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Archives for April 2014

DACHSER’S NEW NORTHAMPTON LOGISTICS CENTRE OPEN FOR BUSINESS

April 14, 2014 by

Northampton, 14 April, 2014

Dachser Brackmills April14

The UK subsidiary of one of Europe’s leading global logistics players, Dachser UK, has opened its new integrated logistics centre and UK headquarters at Brackmills Business Park, Northampton.  The 16 acre site includes a 178,000 sq ft purpose-built facility is designed to help Dachser achieve optimum service efficiency for its European and UK freight distribution services.  The facility will enhance Dachser’s capabilities for cross-docking and contract logistics in particular.

The transhipment warehouse comprises 64,000 sq ft dedicated to cross-docking with 34 dock-level loading doors and 9 level-access loading doors under canopy.  There is potential for a future extension offering a further 26,000 sq ft of space and an additional 21 dock-loading doors.

The contract logistics warehouse totals 114,000 sq ft with storage space for 20,000 pallets and 8 dock-level loading doors.  With a wide aisle pallet racking configuration, this new facility will offer flexible solutions to customers for all their outsourcing supply chain needs.

“The move to our new premises was completed on 24th March and the first shipments from the facility have been completed successfully,” said Nick Lowe, Dachser UK’s Managing Director.  “This is an ideal site from a logistics viewpoint with excellent links to both the A45 and M1. Remaining in the same vicinity as our previous operational base has meant that all our existing staff have happily stayed with us to ensure service continuity.”

John Goodman, Dachser UK’s General Manager, Midlands and North, is responsible for the Northampton branch and logistics centre.  He adds, “We have seen significant increases in our European export and import volumes over the past few years.  Our new facility helps us consolidate operations for our existing and new clients under one roof.  We are delighted that our new contract logistics warehouse is now operational and look forward to further expanding our business in this area.’

Dachser UK also has branches in Dartford and Rochdale, both of which are seeing a steady growth in business volumes as the Company continues to increase its market share in the UK.  This growth has also been assisted by the opening of the Reading sales office in January 2013 which serves the M4 corridor region.  More new branches in the UK are planned for the future.

Daily line-hauls are operated from all three current locations, ensuring fast and efficient direct connections with all European destinations via Dachser’s comprehensive pan-European network.  The Company offers reliable door-to-door distribution services for palletised consignments with all the benefits of track & trace visibility and online ‘proof of delivery’ and status update system.

ENDS

ABOUT DACHSER UK

DACHSER UK is part of the Dachser group, a major international logistics provider which on 31 Dec.  2013 generated total sales worth EUR 4.99 billion. 24,900 staff working in 471 locations worldwide handled 69.9 million consignments comprising 32.9 million tonnes.

For more information, please visit  www.dachser.co.uk

Filed Under: Dachser UK

Dachser: Internationalization Fuels Growth

April 9, 2014 by

Kempten, Munich. April 9, 2014. A strong second half-year and the successful integration of the two Spanish acquisitions, Azkar and Transunion, boosted Dachser’s revenue in 2013. The logistics service provider was able to increase its gross revenue by 13.2 percent, to 4.99 billion euro. When investment income is included, the company exceeded the revenue milestone of five billion euro for first time this past fiscal year.  Dachser pushed into a new dimension of internationalization also in regard to figures for employees, locations, and shipments.

Here is an overview of the most important key indicators for 2013:

  • 13.2 percent increase in gross revenue, to 4.99 billion euro
  • 24,900 employees, 3,250 more than last year
  • 471 locations in 42 countries
  • 69.6 million shipments (up 19 percent)
  • 119 million euro invested in tangible assets

At a press conference in Munich, Dachser CEO Bernhard Simon expressed great satisfaction with the integration and business progress of the Spanish companies Azkar and Transunion, which were acquired in January 2013.  “Azkar consistently focused on international business and thereby generated the expected network effects, most notably in conjunction with our reinvigorated French country organization.

Transunion not only strengthened our sea freight business and the transatlantic routes, but also completed the integration in record time: The company has already been doing business under the Dachser name since 1/1/2014.”

Internationalization as the key driver of growth

While Food Logistics achieved an 8.2 percent increase in revenue on its own, European Logistics and Air & Sea Logistics grew primarily as the result of acquisitions. At the group level, Dachser achieved organic revenue growth of 2.3 percent. Dachser CEO Simon in this regard: “For about two years now, we have only been seeing marginal growth in the major logistics markets such as Germany. In the future, dynamic growth will be driven by international, cross-border freight services. This applies to the groupage business with industrial customers, to contract logistics, and also to food logistics, which has traditionally been set up on a regional, rather than national basis. With the start-up of the European Food Network, consisting of twelve partners in 21 European countries, we have forged a pioneering alliance in this regard—one that has greatly resonated with customers.

Gross revenue
(in billions of euro)

2013

2012

Change

European Logistics

3,019

2,661

+ 13,5%

Food Logistics

0,620

0,573

+ 8,2%

Air & Sea Logistics

1,406

1,305

+ 7,7%

Total business field revenue

5,045

4,539

—

Consolidation*
(*minus revenue from equity shareholdings of 50% or less)

-0,159

-0,129

—

Special effect*
(*excise tax settlement, prior years)

0,104

—

—

Group revenue

4,990

4,410

+ 13,2%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because shipping volumes are no longer increasing as sharply as in the past, Dachser’s substantial investment in the physical logistics infrastructure in Europe can be somewhat curtailed in the future. In 2013, 119 million euro were invested in tangible assets, primarily in new construction and expansion of branches such as in Langenau, Schönefeld, Northampton, and Lyss, Switzerland near Bern. The amount budgeted for 2014 is 110 million euro. Simon: “For the upcoming five-year period, we are budgeting an adjusted investment volume of about one billion euro.”

Many new records

Dachser set many new records in 2013. The number of employees reached 24,900 by the end of the year, with 48 percent of the workforce employed outside of Germany. The number of shipments soared to 69.6 million (a 19 percent gain), thanks to Azkar’s strong market position in the industrial parcels business. The group’s tonnage, not counting TEU, increased to 32.9 million tons (a 9 percent gain). Dachser has a network of 471 branches at its disposal and is now represented by facilities of its own in 42 countries around the world (5 more than before).

Good prospects for 2014

Bernhard Simon was optimistic about Fiscal Year 2014. Aided by the mild winter, the momentum from the 4th quarter of 2013 carried over into the new year. “Sustainable growth based on expansion of international traffic and valuable contract logistics services outside of Europe as well.” That’s the focus for 2014, as stated by Simon. “Last year, Dachser definitely matured into a worldwide company. Our task now is to strengthen local management under the umbrella of the global organization. Because consistent proximity to our customers is essential in order to keep Dachser on the path of growth in the future as well.”

About Dachser:

Dachser, a family-owned company headquartered in Kempten, Germany, is one of the leading logistics providers in Europe.

Dachser provides comprehensive transport logistics, warehousing, and customer-specific services in three business fields: Dachser European Logistics, Dachser Food Logistics, and Dachser Air & Sea Logistics. Comprehensive and multi-disciplinary services, such as contract logistics, consulting and advisory services, and industry-specific solutions round out the company’s offerings. A seamless transport network—both in Europe and overseas—and information technology that is fully integrated into all its systems provide intelligent logistics solutions worldwide.

With a staff of 25,000 employees at 471 locations all over the globe, in 2013, Dachser generated revenue of almost EUR 5 billion and handled about 70 million shipments.

For more information about Dachser, please visit www.dachser.com

Filed Under: Dachser UK

Analysis by TT Club Pinpoints Risk Issues for Logistics Operators

April 9, 2014 by

The overwhelming majority of insurance claims analysed by TT Club have showed that costly damages and loss, as well as serious bodily injury can be prevented or significantly minimised by sensible and concerted risk management efforts.

Singapore, 9th April, 2014

Speaking at this week’s TOC Container Supply Chain Asia Conference in Singapore, TT Club’s Phillip Emmanuel drew attention to the wide-range of causes leading to insurance claims by transport and logistics operators.  “While these causes are varied; ranging from theft and poor maintenance of equipment to bad cargo handling and packing and clerical error; they share in common the fact that through good training, the employment of best practices and detailed monitoring and checking procedures, the vast majority are avoidable,” emphasised Emmanuel.

Phillip Emmanuel

As a leading freight transport insurer, TT Club is in a prime position to both identify the causes of risk in the supply chain and to proffer advice on how such issues can be managed to ensure a reduction.  Such action, of course not only saves staff from injury and assets from damage but reduces insurance overheads, maintains operational efficiency by minimising interruptions and delays and keeps customers satisfied.

In making the presentation to industry leaders at the Conference Emmanuel, who is TT Club’s Regional Director, Asia-Pacific utilised a claims analysis carried out by the Club on data received over the past seven years.  Including bodily injury, property and liability, over 2,600 claims from transport and logistics operators were analysed.  A low percentage, just 5%, were caused by the weather with a quarter being due to poor maintenance of property or equipment and a large proportion, some 66% down to failures in some facet of the operation.

Emmanuel was at pains to highlight the lessons to be learned from analysis of these operational issues in particular.  “Here we found that over a half of incidents involved the internal systems and processes of the operator and another quarter were due to theft.  These types of claim are most assuredly to be placed in the category of preventable,” he said.

Transport and logistics operators are strongly urged to employ effective monitoring and checking procedures, a regular training regime and maintain industry best practice for safety and security.  The conference presentation exemplified a number of situations were cargo which was badly stowed, packed, loaded incorrectly or otherwise poorly handled caused damage and injury.  Examples of miscommunication of information about refrigerated cargo, misdeclaration of hazardous cargo and load weights, inaccurately drafted contracts with sub-contractors and a lack of IT security were all discovered in the analysis.

As a result TT Club can, and frequently does, offer effective advice on loss prevention and risk management as Emmanuel concludes, “Prevention is a combination of safe and physically secure facilities and equipment; rigorous checks and double-checks on paperwork and information flow combined with well-trained, well-motivated employees and trusted partners.”

ENDS

Note to Editors:
The TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry’s leading provider of insurance and related risk management services. Established in 1968, the Club’s membership comprises ship operators, ports and terminals, road, rail and airfreight operators, logistics companies and container lessors. As a mutual insurer, the Club exists to provide its policyholders with benefits, which include specialist underwriting expertise, a world-wide office network providing claims management services, and first class risk management and loss prevention advice.

 

For further information please contact:

Tally Judge, Marketing Manager, TT Club

Tel: +44 (0)20 7204 2632

E-mail: tally.judge@thomasmiller.com

www.ttclub.com

 

Filed Under: TT Club

Geodis Wilson APPOINTS NEW GLOBAL DIRECTOR – FMCG

April 3, 2014 by

Paris,3 April 2014

Global freight management company Geodis Wilson has announced the appointment of Mark Ness as new Global Industry Director – FMCG  (Fast Moving Consumer Goods).

Mark’s appointment reflects the importance to Geodis Wilson managing growth in the highly volatile FMCG – Retail ‘vertical’ – a truly global market sector in constant flux, with ever greater product ranges, faster item turnovers, and an increasing demand for flexible, transparent and seamless supply chain management.

Says Mark,“ I am looking forward to meeting the challenges of evolving consumer demand through continuous enhancement of Geodis Wilson’s technology, know-how and services.  My aim will be to support our clients’ needs for continuous improvement in business analytics, operational cost-efficiency, and supply chain control”.

Ness has been more than 25 years in the logistics industry with a significant amount of time focused on the FMCG business.  The majority of his career has been spent with logistics service providers but he was also employed for five years by Kellogg’s, where his understanding of the FMCG sector from the customer’s perspective was significantly enhanced.

Ness’s career to date spans a wide variety of roles and skills, both commercial and operational. He joins Geodis Wilson from DHL Supply Chain where he was Vice-President Development, Transformational Solutions from 2011. Before that he held positions in business development and account management at Wincanton (2006 – 11), DHL Exel (2004 – 6), Tibbett & Britten (1994 – 1998, 2004), and The Kellogg Company (1998 – 2003).

ENDS

About Geodis Wilson and the Geodis Group

Geodis Wilson is a leading, global freight management company. With around 9,000 employees in 61 countries the company delivers tailor-made, integrated logistics solutions to customers enabling them to operate as ‘best in class.’ Geodis Wilson – with a revenue of 2,67 bn € in 2013 – is the freight forwarding arm of Geodis Group which became part of the French rail and freight group SNCF in 2008. SNCF Geodis ranks among the top 7 companies in its field in the world.

For more information about Geodis Wilson go to – www.geodiswilson.com

Filed Under: GEODIS

MENLO CONTINUES INTEGRATION OF MAQUET’S LOGISTICS FUNCTION AT A CENTRALIZED EUROPEAN HUB

April 1, 2014 by

 

MAQUET is a global leader in the provision of medical systems and utilizes the supply chain management expertise of Menlo Worldwide Logistics for the distribution of a variety of its products across Europe.  MAQUET  belongs to Getinge group in Sweden which acquired the French domiciled company, Datascope in 2009. Menlo has been tasked with integrating the additional product supply requirements into Menlo’s logistics hub in Eersel, Netherlands, where much of MAQUET’s existing inventory is handled.

Amsterdam, 31st  March 2014

Menlo, the global logistics and supply chain management unit of Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW), has implemented the second stage of the planned centralization of warehousing  activities for the former Datascope’s finished goods.  This move, completed in September, has freed up space at MAQUET’s La Ciotat facility on the Mediterranean coast of France, which enables an expansion of the manufacturing capacity there.  The former Datascope product range is now centrally distributed across Europe from Eersel, as are the other brands produced by the Getinge group of companies, including MAQUET and ArjoHuntleigh.

“The integration of inventory management and the distribution function of Datascope’s product lines with those of our group’s existing output has been critical to us in realizing the economies of scale that in part motivated our acquisition, “ explains Frank Kozar, Vice President Global Supply Chain at MAQUET. “By employing the services of a tried and trusted logistics partner in Menlo, we have ensured that the integration process was achieved successfully.  After the Datascope purchase five years ago, we first moved the European warehouse and distribution function for our US manufactured product lines to Menlo’s facility.  The initial plan has now come to fruition this similar move of our French produced medical devices ,” he said.

In commenting on the conclusion of the two-phase process centered at one of Menlo’s key multi-user facilities in Eersel, Tony Gunn, Menlo’s Managing Director, Europe commented, “The medical device sector creates demands of logistics providers that are particular and challenging.  The sector is fast becoming a core vertical for us at Menlo as a result of our culture that values long-term commitment to customer relationships. Our abilities to adapt rapidly to changing market demands are also especially relevant to this sector.  We are excited by the possibilities of increased efficiency we have brought to MAQUET’s operation as a whole, aiding the company to continue its market expansion in Europe and globally.”

In addition to reduced costs and increased inventory accuracy and visibility for MAQUET, Menlo contributes its expertise in the implementation of Lean principles to supply chain management; something that is strongly valued by MAQUET and others in the Getinge group.

ENDS

About Menlo Worldwide Logistics Europe

In Europe, Menlo Worldwide Logistics maintains seventeen dedicated and multi-client logistics centers located in the Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany and the United Kingdom. This warehouse network can serve as pan-European distribution solution using one or several facilities.

Supply chain and transport management solutions as well as 3PL, warehousing and distribution services are offered to a variety of vertical industry sectors including: fashion & apparel; healthcare and medical equipment; hi-tech electronic and data network equipment; automotive; defence and government services and retail e-fulfilment. The European headquarters is at the multi-client Amsterdam Distribution Centre in the Netherlands.

www.menloworldwide.com/europe

Follow Menlo Worldwide Logistics on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MenloLogistics

About Menlo Worldwide Logistics

Menlo Worldwide Logistics, LLC, is a US$1.6 billion global provider of logistics, transportation management and supply chain services with operations in five continents, including North America. As a third-party logistics provider, San Francisco, California-based Menlo Worldwide Logistics’ services range from dedicated contract logistics to warehouse and distribution management, transportation management, supply chain reengineering and other value-added services including packaging, kitting, order fulfillment and light assembly through a strategic network of multi-client and dedicated facilities.

With more than 17 million square feet of dedicated warehouse space in North America, the Asia Pacific, Europe and Latin America, and industry-leading technologies, Menlo Worldwide Logistics creates effective, integrated solutions for the transportation and distribution needs of leading businesses around the world. Menlo Worldwide Logistics, LLC, is a subsidiary of Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW), a $5.3 billion diversified freight transportation and logistics company.

www.con-way.com.

About MAQUET 

MAQUET has been a trusted partner of hospitals and doctors for more than 175 years. The company is also a world-leading provider of medical systems that meet the highest requirements for medically challenging interventions. At the same time, these systems exceed the expectations of the hospital teams that are responsible for the care of patients. MAQUET designs, develops and sells innovative treatment solutions and infrastructure functions for extremely demanding hospital departments, including operating rooms, hybrid operating rooms, catheter laboratories and intensive care units as well as intra- and inter-hospital patient transportation.

With its headquarters in Rastatt, Germany, MAQUET is the largest subsidiary of the GETINGE Group, which is listed on the stock exchange. With over € 1.54 billion in 2013, MAQUET exceeded half of the € 2.92 billion annual turnover of the group. MAQUET employs more than 6,550 members of staff at 45 international sales and service organizations and maintains a network of about 300 sales partners. For more information, visit www.maquet.com.

MAQUET – The Gold Standard

www.maquet.com

www.getingegroup.com

Filed Under: Menlo Logistics
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