-mail: [email protected] Publisher: Schick Kommunikation, Kerschensteiner straße 25, 82166 Gräfelfing, e-mail: [email protected] Project management: Marcus Schick Design: Ralph Zimmermann Photos: all photography Dachser except thinkstockphotos.de (pp. 1, 2, 3, 6, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30), shutterstock.com (p. 20, 21), istockphoto.com (p. 31), Sebastian Grenzing (pp. 8, 9/Composing, 35), Ute Schmidt/Bildfolio (pp. 3, 13, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24) Illustration: Ralph Zimmermann (pp. 14, 15, 32, 33, 34) Printer: Holzer Druck und Medien Druckerei undZeitungsverlag GmbH, Fridolin-Holzer-Str. 22-24, D – 88171 Weiler im Allgäu Print run: 42,000/58th volumePublication: 4x per year Languages: German, English, French, Spanish Translation: Klein Wolf Peters GmbH,Munich. DACHSER magazine is printed on NovaTech Paper certified in accordance with the FSC® mix forsustainable forestry.

Fascinating stories from the world of logistics. Sign up quickly and easily at: www.dachser.com/eletter

COVER STORY

Air & Sea Logistics: Network intelligence for global trade 04

FORUM

People & markets: 10Key Dachser figures for 2017; Outsourcing; Outstanding relocation logistics Essay: Always in season 14

EXPERTISE

Distribution: Car care—spotless performance 16Packaging material: Carriers that add value 20Food Logistics: 5 years of the European Food Network 22

NETWORK

News: News from the Dachser world 26Portrait: Austria 28

BUSINESS LOUNGE

Face-to-face: Interdisciplinary thinking—Bernhard Simon speaks with Prof. Ulrich Weinberg 32

GOOD NEWS

Electrifying: The apprentice and his e-truck 35

The DACHSER eLetter Subscribe now

COVER STORY

04 DACHSER magazine

DACHSER magazine 05

COVER STORY

International flows of goods and information are what determine the pace of globalization. Dachser is always right in the middle of the action in the market-place, so it can offer logistics services worldwide with maximum transparency, efficiency, and professionalism—and that includes combining Air & Sea Logisticswith its powerful European groupage network.

NETWORK INTELLIGENCEFOR GLOBAL TRADE

nternational trade is a delicate and fragile little plant that needs constant care,” says Prof. André Schmidt, amember of the economics faculty at Witten/Herdecke

University. He’s in great demand these days, albeit not somuch as a botanist as an experienced macroeconomist. Although economic conditions in Germany, Europe, and

the major overseas markets have been robust in recent years and global trade has been moving forward with ahealthy tailwind, dark clouds have been gathering of late:the return of protectionism, political gamesmanship involv-ing tariffs, and threats of trade wars are dampening over -all sentiment. ‡

The future is multimodal

“

COVER STORY

06 DACHSER magazine

“Despite the positive logistics climate right now, things can get stormy again quickly and the pleasant wind at your back can disappear, or even turn against you,” saidDachser CEO Bernhard Simon when presenting the com -pany figures for 2017. “By taking advantage of a good fiscalyear, we were able to plan ahead and make forward-lookinginvestments in our network—which is paying off. With attractive rates for sea freight and especially for air freight, some of the revenue figures for Air & Sea Logistics havebeen much higher than those of previous years. Not eventhe recent talk about possible trade wars can change that.”But what direction is international trade going in? And whatdoes the logistics industry need to do to prepare? “In themedium to long term, I expect that we will see continuedgrowth rates in trade. Maybe not as high as they were tenyears ago, but overall the progress made cannot be undone,”Prof. Schmidt predicts. He goes on to say that globalization is being driven pri -ma rily by the “liberalization of service and factor markets.” For instance, deregulation of service markets led to a majordrop in transport and transaction costs, which made itcheaper to do business globally. In addition, he says, ad-vanced communications and digitalization technologieshave made it possible for different locations to remain con-nected more easily. “Most of the activity is coming fromAsia,” he says. “That is where you find the world’s growth regions, and they will be the prime mover for interna -tio nal trade.”

An organically grown networkAs the world grows more interconnected and work becomesmore and more specialized, this sets the tone for Dachser’sAir & Sea Logistics growth. “Our global network has grownorganically. By employing network intelligence and main-taining data availability across all systems, we can be a reli-able partner to our customers as they tackle the challengesof globalization,” explains Jochen Müller, COO Air & SeaLogistics (see interview on p. 9). Dachser’s proprietary transport management system, Othello, which will be fully

rolled out next year, makes this possible. “It will allow us to offer consistent solutions for global procurement and distribution all around the world. Complete transparencythrough multimodal transport chains—both physical andinformational—helps our customers leverage logistics capabilities so they can respond to changes in demand or production modes more dynamically and flexibly,” he says. This creates a strong foundation for solutions tailoredto the individual needs of customers, goods, and industries.

Market shifts at seaOthello and its panoply of tools for controlling global supply chains more efficiently are arriving at just the righttime. Market shifts, alliances, and joint ventures in seafreight are impacting trends in global trade. “Two years agowe were working with thirteen global shipping companies.Now only six or seven are left,” says Günther Laumann, Head of Global Ocean Freight at Dachser Air & Sea Logistics.He says that Dachser modified its organization to main -tain a long-term position as a global logistics provider oper-ating in these constantly changing sea freight markets. Forinstance, in 2012 it expanded the Hamburg-based GlobalManagement Ocean team. With Laumann at the helm, theteam is working with select shipping companies to strength-en cooperation in longer-term relationships. “Our goals are greater efficiency, better reliability—espe-cially during peak season—as well as planning for the longterm and securing sufficient capacity,” Laumann explains.To accomplish this, Global Management Ocean applies the company’s international sea freight strategy to keep an eye on all important trade routes around the world, withconnections to Europe, Asia (including the Far East), Centraland South America, North America, and the emerging Indian subcontinent. “In close coordination with the EMEA,Asia Pacific, and Americas regions, we are completely focused on efficiently managing the loading process andproviding a range of departure options with assured capac-ity. We are also standardizing processes and constantly monitoring both transit times and quality,” he says. “To this end, our unit brought everybody on board, not only shipping companies but also the Dachser managersfrom the regions and the Head Office,” Laumann continues.“Everyone benefits equally. When we cultivate long-term,reliable partnerships, we obtain fair and reasonable termswith maximum predictability. For our customers, that’s genuine added value.” Dachser’s LCL services (less than container load, meaninggroupage containers filled with goods from various sources,carriers, and recipients) are sure to feature prominently inthe future. “The demand for flexible and individualizedtransport solutions is constantly on the rise,” Laumann says. “Othello sets the stage for seamless data connectionswith other carriers and transport management systems. This enables full, centralized control and planning of global flows of goods.” What’s more, this includes pickupand delivery. In fact, Dachser can take groupage items

Grouping effects make sea freight flexible

DACHSER magazine 07

COVER STORY

from sea freight and, through its Interlocking system, canlink directly to the close-knit overland transport networkoffered by Dachser European Logistics across the continent.Laumann continues: “Infrastructure for global supply chainmanagement is becoming more developed and robust as a result of interconnected LCL routes. The benefit of inte-grating logistics services is that everything becomes lessprone to error while becoming faster, cheaper, and muchmore efficient.”

Innovative concepts for air freightAir freight infrastructure has also made steady progress—both in terms of tonnage and the number of shipments. In2017, tonnage rose by 21 percent over the previous year.“We have seen increasing air freight demand from existingcustomers while at the same time acquiring major big-name customers,” says Timo Stroh, Head of Global Air-freight Air & Sea Logistics at Dachser. “As a result of this increased tonnage, there are many more options for pro -cess-oriented and intelligent use of our network.” He saysthat Dachser has been able to develop these options in recent years by applying various innovative concepts. Onesuch concept is the creation of nine global gateways for consolidated air freight transports. Tangible benefits for thecustomer include reserved capacity, reliable flight schedules,and a clear pricing structure for the transport of a wide variety of items: from dangerous goods and high-valuegoods to life science and healthcare products, which are often temperature-sensitive. Services also include directroutes as well as full and partial charters. Here’s one real-life example: at the end of last year, Dachserwas operating a weekly full charter flight round-trip fromFrankfurt to Shanghai during peak season. The Boeing 747 used was able to carry 105 metric tons per flight.Dachser European Logistics had organized both pickup anddelivery for countries on the European end. “As a result, ourcustomers didn’t have to wait for capacity to open up, and at the same time we were able to use the charter to meet the demand for urgent shipments to various destinations in northern China,” Stroh says in describing the service,which will return in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Congestion in the skyThe major challenge for logistics providers working in airfreight is that capacity has not moved in step with demand.Airplanes and time slots aren’t exactly available or expand-able whenever we like. “Especially with main routes, thisfrequently leads to capacity shortages, which drives up theprice,” Stroh says. And the situation is not expected to im-prove anytime soon. Although airplane production is at peak output, both Boeing and Airbus are fully booked yearsin advance. Meanwhile, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects air freight demand to rise in2018 by 5 percent over the previous year. This situation will be partly alleviated by the developmentof other intercontinental modes of transport, including

ocean shipping. When the shipping company Hanjin filedfor bankruptcy last year, the impact was felt not only on the sea freight market but also on air freight as well. Afterall, global production lines don’t just come to a standstill because transport capacity is suddenly interrupted some-where else in the world. One other factor is that market forces are shifting due to airline alliances. “Many airlines are taking this approach togain better positioning in the marketplace. Whether it’sthrough mergers, collaborations, or true alliances, the goal is to exploit synergies and strengthen the original net-work,” Stroh says. Dachser’s solution is to adopt a preferredairline strategy. The logistics company transports most ofits freight using only certain airlines that meet its own demanding quality, reliability, and sustainability criteria. In choosing airline partners, the right fleet is just as impor-tant as flexibility, hub compatibility, innovative spirit, andproduct variety. This also includes the concept of belly cargo: in this practice, the holds of passenger planes are purchased for the entire year and for various routes to guar-antee a fixed amount of capacity. In light of market growth forecasts and the Dachser net-work’s high performance, Jochen Müller is confident thatthe future is bright for Air & Sea Logistics: “We’ve alreadysuccessfully laid the groundwork in many areas and are now prepared to reap the rewards.” M. Schick

Demand for air freight is on the rise

Air & Sea Logistics on the upswing: theDachser unit brokerecords in 2017, as 4,413 employees at 169 locations in 37 countries around the world handled 538,500 air freight shipments and520,900 sea freightshipments (FCL/LCL).Gross revenue rose to EUR 1.785 billion.

COVER STORY

08 DACHSER magazine

A new face on the Dachser Executive Board:

Jochen Müller

With the interlocking of Air & Sea Logistics and the highly effective Road Logistics network, Dachser’s network is spanning the globeJochen Müller, COO Dachser Air & Sea Logistics

DACHSER magazine 09

COVER STORY

Mr. Müller, what’s the state of air and sea freight atDachser?Jochen Müller: The organization I inherited from my predecessor, Thomas Reuter, is in very good shape. In tenyears, he turned a relatively small air and sea freight unitinto Dachser’s global Air & Sea Logistics Network. We arenow present in every major economic center of the world.The numbers speak for themselves: in 2017, we increasedrevenue in Air & Sea Logistics by 15.7 percent over the previous year to EUR 1.785 billion.

How has the market environment changed and how isDachser responding?In the past, European logistics companies and their cus-tomers were focused mostly on classic routes like the mainlegs between Asia and Europe. That focus is now muchwider. This is partly due to the fact that customers operatemuch more globally than before. Nowadays, for instance, alot of small and medium-sized companies operate in theglobal markets. At Dachser, we have closely supported these developments. Another reason is that we have our own entirely new growth opportunities as a result of glo b -alization. We are now operating in regions that used to play less of a role for us, like Southeast Asia or the Indiansubcontinent, and are growing our business there. In linewith our growth strategy in the Americas, we are also pro-viding more services for customers in exports to Europe andAsia. We also have our sights set on the transpacific busi -ness, which used to be firmly in the hands of American andAsian service providers.

At Dachser, what enables access to new markets and customers?We have re-positioned our organization: first, with a two-stage distribution system and clear responsibilities in eachregion; and second, in our operations division. An impor -tant milestone here is that our uniform transport manage-ment system, Othello, will be fully rolled out by the end ofnext year. With this foundation in place, we can continue to

optimize all our logistics processes in the network, pro -vide support with an effective IT system, and in this wayprovide a completely new level of quality along with optimalefficiency and professional service in all transactions. Thegrowing ability to link up with the overland transport systems—Domino and Mikado—puts us on a strong foot -ing for interlocking Air & Sea Logistics with our highly effective Road Logistics network. As a result, Dachser’s network is spanning the globe.

Air and sea freight along with “traditional” groupage logistics travelling by land: How does that fit together?At Dachser, the solution to this is Interlocking, which refersto the close linking of Air & Sea and European Logistics. For instance, we can offer complete multimodal solutions to existing customers in overland transport and contract logistics. With Dachser’s in-house transport managementand warehouse systems becoming more and more closelyintertwined, all services for our customers are interconnect-ed. In other words, everything that we offer existing cus-tomers in Germany, Belgium, or Slovakia we will also beable to offer in China. And speaking of “traditional”groupage: our LCL services in sea freight are extending our European groupage network to all the continents of the world.

Where are air and sea freight headed?Globalization makes it seem as though the world is spin -ning faster and faster. Logistics has to go wherever the demand is. At the same time, innovative logistics is both abasic requirement and a driver of new production conceptsand new production lines. Naturally, there will always beunforeseeable events like Brexit or potentially a new wave of protectionism. But at Dachser, our position in the global market is sufficient to meet the new requirements of the international markets. At the same time, our size and structure give us the needed agility to react quickly to changes and disruptions. That’s why I’m optimistic aboutthe future.

CONNECTINGEUROPE AND THE WORLD

Jochen Müller has served as COO Air & Sea Logistics for Dachser’s air and sea freight business since the beginning of the year. A conversation about strategic decisions for the future.

10 DACHSER magazine

Mr. Simon, Dachser is breaking all kinds of growthrecords. What do you see as the main reasons for this success?B. Simon: Dachser’s strong position is due above all to ourfunctioning business model. Our strategies encourage sus-tainable, global growth, and we also have an excellent posi-tion on the strong European market. Still, it’s not enoughjust to react: we are also deliberately and actively addres -s ing current challenges such as digitalization, city logistics,and the shortage of drivers—and doing so with multiple solutions.

What role does macroeconomic development play in the company’s positive development?The economy in Germany, Europe, and the largest over -seas markets has been quite robust. France, for example—

A strong economy, booming global trade, and supply and procurement chains that are ever

more demanding: Dachser CEO Bernhard Simon provides both insights and an outlook.

Dachser CEO

“A SOLID POSITION—IN ANY ECONOMIC CLIMATE”

our largest individual market after Germany—reportednoteworthy economic growth for the first time in a longtime. That was of benefit to us as an integrated logisticsprovider. In addition, in 2017 we once again enjoyed a tail-wind from invigorated global trade and rising rates for seaand especially air freight. This led to improved revenue figures for the Air & Sea Logistics business line, which were significantly better than the years before. Those figuresalso make us optimistic for the future, a result unaffected by the most recent discussions of potential trade wars.

Where do you see the greatest current challenges?What really became apparent in our sector last year, in addition to a shortage of drivers, was that there is a short -age of load capacity—and both will be crucial growth fac tors for logistics. For this reason, our commitment totraining is still a top priority. In 2017, the first 22 profes -sional truck drivers completed their training throughDachser Service und Ausbildungs GmbH, and at the same time, 106 young drivers—men and women—startedtheir training at 35 locations in Germany. We want to in-crease the number of trainee drivers every year and establishour quality concept in other European countries, too. I amconvinced that the future of companies like Dachser hinges on the quality of the employees working in their operational units. That means we need the best in the busi-ness, and we mean to systematically attract and retain them. This is what we have our sights set on.

FORUM: PEOPLE & MARKETS

IN BRIEF

Dachser continues to invest in

improving its infrastructure:

in 2017, it invested EUR 136 million

in fixed assets. It has budgeted

EUR 149 million for the expansion

of the physical and IT network in 2018.

DACHSER magazine 11


The company figures for financial year 2017 confirm that Dachser

is on a growth trajectory and point toward a bright future.

Key figures for 2017

HISTORIC HIGHS

G ood news from Dachser CEO Bernhard Simon at the presentation of the latest company figures at the

annual press conference in Munich: for the first time inDachser history, revenue exceeded EUR 6 billion. With anincrease of 7.2 percent, consolidated gross revenue rose toEUR 6.12 billion. Dachser also set other company records by handling a total of 81.7 million shipments (+2.1 percent)

weighing 39.8 million metric tons (+4.3 percent). Last year,the company created 1,648 new jobs around the world.Dachser’s investment in network locations, fleets, tech no l-ogy, and IT systems increased by 5 percent to EUR 136 mil-lion in 2017. “Last year we vastly expanded our capacity in Germany, especially in the food busi ness,” said Dachser CEO Bernhard Simon.

DACHSER IN A NUTSHELL

29,098

44

employees

countries with their own organizations

for logistics services

EUR 6.118 billion

81.7million

2.3 million

revenue (gross)

shipments

pallet spaces

396 locations worldwide

39.8 million metric tons

2.6 million m2

Chem logistics study

OUTSOURCING: WHO SHOULDBE AT THE CONTROLS?

When and for whom does it make sense to outsource logistics management tasks? A new

study, “Success factors from 4PL, LLP, and 3PL in chemical logistics,” provides the answers.

R eady for the future thanks to tailored logistics solu -tions: What is the right outsourcing strategy, and

how and with whom can it best be implemented by compa-nies in the chemical industry? This is the question posed in a recent study, “Success factors from 4PL, LLP, and 3PL in chemical logistics,” published by the Institute for AppliedLogistics (IAL) at the University of Applied SciencesWürzburg-Schweinfurt (FHWS) and CAMELOT Manage-ment Consultants AG. Supported by Dachser Chem-Logis-tics, the study aims to highlight the topics of fourth-party logistics (4PL), lead logistics providers (LLP), and third-party logistics (3PL) for supply chain managers in the chemical industry. The processes outlined in the study canhelp companies perform a targeted analysis of their out-sourcing strategies.

Making the right call“To make the right decision as to what proportion of theirlogistics management tasks to outsource, companies mustclearly identify what their own motives are and be able to judge what role logistics plays in their own corporate

structure,” write study authors Professor Christian Kille and Constantin Reuter. Kille, a scientist, and Reuter, a management consultant, also underline the importance ofexamining the complexity of the situation and internal conditions before considering contractual specifics for collaboration with a logistic provider. In general, 4PL providers and LLPs can carry out the variousstrategic, tactical, and operational logistics managementtasks. The study explores in detail when it makes most sense to use each of the 4PL providers and what role thetopic of neutrality really plays. With “4PL provider,” thestudy refers to companies that are not tied to a 3PL pro -vider due to reasons of ownership.In contrast, an LLP does have corporate ties to a 3PLprovider; it can retain control and professionally performoperational logistics tasks. Dachser sees itself as a 3PLprovider and has recently developed an LLP solution.

12 DACHSER magazine


How much logisticsmanagers in thechemical industryknow about 4PLservices

Only a vague idea

Adequate or thoroughknowledge

Source: IAL/CAMELOT

80%

15%

Download the study (German only) free of charge: http://bit.ly/3PL-4PL-LLPF

Third-party logistics (3PL) providers

offer customers operational services in the areas of transport, storage, and logistics

Fourth-party logistics (4PL) providers

offer customers logistics management services and coordinate various 3PL providers. However, they

are not tied to a specific 3PL provider and have no direct access to assets or logistics networks

Lead logistics providers (LLPs)

offer customers logistics management services and coordinate various 3PL providers. They are

subsidiaries of a 3PL provider and are generally separate legal entities from the parent company.

They have operational experience and access to the parent company's logistics network

INFO

OUTSTANDING RELOCATION LOGISTICSDachser & Kolb once again scored highly and also

received several seals of approval from the German

Institute for Service Quality (DISQ).

As part of a study, specially trained DISQ testers took

a close look at eight large, transregional relocation

companies that have at least ten locations and are

headquartered in Germany. Particular attention

was paid to service: on-site support, phone and e-mail

service, and online presence. They also checked and

compared the providers’ prices according to five

defined relocation scenarios.

The result: Dachser & Kolb was named “PREMIUM

relocation company 2018” thanks to its outstanding

price/performance ratio and excellent service, in

particular for its performance on-site and its compre -

hensive and custom telephone support.

REPUTABLELOGISTICS PARTNERDachser is one of Germany's top three logistics

companies, enjoying a stellar reputation. These are

the findings of the “Höchste Reputation” study produced

by Faktenkontor communications consultants for

Focus Money magazine. Drawing on some 22.5 million

opinions submitted online, the study honored a total

of 508 companies in different sectors.

Bronze in CIO survey

DACHSER IT: SATISFIED USERSUser satisfaction—the “hard currency” of every

IT system and the ultimate benchmark for the success

of software and digital tools.

Every year, the IT Strategy Days in Hamburg provide a forum for presenting and discussing the latest developments in IT. This year’s

event delivered some very good news: Dachser employees gave theircompany’s own IT a B+ (2.4 on a scale of 1–6, where 1 is the highest) inthe “Overall satisfaction with IT” category—securing third place in the rankings across all participating companies. Dachser received thesame grade back in 2008, but the continuous rise in complexity sincethen means that a grade of 2.4 in 2017 indicates a significant improve-ment in performance.Accepting the award during the IT Strategy Days, Hubert Reiser, Department Head Collaboration & User Experience, said: “We are delighted about this award, which is the culmination of the efforts ofeveryone at Corporate IT and the IT coordinators at the branches. Ourthanks go to each and every one of you. At the same time, our per -formance here serves as an incentive to master future challenges. We all know there will be no shortage of those!”

DACHSER magazine 13


14 DACHSER magazine

FORUM: ESSAY

Everything at once—that’s today’s seasonality

We want special things in order to feel special

DACHSER magazine 15

FORUM: ESSAY

Is Christmas here already? According to the Association of the German Confec-tionery Industry (BDSI), con fectionery manu -facturers started working flat out in May to produce thisyear’s Christmas treats. Although tradi-tionally consumed December, they tend to hit the shelves in September.

I t’s virtually a law of nature—absence makes the heartgrow fonder. Whether it’s strawberries in May, pump -kins in the fall, or chestnuts in winter, seasons enhance

the feeling of product quality. “Buy me now, buy me here,tomorrow I’ll be gone,” seasonal products whisper to con-sumers. Essentially it’s about limited availability, whetherreal or merely implied. Take chocolate manufacturers, forexample. They remove entire product ranges from theshelves over the summer so they can redouble our appetitewhen they market them again in September with the slogan“back by popular demand.” A similar principle applies toChristmas and Easter confectionery. It’s precisely the sea-sonal nature of products such as candy canes or chocolateEaster bunnies that makes them appealing. This is why the tradition of seasonality continues even in a world in which global trade makes everything available at any time. As psychology teaches us, there’s nothing more boring than living in an eternal paradise. The logisticsbusiness knows this only too well. One of the recurring challenges faced by logistics companies is targeted scarcityfollowed by the flood of seasonal goods. If you’ve been in the business for a while, you’ll know how much planningand coordination it takes to master this challenge.

The desire for seasonal goodsFor thousands of years, our desire to consume made us almost eager for the seasons to change. In Germany, beerand herring made what used to be very long and meagerfasting periods more palatable—that and the promise of indulgences made possible by a bountiful harvest and thespoils of winter hunting. Provided, of course, that all wentwell. If it did not, scarcity and hunger fueled our desire forthe seasonal wares we were denied, pushing us to the pointof plundering what little we had put by.And even if this situation is all but disappearing in indus -trial countries, research into neuromarketing indicates that we still harbor a desire for change, rhythm, and renewal.We want special things in order to feel special.Seasonality is part of that. Our powers of recollection are not linear. Life memories trace cycles framed by key

events—family festivities, graduating from school or uni-versity, a memorable cultural or sporting event, or a majordisaster leave an indelible mark on our identity and self-image. Against the background noise of daily living, oppor-tunities to reminisce offer an interplay of demand and satisfaction inevitably coupled with that of scarcity and self-denial.

Here’s to the global Oktoberfest—cheers!Take the following example: Oktoberfest has been a keyevent in the Munich calendar since it was inaugurated in1810. Since then, the last two weeks in September until thefirst weekend in October is when many locals take theirplaces at beer hall tables and fairground attractions, whileothers run for cover. Oktoberfest’s power of attraction haslong since extended beyond its home at Munich’s Theresien-wiese. The Oktoberfest feeling has spread across the world,becoming part of the consumer calendar everywhere fromthe North Pole to South Africa. Dirndls, lederhosen, roastpork, and beer by the liter are spreading like wildfirethroughout the world. Anyone who has ever been servedkraut and knödel in Dubai by a Pakistani waiter wearing imitation lederhosen will know that seasonal products and events are inspiring brands and trends all around the world.In this way, the global Oktoberfest is also a metaphor for the increasingly cyclical nature of how we perceive the agewe live in. The market has always had a particular aptitudefor handling such a deep-rooted human desire for self-assurance. This explains why Halloween has long since leftits traditional Anglo-American stomping ground and become a festival that unites revelers the world over with its sales promotions and party fever. This is joined byThanksgiving discounts and Black Friday sales that, in combination with the Christmas industry, culminates in a seasonal bombardment that seemingly never runs out of new consumer demands. Why? Because while one seasonwill be gone again tomorrow, the next is always just aroundthe corner. P. Beutgen

Asparagus in October, barbecues in December, and swimwear in the winter sales:the retail industry has virtually abolished the notion of seasons. Today’s motto: everything, always, everywhere. Is this the end of seasonal products?

ALWAYS IN SEASON

16 DACHSER magazine

EXPERTISE: DISTRIBUTION LOGISTICS

DACHSER magazine 17


Luxembourg-based family-owned company Flowey hasearned a reputation around the world for high-quality careproducts for cars and trucks.Their recipe for success? Quality, elbow grease, andhigh-performance logistics.

SPOTLESSPERFORMANCE

ilippo Florio has been involved with cars since thestart of his career. A native of Italy, he initially studied mechatronics and worked with vehicles

made by Toyota, Mazda, and Lancia. But that is ancient history. Almost thirty years ago, the car pro started writ inga completely new chapter in his career, one that took a lot of courage. In 1990, when a chemical company came up for sale, Florio jumped at the opportunity and became anentrepreneur. Although he knew nothing about chemistry,he did know a lot about taking care of cars. Today, 28 yearslater, the 61-year-old’s company generates EUR 10 millionin revenue from car and truck care products each year.The recipe for success? Quality and elbow grease. Flowey,named after the founders Filippo Florio and Simon Wey-nachter, a “real” chemist, is a true family-owned company.Florio’s wife Danielle helped get the company off the groundand still handles the company’s accounts, while their sonFranco is an export manager. Each morning at 8:15, Floriomakes a tour of the company with his other children Ricardo (sales/logistics) and Gianna (marketing/design),getting updates from his employees. “We export to more ‡

Car care is often a labor of love

18 DACHSER magazine


Packagingand logistics are crucial to our quality

Filippo Florio, founder and CEO

of Flowey

than forty-five countries around the world,” he says, alwayseager to know that latest news—what the new orders areand if there are any unanswered questions. Flowey’s businessis based on vehicle cleaning products—extremely high-quality ones, Florio underlines. Now employing 50 people, this medium-sized company puts its money where its mouth is. Great accuracy is re -quired for packaging orders onto pallets and sending themaround the world. The plastic film wrapped around Floweyproduct containers holds everything snugly in place. Andthat’s important, because according to Florio the cleaningagents should be moved as little as possible during shipping.Otherwise, he says, the quality suffers. “Packaging and logistics are crucial to our quality.” That’s also the reasonwhy Flowey has Dachser ship around one fourth of its entireproduction. As a result of this successful collaboration, hesays, the number of damaged shipments has fallen by 20percent. The company’s service costs for tracking shipmentsand answering questions from customers have also sharplydeclined since the company started working with Dachser.

From Luxembourg to the rest of the worldFlowey began its collaboration with Dachser LuxembourgS.à.r.l. three years ago. In June 2016, the two companies developed a closer association with a trial run in France—for Flowey, by far the most important sales market. The Luxembourg-based family business makes around 40 per-cent of its annual revenue in France, where Dachser main-tains a comprehensive network of branches. Now, Flowey is connected to Dachser through an EDI interface—manualentry, which is how data was handled before, is now finallya thing of the past.“Delivery is the last impression the customer gets from theentire order,” Florio says. If this step is bungled then eventhe best product will look bad. What complicates transport,especially in France, are the very specific scheduling needsof customers. When Flowey started 28 years ago, the era ofthe self-service carwash was just beginning in France. Floriorecognized the potential and set his sights on carwash oper-ators as prospective buyers of his products. But the difficultthing about a self-service carwash is that no one is there toreceive deliveries. Sometimes it’s the greengrocer who is operating a carwash, sometimes it’s the car mechanic aroundthe corner. “So it’s crucial,” he says, “that deliveries arrive atthe exact time agreed upon beforehand with the recipient.”Fifty percent of all shipments that Dachser handles forFlowey are therefore sent out with a set delivery time.With its claim of premium quality, the Luxembourg-basedcompany has come a long way. In France, Flowey is the market leader, and the sales trend is steadily rising. If there

R&B band Rose Royceis responsible for making us sing along at the carwash. In 1976, the California-based band stormed to the top of the US Billboard and R&Bcharts with their debutsingle “Car Wash.”Covers by such singersas Christina Aguileraand Missy Elliott (2004)have made sure thatthe music will keep onplaying.

It’s the mix that matters

DACHSER magazine 19


weren’t such a shortage of qualified employees, the car -wash and truck cleaning experts in France would expandeven faster. Right now, twelve employees are distributingFlowey products between Brest and Nice, and the search is on for three more.

The water is keyAttention to detail is needed not only for production butalso sales. The first official act of sales staff, says Florio, is to test the water because the dosing amount of any givencarwash product depends on the quality and type of water.In some countries, well water is used while in others it’s tapwater. This makes a big difference, Florio says, when usingcleaning agents.At company headquarters in Bissen, a tranquil communityin the heart of Luxembourg that has been around for over a thousand years, there is a separate training room wherenew customers are educated about how to use the productscorrectly. After all, the cleaning agents are sold as a con -centrate with various dosing systems. Introduced in 1994,the first line of products for tunnel and self-service car -washes has now been transformed into an extensive pro -duct portfolio that also includes specific truck-washing solutions. The company has also been selling to end cus-tomers since 1995. For them, the cleaning agents come inspecially designed black bottles.In 2008, the year of the financial crisis, Flowey developedEvopur, the first line of ecological products, and since 2015cleaning agents for use in industrial environments (FloweyTechnic) has been part of the repertoire. By next year, the expansion of the company’s headquarters in Bissen shouldbe complete. Plans include a new storage space, expand -ing the laboratory, and doubling production capacity.Flowey has a gleaming future. And when it comes to ex-panding its operations, the company can rely on Dachser asa brilliant logistics partner. G. Schreier

A wide range of products …

... for cleaning vehicles ...

... the world over

“Flowey—made in Luxembourg”

For founder Filippo Florio, the company’s slogan

represents an important idea: regional origin

and solid quality. In 1990, Florio laid the founda -

tion for the company. Four years later, the brand

was registered and the first line of products

came to market. By now, the Luxembourg-based

family business has made a name for itself

worldwide as a specialist in cleaning and care

products for cars and trucks. But this is espe -

cially true in France, where Flowey generates half

of its revenue. Last year, the company generated

total revenue of EUR 10 million.

www.flowey.com

PROFILE

20 DACHSER magazine

EXPERTISE: PACKAGING MATERIAL

Pallets and other packaging materials—ubiquitous service carriers in the truest sense of the word. But availability and quality requirements are already tough and are increasing all the time. This is why Jens Müller, Head of Network Management Organization at Dachser, thinks we should have greater appreciation for packaging materials management.

CARRIERS THAT

ADD VALUE

parity between branches with a high demand for packagingmaterial and others with a surplus. What is needed is a smartsolution for managing the grouping and exchange to mini-mize the number of times packaging material becomes ashipment in itself.

How is Dachser tackling this?Everyone at Dachser involved in transport processes is helping our packaging material management team to

Mr. Müller, packaging materials play a fundamental rolein logistics, pallets in particular. What demands are being placed on packaging materials?Jens Müller: The requirements for packaging materials are clear: in logistics they help to get the right goods to the right place, at the right time, and in the right quality. Not to mention at the right price. At Dachser, our customershave us transport over 60 million euro pallets throughoutEurope every year, plus 25 million other shipments pack -aged using trackable load carriers such as grid boxes, food cases, and containers of various kinds.

What effort does this require on Dachser’s part? Dachser is committed to offering packing-aid exchange as a value-added service that we must charge for. To offer our customers the greatest possible benefit—and with it,sustainability—through reusable transport packaging, weemploy more than 400 packaging specialists based at ourbranches throughout Europe and at our Head Office inKempten. What’s more, at the Head Office we are continu-ously developing our packaging material management system in order to keep pace with digitalization and thelatest developments in IT.

Could you provide an example of the demand for pack-aging material management?Our packaging material service involves the physical exchange that happens at the consignee’s loading bay, including return transport of the empties to the transit ter-minal. The returned packaging material then has to be sorted and stored for a time at the terminal. Here’s an exam-ple: our Karlsruhe branch transports groupage ship -ments to Hamburg. The pallets transported then remain in Hamburg while the return leg brings palleted groupageshipments to Karlsruhe. Of course, such an ideal circularflow isn’t always possible. We frequently encounter a dis -

Since it was introducedby UIC in the 1950s, theeuro pallet has proveda high-endurance, all-around talent thatenables the safe andeffective transport,storage, and handlingof all kinds of goods.The European PalletAssociation (EPAL) isresponsible for expand-ing and securing thepooling system as well as observing thequality criteria.

A carrier for logistics: The wooden pallet

DACHSER magazine 21

EXPERTISE: PACKAGING MATERIAL

create the conditions necessary for reusing load carriers. Indoing so, we are able to draw on the expertise of our exten-sive European network. This is in addition to the highly efficient packaging material management system in whichwe have invested heavily and have operated for many years with the help of specially trained personnel. To guar-antee a secure and effective packaging material service, we use for instance double-entry bookkeeping together with IT-based monthly inventories and continuous moni-toring. We also operate two sorting facilities for pallets and have damaged pallets repaired by licensed companies.In this way, Dachser is doing its part to maintain the over -all quality of the pool of pallets.

What effect do variations in pallet quality and wear have on packing-aid exchange?Packing aids are generally designed to withstand seven oreight tours. Over the course of their life cycle, they can ex-pect to endure any number of conditions. In food trans -

port, there are stringent requirements in terms of hygieneand food safety, whereas in the transport of machine parts, not having pristine pallets doesn’t necessarily count against transport quality. Customers in the printing indus-try, for instance, are very interested in the dampness of the wood as this may adversely affect their product during transport. Since Dachser transports both food andindustrial goods, we are of course well placed to draw on avery wide pool of pallets. What counts here is knowing as much as possible about what the customer requirementsare for each pallet.

How does Dachser make sure the quality of its pallets is up to scratch?We follow the guidance and quality criteria for pallet exchange laid down by independent organization GS1 to the letter and continuously expand Dachser’s packaging material management based on this standard. We find thatthis continuous investment in people and technology pays off. In this way we avoid losses resulting from incor -rect use of packaging material, while also ensuring that we consider ecological, economic, and logistical aspects inoptimizing returns to the original consignor.

How does this benefit Dachser’s customers?The idea behind all our additional packaging material efforts and services is to tie them into a comprehensive carefree package for our customers. Within our networkthey can rely on the availability of the exact type of packag -ing material they require whenever they like—even duringpeak times. Our customers value this service, one that naturally takes a great deal of our time and effort. Ulti -mately, customers have to pay for this depending on theirrequirements.

What improvements are there in the pipeline that might make pallet exchange even more efficient? New kinds of packaging material are being developed all the time. There are currently many new ideas on the market,including everything from dedicated apps to blockchainmanagement. Nevertheless, for any kind of packaging material to be suitable for exchange, it must be as simple aspossible. So innovations will continue to focus on evensmarter and more connected packaging material. But evenhere, the systems Dachser uses mean the company is in an ideal position.

Jens Müller, Head of Network

Management Organi-

zation, and his team

at Dachser keep

a careful eye on all

standards that

keep a network in

balance, even when

capacity utilization

fluctuates.

PERSONAL FILE

Dachser is committed to offering packing-aid exchange as a value-added service

Jens Müller, Head of

Network Management Organization

22 DACHSER magazine

EXPERTISE: 5 YEARS OF THE EUROPEAN FOOD NETWORK

No matter whether it’s German dumpling dough or Swiss cream cheese: fine foods stay fresh as they find their way quickly and hygienically to

destinations throughout Europe. For the past five years, the European FoodNetwork has ensured the highest standards in cross-border food logistics.

MULTIPLE DESTINATIONS FROM A SINGLE SOURCE

The Eurohub in Erlensee, Germany

DACHSER magazine 23


he food market is becoming increasingly more European—as are we,” said Alfred Miller, Manag -ing Director Dachser Food Logistics, at the press

conference for the transport logistic trade fair on June 6,2013. This was when he, together with eleven other logis -tics providers, launched Europe’s first ever integrated net-work for non-frozen food transport: the European Food Network. The founders—all established specialists in food logistics—felt that the time was right to finally offerstandardized services for Europe: “Retailers and producersare thinking less and less in terms of country borders; instead, they want integrated services in as many countriesas possible and from one provider. We intend to meet thisneed and use the European Food Network to provide cross-border food logistics from a single source,” Miller said five years ago. ‡

“

24 DACHSER magazine


Today, the EFN continues to uphold this claim; indeed, ithas become a USP. Under Dachser’s system leadership, EFNpartners have been able to offer their customers clearly defined, cross-border groupage transport services in theform of standardized products. Each product line in thevivengo family has a specific transit time or delivery sched-ule within Europe. Shipment status and proof of delivery for any shipment can be called up online at any time. Thanksto the product pilot, Dachser customers can also view allavailable product lines and the corresponding transit timesfor any given route.Several elements are in place to ensure that products, in-cluding trackability, work for partners, too. These include a contract, a detailed manual, and internally agreed stan-dards, processes, documentation, IT interfaces, and lia -bilities. The aim is to make European food logistics more efficient, transparent, and reliable so that the goods are fresh and safe when they reach the customer. In the foodsector, this is really all that counts. The concept proved a success and customers know whatbenefits they are enjoying. “Without question, our compa-ny’s international success—we sell 50 percent of our prod-ucts across Europe—is in part due to Dachser logistics and the European Food Network. The overall logistics chainis only as strong as each link in it and the European FoodNetwork allows us to serve all of Europe,” says ChristophScherrer, Division Manager Sales at Züger Frischkäse. In2017, a total of 18 countries were supplied with cream cheeseproducts from this family company located in the east ofSwitzerland. The company was supported by Dachser’sSteißlingen branch just over the border in Germany. Scherrer emphasizes that this is due to having a “compe -tent partner that can distribute our various grouped ship-ments of one, two, or even ten pallets across the entire

continent.” In 2017, Züger entrusted the EFN with 13.9 percent more transports than the year before.

Expediency, cleanliness, transparencyOver at Hans Henglein & Sohn, based in Abenberg in theheart of Bavaria and market leader in fresh potato, pasta,and dough products, the growth rate was 27 percent withdeliveries to 21 European countries. “The success is also because of Dachser’s speed and its European network. Itgenerally takes just 48 hours from customer order to deliv-ery,” reports Henglein’s head of logistics Christian Arnold.He also pointed out that, in addition to short transit timesfor its fresh products, Henglein particularly appreciates the cleanliness and reliability along the transport chain.The European Food Network is setting standards in the sector for all these criteria. Consistent processes, IT stan-dards, and hygiene standards all play their part in maintain-ing the high level of service. “At any point, we can see wherein Europe our products are. And whenever required,Dachser ensures we can demonstrate an uninterrupted coldchain for our perishable products throughout the entiretransport process. We are entirely happy with what the European Food Network offers,” Arnold says. One particular reason is that the network is being expand -ed and improved all the time. In 2016, Dachser opened its Eurohub near Frankfurt. With its central location and terminal handling operations running Monday through Saturday, this is the most important hub for trans-Euro -pean food shipments and thus a key part of the EuropeanFood Network. On average, the hub has shaved one day offthe usual transit time—quite a feat for fresh products with a short shelf life. The year 2016 also saw Logifrio in Spainbecome a new partner. In 2017, Dachser acquired the remaining stake in Italianfood contract logistics provider Papp Italia, thus consoli -dating its position in southern Europe—now as DachserItaly. In the Balkans, Belgrade-based specialist Nelt pavedthe way for groupage shipments to pass through Serbia on their way to Macedonia, Montenegro, or Bosnia and

Demand among multinational foodmanufacturers for international trans-ports is on the rise. For five years, the European Food Network has been a powerful answer to the challenges of cross-border food logistics throughoutEurope.

Always on the go: food transit terminal

All set to head for Europe

DACHSER magazine 25


The European Food Networkhas been a nonstop success story for five years now

Alfred Miller, Managing Director

Dachser Food Logistics

Herzegovina. Thanks to AKTUR, exports to Turkey can now also take the form of small shipments. And in 2018,Scandinavian market leader Bring Frigo began handling deliveries in Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

On the road to success from the very beginning“Through the European Food Network, we have taken foodgroupage shipments across the continent to a whole newlevel,” Miller explains. “It enhances the service portfolio ofeach partner by allowing them to offer their customers access to markets in other countries. So each of us helps the others achieve greater international success. The con -cept has proved a hit—five years on, we can look back at aunique success story,” Miller concludes.In the year the European Food Network was founded, itspartners generated some EUR 1.2 billion in revenue from

food logistics. In 2017, that figure rose to EUR 2.1 billion,and this upward trend is set to continue. Together, EFN partners presently offer more than 2 million m2 of space designed to store food as well as some 11,300 cold-storagetransport units. Customers of the 13 partners can ship their goods to 34 different countries. And the outlook forthe future remains bright. After all, the food sector is becoming more international every day and customer de-mand is growing, too. Miller is confident the network isready for what lies ahead: “Our goal is to become the numberone network for trans-European food transport.” L. Becker

Through the European Food Network, customers can reach 34 countries in Europe

26 DACHSER magazine

Chile is one of the most stable countries and strongesteconomies in South America, and plays a key role

in intra-American trade along the Pacific coast,” explainsGuido Gries, Managing Director Dachser Air & Sea Logis-tics Americas. “We want to expand our presence there and closely integrate Dachser Chile, both in our regionand our global logistics network.” Chile is an attractive location for logistics. The country also has close eco -nomic and trade ties to Argentina, Brazil, Asia, Oceania,and Europe. Its main exports include copper, fish, fruit,paper, wine, and minerals.

“ Management expertiseFrank Habermann is now the head of Dachser Chile S.A. The managing director, who joined Dachser Chile in2013 to lead the sales division for the country organi -zation, has been working in the logistics industry for 27 years. “We offer our customers the full range of ser -vices: air and sea transport with professional customsclear ance; warehousing and value-added services; andheavy and special transports, such as for the mining industry, which is a huge part of Chile’s economy,” Habermann says.

In April, Dachser acquired all the shares in its Chilean subsidiary. The logistics

provider had entered the Chilean market in 2009 as part of a joint venture.

Air & Sea Logistics

DACHSER NOW AT 100 PERCENT IN CHILE

+++ MODERNIZATION IN MOROCCO +++

Dachser is creating new capacity in Morocco

and investing EUR 630,000 to modernize and

expand its facilities in Mohammedia. Since

May, national and international overland trans-

port has been consolidated in this branch, as

well as the contract logistics business and

customs processes. This had become a neces-

sary step because the warehouse in Casa -

blanca was straining the limits of its capacity due to continuing growth in international

trans port, and had to be relieved. The Mohammedia branch now offers over 22,500 pallet spaces

to cope with the logistics needs of its customers. A 2,500 m2 customs warehouse ensures

reliable and smooth processing for international transport in accordance with the highest

quality standards. Casablanca remains Dachser’s Morocco headquarters and location for air

and sea freight activities. +++

Skyline in Santiago, Chile

Spanning tradition and the modern age

DACHSER magazine 27

NETWORK

+++ MOVING IN FREIBURG +++ Dachser has acquired some

65,000 m2 of real estate in the Breisgau industrial park in

Eschbach, a town near Freiburg, Germany. In August, con -

s truction will start on a new logistics center, which will include

a transit terminal with a total area of 6,117 m2 and 82 docking

bays, plus a two-story office building. Completion of construc-

tion and the subsequent move are planned for mid-2019.

The new logistics center will replace the current branch in

Freiburg-Hochdorf, which has served as the Dachser groupage

hub for southwest Germany and Alsace, France since 1989.

“As a logistics partner, we have grown with the local economy

year by year, and now we have to add more capacity in antici -

pation of future growth,” explains Michael Gaudlitz, General

Manager of Dachser’s Freiburg branch. +++

+++ MAKING SPACE IN IBERIA +++ By ex -

panding its warehousing capacity in Aragón and

La Rioja in northeast Spain, Dachser is stead-

fastly pursuing its growth strategy for the Iberian

Peninsula. Some 28,000 m2 of new storage area

has been created across the various logis tics

facilities in Logroño and Zaragoza. Moises

Beltrán, General Manager Aragón, Rioja & Na -

varra, underlines the significance of this invest-

ment: “We’re sending a strong signal to the

region’s industrial companies, letting them know

that we’re prepared to be their competent and

hard-working partner, to use the full power of

Dachser’s global network to advise and support

them as they grow.” +++

+++ GROWTH BOOST FOR INDIA +++ Dachser

India is expanding its network in Gurugram in

northern India. The logistics provider wants the

new branch southwest of Delhi and the in -

creased capacity it offers to create an even

stronger range of services for an increasingly

larger customer base. Gurugram has estab -

lished itself as one of India’s most dynamic

financial and industrial centers and has the

country’s third highest per capita income. More

than 250 Fortune 500 companies have set up

shop there. “Our continuous efforts and enthu -

siasm to provide intelligent logistics to all our

customers has fueled continued growth, making

a move to a new facility in northern India neces-

sary,” says Huned Gandhi, Managing Director Air

& Sea Logistics India & Bangladesh. Gurugram’s

proximity to the capital and its infrastructure

connects the new branch to destinations all

across India and the world. +++

+++ INCREASED CAPA CI TY

IN SEOUL +++ Dachser Ko-

rea remains on its growth

trajectory and is expand ing

its location in the capital. The

logistics provider has moved

into a new, 479 m2 office wing

on the tenth floor of the Sangjin Building. Since this site is right next

to Hongik University station, it is easy to get to for customers, em-

ployees, and busi ness partners. “The move is in step with Dachser

Korea’s dynamic development,” explains Roman Müller, Managing

Director Air & Sea Logistics Korea. +++

New hub in Breisgau

New Delhi: India’s gateway to the world

The Bongeunsa Temple in Seoul

28 DACHSER magazine

NETWORK: AUSTRIA

Located in the heart of Europe, Austria plays a key role in the Dachser network. Working in tandem with the nearby Eurohub in Bratislava, the branch office here serves Eastern Europe and the Balkans. And beyond that, Air & Sea Logistics makes sure that goods find their way from this alpine republic to destinations all around the world.

THE STRENGTH IS AT THE

CENTER

Austria’s capital, Vienna: A view of its new Donau City

DACHSER magazine 29

NETWORK: AUSTRIA

tans is what people generally think of when theypicture a cozy town in Tyrol. With just under 2,000residents, this community near the Inn River has a

history dating back to the early Middle Ages. It’s easy tooverlook Stans on a map—or at least it was until mid-Mayof this year, when Dachser Austria inaugurated its new Tyrollogistics center there. “As a logistics hub, the new branch office plays an important role in Europe’s most modern and high-performance network,” said Michael Schilling,Dachser COO Road Logistics, at the inauguration cere -mony. “Tightly coordinated transport routes go from hereto 353 Dachser locations throughout Europe. Daily ship-ments to Eastern Europe and the Balkans are handledthrough the Bratislava Eurohub in Slovakia. That’s how we keep Europe interconnected while offering attractivetransit times—and with the help of our Air & Sea Logisticsdivision, we can reach every corner of the earth. All from asingle source.”For Günter Hirschbeck, Managing Director European Logistics at Dachser Austria, the new branch stands for ‡

30 DACHSER magazine

high expectations and a clear mandate: “We want our impactto be felt not only within Europe, but also in Dachser’s globalnetwork. Our goal is to seamlessly integrate the servicesfrom both European Logistics and Air & Sea Logistics.”Michael Rainer, Managing Director Air & Sea Logistics atDachser Austria, says, “This will give our customers exci -ting new options—when they’re shipping goods from, say, North America and back.” The hope is for the market-place to view Dachser as a unique, solution-oriented part -ner that is loyal to its customers and helps them maintainlasting success.

At the center of trade and commerceThe conditions here are right. Indeed, the logistics industryis prospering in this alpine nation: since the fall of the Iron Curtain and the EU’s eastward enlargement, Austriahas become the gateway to southeastern Europe. In 2004,Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, and Cyprus all joined the confederation of EU states. Not only did this place Austria geographically at the center of trade and com -merce between East and West, but the country also bene -fited from this economically. According to the AustrianChamber of Commerce, trade with Eastern European neigh-bors after the fall of the Iron Curtain reached unparalleledheights. Exports increased from 9.3 (1992) to 17.8 percent(2017), and imports to Austria from Eastern European

EU states rose from 5.6 (1992) to 14.9 percent (2017).Austria’s gross domestic product is also growing again. In2017, the Austrian National Bank reported gains of 2.8 percent, and forecasts for 2019 and 2020 are predictingroughly 2.0 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. The rea-sons for this are twofold: a solid domestic economy andbooming world trade. After Germany, the United States hasbeen the second most important trade partner for Austriasince 2015. Third place goes to Italy, followed by Switzer -land and France. Engineering products, processed goods,chemical products, and other finished goods top the list of Austrian imports and exports.

NETWORK: AUSTRIA

ASFINAG, a govern-ment-owned Austrianinfrastructure com-pany, is investingaround EUR 1.1 billionin highways. Of this,approximately 500 million is going tonew road constructionand second tunneltubes, while 500 millionis being used to repairexisting roads and tunnels. Another 100 million is beingprovided to expand toll collection technol-ogy and data lines.

Old mountain pass on Grossglockner,Austria's highest peak

Historic Vienna

DACHSER magazine 31

NETWORK: AUSTRIA

But it is not just the positive economic climate that is at-tracting international companies to Austria: a high-qualitylogistics infrastructure is making believers out of partnersfrom both industry and trade. For instance, the capital cityenjoys superior connections to all modes of transport. Vienna International Airport has positioned itself as thegateway to points east. Rail and road networks alike are fully developed for travel to and from Eastern Europe.

Kickstart on the data highwayWhat’s more, Austria is accelerating onto the data high -way at full speed. Although for many years the country had the dubious distinction of being last among 21 industrialnations for investments in digital infrastructure, the gov-ernment has now launched a “rapid development strategyto create a modern and powerful telecommunications infra-structure.” The initial goal will be to provide an internetspeed of 100 Mbit/s and fiber-optic cables in all new con-struction. And if government plans come to fruition, Austriawill become the “5G role model” by 2021. Austria’s existing strengths along with these signs of posi -tive development are reason enough for Dachser to consis-tently invest here in the long term. For instance, the newbranch office in Stans in Tyrol received around EUR 6.5 million. In 2017, Dachser had put around EUR 10 millioninto a contract logistics warehouse at the Hörsching loca -

tion (near Linz) in Upper Austria. In his speech at the ware-house opening, Dachser CEO Bernhard Simon noted that“the new warehouse is another milestone in the expansionof our Austrian branch network. Hörsching offers logisticsfrom a single source: warehousing and customized ser -vices under the umbrella of contract logistics as well as a direct connection to the comprehensive European trans -port network and the freight services of Dachser Air & SeaLogistics.”But it’s not just investment in ultramodern facilities andtechnology that are advancing the logistics business in Austria. “Qualified and motivated employees are the linch-pin,” Hirschbeck says. “If we didn’t have the deep commit-ment from our teams, our staff in administration and warehousing, and, last but not least, our drivers, our suc -cess in recent years would never have been possible.” Buteven in Austria, it is hard to find young workers, and there is a particular need for professional drivers. So DachserAustria is implementing a concept piloted by Dachser Service und Ausbildungs GmbH that has already met withsuccess in Germany, where drivers are trained in coopera-tion with transport companies. “By doing this, we are set -t ing a clear course for the entire industry,” Hirschbeck continues. “And we are strengthening our position as an important hub in the Dachser network for European and international shipping.” K. Fink

A central location in the heart of Europe provides the ideal spot for a logistics hub

Dachser in Austria

Company name:

DACHSER Austria

Gesellschaft m.b.H. /

DACHSER Austria

Air & Sea GmbH

Number of

employees: 526

Annual revenue:

EUR 187.68 million

(2017)

Dachser European

Logistics

has the following

locations in Austria:

Hörsching (Linz),

Himberg (Vienna),

Wundschuh (Graz),

Lauterach (Bregenz),

Stans (Innsbruck),

and Klagenfurt.

Dachser Air & Sea

Logistics

has a presence in

Hörsching (Linz),

Schwechat (Vienna),

and Feldkirchen

(Graz).

PROFILEGünter Hirschbeck,Managing Director

European Logistics atDachser Austria,

and Michael Rainer, Managing Director

Air & Sea Logistics atDachser Austria

Mayor of Stans Michael Huber;state parliament memberKathrin Kaltenhauser; Günter Hirschbeck, ManagingDirector European Logistics,Dachser Austria; andDachser COO Road LogisticsMichael Schilling (l to r)

32 DACHSER magazine

BUSINESS LOUNGE: DACHSER FACE-TO-FACE

Millennials are the first generation for whom com -municating via social media is as routine as brushingyour teeth in the morning. Mr. Simon, how does thisaffect their ability to interact with a broad range ofcolleagues in their professional life? Bernhard Simon: When you see millennials and post-millennials frenetically swiping and clicking their waythrough social media platforms as though it were com -pletely natural, there seems to be an impressive amount ofnetworking going on—at least on the surface. But if youlook closer, you quickly realize that this generation is find -ing it increasingly harder to distinguish the virtual worldfrom the real one. This includes understanding the impor-tance of direct and lasting relationships, making room for

them, cultivating them, and then maintaining them. Suchskills are crucial for overcoming the challenges that are part of working life. Prof. Ulrich Weinberg: Many young people believethey are well-connected. But in fact, only the devices theycarry around with them are. This does little to enhance direct, real collaboration and shared problem-solving withother people. At the School of Design Thinking in Potsdamwe focus on precisely this kind of specific, real-world col -laboration, which lies at the heart of our face-to-face interactions. And we do so across disciplines.

Perhaps you can remind us what design thinking is all about? Prof. U. Weinberg: It’s about project-oriented team-work with participants from various disciplines. Designthinking is not another kind of brainstorming, but rather atrue change in mindset, one based on extensive researchand continuous prototyping. Our motivation here is to findnew, more efficient ways of creating innovation and solvingcomplex problems. In particular, this calls for the creativepower of diverse teams. At the same time, design thinkingadopts the radical approach of seeing things from the cus-tomer’s point of view and continuously questioning exist -ing concepts. This is a much better way of solving complex prob lems than using homogenous teams or just individuals. B. Simon: There’s a huge need for interaction within networks. It’s not at all easy for companies these days tomeet this need, especially with young people at the start of their careers and there are many reasons for this. First,we’ve noticed a significant decline in high-school gradu -ates’ readiness to be trained. Not because they lack per -sonality or a knowledge base. Rather, they have glaringdeficits in their intrinsic motivational makeup. Some ofthese shortcomings run counter to developing a conscien-tious, detail-oriented work style, adopting crucial atti -tudes about the transfer of knowledge, and generating solutions that are not just spit out by a machine that can be operated like a slick computer game, but come from adeeper understanding of what is really going on in the

Understanding the interrelatedness ofthings, organizing them into categories, and developing new and distinct solutions,those are the skills of the futureProf. Ulrich Weinberg

BERNHARD SIMON SPEAKS WITH...PROFESSOR

ULRICH WEINBERGFrom I-Q to We-Q: Bernhard Simon talks with Professor Ulrich Weinberg from the School of Design Thinking about how linking knowledge to skills changes workflow.

DACHSER magazine 33


background. For instance, is the Excel formula even right tobegin with, is it plausible, was a plus or minus sign enteredincorrectly somewhere? Seemingly small mistakes can cause enormous damage in large systems and sometimesthey produce completely inverted results. It’s more impor-tant than ever to impart exactly this kind of curiosity on ouryounger employees and encourage them to think critically.Prof. U. Weinberg: Blind faith in machines and, inmany cases, even dependence on them only encourage a lackof independent thought. Using a smartphone to navigatethrough a city might seem convenient. But it can’t really bea good thing when you end up completely lost after the bat-tery dies. Perhaps companies in dialogue with educationalinstitutions have to articulate more clearly what know l -edge and skills they expect from their future employees.B. Simon: In my opinion, policymakers are taking thewrong approach in their demand to further the digitalizationof schools. Instead, schools should focus on much more important areas. How can you achieve a transfer of relevantknowledge, how do you awaken the instincts to explore,what is the makeup of our globalized world, and what roles do business and politics play in this? And what kind of active role do I want to play in that someday?Prof. U. Weinberg: I agree, our schools and universi -ties shouldn’t be loaded up with even more technology. Wewon’t get any better at digitalization if schools are handingout tablets to every student. And we also don’t need to think up any more subjects with even more specializedknowledge. We should place much greater value on an education where you learn to learn. Method-based skills and a heightened capability for interdisciplinary thinkingare the key to the future. Both in the analog world and the digital one.

Now that we’re carrying around Google and Wiki -pedia with us almost all the time, people who have become complacent will tend to say: “I don’t need extensive knowledge as long as I know where to findthe information I need right away online.” What do you think about that? B. Simon: Having quick access to knowledge that othershave discovered whenever you need it might sound enticing,but ultimately it’s just a lack of knowledge. After all, some -one who remains in the dark will not automatically graspthe multidimensional universe that gives us the necessaryfooting and orientation in our everyday lives, both per -sonally and professionally. So we truly need to provide a solid education, a broad knowledge base, and a learnedmechanism for using the tools needed to leverage all of this when working in a team. Only those who are really able to apply their knowledge to the right context and have the vision to integrate this knowledge will under -stand their environment and their duties while activelyshaping them at the same time.Prof. U. Weinberg: But long gone is the time of acquir-ing knowledge in a linear fashion using the grand old

encyclopedias like Brockhaus, Larousse, or Encyclo paediaBritannica. Knowledge is no longer organized in neatly defined A-to-Z entries, but rather more in clusters. In this model, information from an astounding array of sources can be brought together: from internet research and reading articles or books, to talking with experts or trying things out for yourself. At the School of Design Thinking, we practice that kind of contextual thinking andlearning every day. B. Simon: I consider this view of the good old Encyclo -paedia Britannica to be rather pessimistic. You have to re-member that universal works like Encyclopaedia Britan -nica originally came into being as an indispensable referencefor educated circles. They were aligned with the ideals of the Enlightenment. People on the cusp of industrializationand, later on, globalization were thirsty for knowledge. Encyclopedias were what made this knowledge generallyavailable and transferable to a wide audience. To be sure, inthe internet age there are completely different ways of passing on knowledge than a 30-volume set of leather-bound books. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the needfor knowledge and a structured method for making it ‡

Design thinking is based on a collaborative culture of work and ideas. Its success hinges on three main elements: multidisciplinary teams,

a fluid work environment, and the design thinking process.

34 DACHSER magazine


Professor Ulrich Weinberg has been Director of the School of Design

Thinking of the University of Potsdam’s

Hasso Plattner Institute since 2007. After

working for 25 years in film and 3D produc-

tion, including 13 as professor of the film

school in Babelsberg, he has played a

pioneering role in the development and

dissemination of design thinking in close

cooperation with the d.school in Stanford.

This school of thought focuses on develop-

ing new realms of ideas through group-

based and interdisciplinary innovation.

Bernhard Simonis always astonished whenever people think

that digital natives’ mere use of social media

is the same thing as the ability to interact

in real life and work as a team. “What’s im-

portant at Dachser are the skills that enable

people to transcend the limits of their own

departments and specializations so they

can collaborate in the real world and com-

pare experiences. To do that, you need

knowledge and you need a personality.”

PERSONAL FILE

comprehensible. After all, this is and remains the basis forany effective exchange of knowledge and experience. Prof. U. Weinberg: I’m not interested in criticizing Encyclopaedia Britannica or other classic reference works.What interests me are the forms and patterns associatedwith this way of relaying information. In the 21st century, we can and should always be thinking within intercon -nected knowledge structures. That means getting out of our restrictive silos and moving away from canonical sub -ject fields defined by their separation from other disciplines.But the new mode of design and network thinking is upagainst a trend toward ever greater specialization at the university level. In Germany there were roughly 19,000courses of study on offer in 2017. And since 2014 there havebeen around 2,000 new study programs being added each year. To give just one example: Culinary Arts & FoodManagement. This kind of course inflation is absurd. B. Simon: And there is also the fact that the educationalenvironment is almost completely divorced from the train-ing offered at companies. In the business world we are having a really hard time communicating our expectationsfor a contextual, team-oriented thinking and work style to educational facilities.

Can you give an example of this? B. Simon: One example is the German-Indian youth ex-change that we set up last year for the ten-year anniversaryof the joint project work between Dachser and terre deshommes. Five Dachser trainees visited project villages inIndia. In return, five young people from India later came toGermany. This intercultural encounter was unbelievablypowerful and thought-provoking for everyone involved. But it was almost impossible to get these young people into a German school to share their experiences with otherstudents. The schools found lots of reasons to decline—doesn’t fit into the curriculum, not enough time, a lack ofstaff resources. Ultimately, it was thanks to personal con-nections between a young woman working for me and herold high school that we were able to present the project there. It was a terrific day, unforgettable for everyone whoparticipated. People need to be open-minded enough to approach one another, learn from one other, and go in newdirections.

People need to be open-minded enough to approach one another, learn from one other, and go in new directionsBernhard Simon

Prof. U. Weinberg: That example is just another veryclear reminder to me: instead of jamming more and morespecialized information into fewer and fewer hours, weshould encourage context-based learning. Understand -ing the interrelatedness of things, organizing them into categories, and developing new and distinct solutions, those are the skills of the future. And it’s possible only by interacting with each other. B. Simon: The logistics business model virtually has theright blueprint already in place. Our international companywouldn’t exist without networking and collaboration. Thecrucial factor is not the traditional hierarchy but rather thenetwork. This figures prominently in one of Dachser’s keyvalues: integrative responsibility. Prof. U. Weinberg: That’s interesting. If we take thisconcept further, we almost inevitably come to the principlesof design thinking. Networking is only ever as good as thepeople who make it possible and give it meaning throughtheir everyday actions and values.

DACHSER magazine 35

GOOD NEWS

New drivers often first learn their skills

on Grandpa’s rusty old jalopy. It’s better

that way, as you never know what

kind of scratches and dents their first

attempts will cause. Diamant Demukaj is

currently training to be a professional

truck driver at Dachser. Right away the

18-year-old got to try out a brand-new

7.5 metric ton eCanter, the first fully electric

small truck built by Daimler subsidiary

FUSO—the next generation of drivers

learning on the next generation of vehicles

in city distribution. That’s how you prepare

for the future. And thus far, without any

scratches or dents.

ELECTRIFYING

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