express nightstar Customer magazine 4/2015 NEW WORK ENVIRONMENTS 4.0 INTERCONNECTION OF MAN AND MACHINE
EDITORIAL COMPANY NEWS 2015 THE WORLD IN MOTION WELL-EARNED RETIREMENT KARL ENGELHARD Karl Engelhard, Chief Representative of Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, started his well-earned retirement on 31 October 2015. The 71-year-old has left the Night Star Express shareholder Hellmann Worldwide Logistics after more than 20 years at the head of the company. As a member of the Hellmann Main Board, he was responsible for sales, marketing and product management, and therefore also for the Night Star Express product line. A new chapter in his life now begins in Bremen, where he was based throughout his time with the company. Asked whether he was looking forward to retirement, Engelhard answers: I concur with Martin Luther, who once said Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. On that note, Night Star Express wishes Karl Engelhard all the best, happiness and above all good health as he goes into retirement. I 2 I In physics, motion is a change in position of an object with respect to time. This is the rather matter-of-fact definition of motion on Wikipedia. Time and motion are two terms that shape logistics in general and that are obviously also important to us as a provider of overnight express services. After all, we transport our customers goods to their recipients in very little time and by the quickest route. Looking back at 2015 and looking ahead to the year to come, it is fair to say that we at Night Star Express once again set a lot in motion and not just consignments. We are able to stay strong in spite of a difficult market environment. In addition to achieving steady growth in consignment numbers, we realised two important IT projects: the returns tool and the central recipient database. We can also look back on a successful attendance at the transport logistic trade fair in Munich. And as usual, we have big plans for the coming year, because delivering quality and service remains our priority. One example of this is our expansion of the newly introduced premium services at weekends. On behalf of the entire Night Star Express team, I would like to wish you a peaceful Christmas and all the best for the new year. Best regards, Ihr Matthias Hohmann ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND LEGAL NOTICE Issue 60 no. 4/2015 Circulation: 4,700 copies Languages: German, English, Dutch Published by: Night Star Express GmbH Logistik, Unna Editor-in-chief: Christine Kuhlmann, central coordination office in Unna (christine.kuhlmann@night-star-express.de) Heinrich-Hertz-Straße 1, 59423 Unna, Germany Tel.: +49 (0)2303 98688-0 Fax: +49 (0)2303 98688-67 Editorial board: Kirsten Willenborg, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics Carolin Heinrichs, Zufall logistics Group Benjamin Mäße, Night Star Express Sales, Spedition Gertner GmbH Marcel Tüscher, Night Star Express Schweiz AG Josef Schöllhuber, G. Englmayer, Spedition GmbH, Austria Wim Mulder und Robert Overgoor, Night Star Express Hellmann B.V. All of the above can be contacted via: Editor-in-chief Editorial team: Tina Pfeiffer-Dresp, transparent (tptransparent@t-online.de) Marienstraße 4, 58642 Iserlohn-Letmathe, Germany Tel.: +49 (0)2374 50399-11 Fax: +49 (0)2374 503380 www.tptransparent.de Design: Y-Design, Michael Franz (info@ydesign-online.de), Burchardtstraße 5 63741 Aschaffenburg, Germany, www.ydesign-online.de Tel.: +49 (0)6021 929783 Fax: +49 (0)6021 929782 Copy deadline for issue no. 1/2016: 26 January 2016 Date of publication for issue no. 1/2016: Week 12 - March 2016 Bylined articles do not necessarily reflect the editorial team s opinion. The editorial team reserves the right to shorten any readers letters which are published for space reasons. Please send articles, letters and comments straight to Christine Kuhlmann, Night Star Express GmbH Logistik in Unna (address above).
NEWS STAFF WEEKEND NIGHT STAR EXPRESS "TEAM TIME" STAFF-WEEKEND HITTING THE HEIGHTS, RISING THROUGH THE RANKS AND ACHIEVING TOP SPEEDS It s 12 September 2015 and there s an area of high pressure over Schlitz, a small and idyllic town in the heart of Germany not far from Bad Hersfeld, so the temperature is 22 degrees. Once again, the nightstars have struck it lucky with the weather for this year s staff weekend. And this time, they hit the heights in the great outdoors. More than 100 members of staff from all over Germany and neighbouring countries travelled to the high ropes course in Schlitz for the staff weekend entitled Teamzeit (Team Time). Today isn t about winning in individual disciplines. It s about overcoming challenges as part of a team, said Matthias Hohmann in his words of welcome. You will have to rise to challenges in various demanding disciplines today. I hope you enjoy our Team Time activities, he said, before leaving the team sporting blue and yellow in the capable hands of the high ropes course trainers. Eight trainers, eight disciplines, eight Night Star Express teams. Before long, eight teams had been formed and the activities began, with the aim of boosting people s personal confidence and helping the individuals to bond as a group. This is because most of the activities could only be completed on the basis of teamwork. THE DISCIPLINES Tackling the TEAM TASKS with get-upand-go, fun and some grey matter Rising through the ranks with CRATE STACKING TEAM BIKE Tour de Schlitz Hitting the heights on the HIGH ROPES COURSE The height of skilful manoeuvring around a SEGWAY obstacle course Hitting the bullseye in ARCHERY High speed on a QUAD After five hours of physical activity that featured numerous highlights and that really pushed the participants, they were exhausted but happy. And at the end of an eventful day, the nightstars were treated to a delicious barbecue and a keg of beer. HIGHS AND GREAT GROUP DYNAMICS That was just fantastic, it was so much fun, said Josef Schöllhuber, Englmayer, Austria. We aimed high and we mastered the challenge as a team. Even though I was quite literally on the ropes by the end! he grins, as one of the day s high-flyers. There was an impressive team dynamic and we were more than able to complete the tasks by pulling together. I would therefore like to say a big thank-you to the organisers at the central coordination office. It was simply brilliant. If I could make a request, it would be that we do exactly the same again next year. I m looking forward to it already! I 3 I
CUSTOMER PORTRAIT BMW HODENHAGEN FULL INTEGRATION IN THE NORTH BMW HODENHAGEN There is a 12,000 m 2 spare parts depot for the brands BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad tucked away on an industrial estate in the town of Hodenhagen. And as inconspicuous as it is, what goes on behind the white walls of the warehouse is really rather impressive. This is where everything from brake discs and rear windows to coolant is stored for BMW Group dealerships in northern Germany. I 4 I Left to right: Carsten Hermanski (operations management), Tobias Gumtow, Manuel Wetzel, Johannes Philipper (all Hellmann Worldwide Logistics), Alexander Bosniakowski (BMW service provider management)
CUSTOMER PORTRAIT BMW HODENHAGEN Hellmann Night Star Express assumed responsibility for overnight distribution for the automobile manufacturer BMW in northern Germany and around Kassel in May 2015. A dedicated fleet of vehicles is used to make 20 trips to deliver spare parts to more than 190 dealerships every night. This calls for some major coordination, and this is best managed with direct access to the customer. Which is why an office was set up at the BMW Group, for three full-time Hellmann employees to see to it that the business runs smoothly day in, day out. Because it is important to the BMW Group that the spare parts needed by the dealerships can be delivered to them extremely quickly. 29-year-old Dominik Chwalek is one of the Hellmann employees based in Hodenhagen. For him, witnessing the BMW Group s business activities every day is something quite special. There are some major advantages to being right where the customer is. You can see exactly how business is developing from day to day. And that allows us to react very quickly and to remedy minor problems before they get out of hand. As we work together in the same place, we can clarify transportation issues and the technical procedures directly, without there being any delays in the value chain. In addition, the depot in Hodenhagen is replenished with stocks of spare parts every day by a shuttle delivery from the distribution centre in Dingolfing. The Hellmann super lorry is in its element here. The super lorry is the best means of transport on this route it allows the various small parts that get delivered each night to all be handled in one journey from Dingolfing this is efficiency at its best, says Johannes Philipper, Automotive Account Manager at Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. Returns, empties and complaints are obviously also a part of day-to-day business within the BMW Group. Parts being returned due to complaints are loaded onto rail transport by Hellmann Rail Solutions in Lehrte and are sent back down south. There are therefore all sorts of modes of transport in use for this Hellmann spare parts depot. Be it in the field or in the supply chain, the workers in Hodenhagen are fully integrated into the business! Dominik Chwalek I 5 I
COVER STORY INDUSTRY 4.0 A NEW FORM OF INTERACTION: MAN AND MASCHINE IN THE AGE OF DIGITISATION I 6 I
COVER STORY INDUSTRY 4.0 At the latest since the discussions regarding Industry 4.0 in production and its impact on logistics service providers, we have been aware that digitisation is something that affects all aspects of logistics. We cannot make the most of opportunities in the long run if we separate the flow of information in the areas of production, procurement and distribution. We need to think holistically and see digitisation as both an opportunity and a challenge. By Prof. Uwe Clausen Director, Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) Logistics has always been about planning and managing the flow of goods and information. The opportunities we are now presented with will allow us to improve value added, flexibility and quality in the area of logistics by means of digitisation. The principle behind digitisation is nothing new, and in particular CEP and overnight express services are familiar with establishing, operating and benefiting from consignment tracking systems as an example of the flow of information all along the logistics chain. But what s currently changing is the speed of the developments and the penetration of all the processes because of digitisation. This development is being driven by two things. Firstly, there is much better availability of technologies that facilitate the inexpensive collection and processing of data in the areas of production and assembly, goods in and goods out, vehicles, containers, trans-shipment and sorting systems. And secondly, individuals are a key driving force in their capacity as an employee and a customer who purchases digital expertise and has expectations. And it is not logistics that has been people s priority it is mobility, online retail and social networks that we have learned to use with our apps online and on smartphones. This experience and these ideas are transposed to other areas and we can envisage having access to the relevant information about the goods, the customer s wishes or the downstream process anywhere along the logistics chain. This ability and knowing what information we wish to use will be a major driving force behind digitisation in the logistics chain in the future. We need to make sure that someone within our own company can know something before it becomes known within the competitors business. We need to put in place the digital parameters to provide the flexibility already offered to customers by the competition. Obviously, structures and processes for this need to be put to the test before any decisions can be made regarding hard- and software. In the field of transport logistics, we are committed to the concept of smart transportation logistics. In transport and logistics systems, we want to use geolocation and identification to create the parame- I 7 I
COVER STORY INDUSTRY 4.0 exchanged via a secure data space which is available across companies will it become more affordable and the cooperative use of space or vehicles will become more appea- ling. Here, too, the trendsetter will likely be mobility with intermodal routing or electronic versions of the ridesharing company, such as flinc and BlaBlaCar. Transport itself will probably likewise be a lot more automated in the future. The technology for this already exists, as demonstra- ted by everything from the Daimler autono- I 8 I ters for all the stakeholders to be able to use consignment tracking and communication throughout the logistics chain to acquire information more quickly and more reliably, to then be in a position to react more quickly. This ability to retrieve information can be improved both by information flowing in advance and the central availability of data and by decentralised intelligent vehicles, cargo and loading equipment. In intralogistics, we can already see how intelligent containers are able to make decisions at the local level within systems. In the future of transport and trans-shipment systems, more and more vehicles will be identified automatically upon arrival and loading equipment will communicate their destination and their status at the time of unloading. Access to this and other data online allows for better decisions regarding routing, handling priorities or necessary service tasks. There is strong evidence to suggest that the human factor is actually becoming more important when it comes to data being interpreted and decision-making leeway being used. In retail, information about product availability could be incorporated into customer services to a greater extent and, vice versa, details of customer wishes could be incorporated into forecast and marketing tools insofar as this is possible with just a few mouse clicks. Where production and distribution meet, details about which customer is waiting for which product (and how urgent the delivery is) can be incorporated into the delivery management processes. Customer services and added value services can be incorporated into distribution if information regarding previous sales with a customer, the products lifespan or maintenance intervals, or innovations that relate to the customers needs can be made readily available. When mobile phones are delivered, the delivery agents will enquire about old phones if they have prior knowledge of them and if they have ecological arguments and financial incentives for collecting them. Talking of recycling management and logistics, some people are unaware that waste disposal companies were among the first to fit their containers with RFID chips, and in the future digitisation will mean that the collection of commercial waste will be initiated based on needs, and invoicing and waste reports will be generated automatically. In another future scenario, we at the IML are working on the creation of urban data space. In particular, this involves improving cooperation in the area of supply and disposal in conurbations on the basis of efficient communications, because until now the transaction costs involved in city logistics projects have been too high. Only when needs and services are digitised and can be mous truck to the Google self-driving car. It is also clear that, in addition to the technical issues that remain unresolved, in particular in the parts of the infrastructure that are less developed and marked than the autobahn, there are above all unresolved legal issues and it will take years to come to fruition after any pilot projects. The interaction of man and machine, including vehicles, marks the dawn of a new and exciting era. Digitisation is a major driving force in the logistics of the future.
NEWS SIX-DAY WEEK NOW EVEN MORE OVERNIGHT EXPRESS DELIVERIES NOW SIX DAYS A WEEK Night Star Express s first-class overnight express services are now available on six delivery days a week in Germany. Our customers can now reckon with Saturday as a permanent dispatch day, to henceforth also make deliveries to parcel recipients at the weekend. Using a smaller transport network, we are offering a premium service in which urgent goods are collected on Saturday for delivery anywhere in Germany by 8.00 a.m. on Sunday morning. As such, we are offering more service for your own services. Until now, the overnight express service at the weekend has primarily been used by horse breeders during the breeding season from March to August and by agricultural machinery manufacturers, explains Joachim Zeuch, Project Manager at Night Star Express GmbH Logistik. But in recent months, we have succeeded in getting more and more customers interested in our weekend service. These customers in other sectors have already been using the usual overnight express service from Monday to Friday for years to supply delivery recipients with all the goods they need by 8.00 a.m., in plenty of time before the start of the working day. With the addition of another delivery day, we are making it possible for these and, of course, all other customers to further improve their own services by being able to further reduce their downtimes. We arrange the Saturday collection times with each of our customers individually and can guarantee these collection times if notification of consignments to be collected is given by 12.00 p.m. The goods are then delivered to the rightful recipients anywhere in Germany by 8.00 a.m. on Saturday. Deliveries can also be made to Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. If the goods delivered are not needed on Sunday, they are already there for the start of work on Monday morning. I 9 I
NEWS SALES TASK FORCE WHEN THE CUSTOMER THREATENS WITH WORK SALES TASK FORCE I 10 I In simple terms, a sales division sells a provider s products or services to its customers. At first glance, this would appear to be a relatively straightforward task. But invitations to tender for large-scale logistics projects are anything but straightforward. They are highly complex and comprise various requirements that have to be assessed. Major invitations to tender can only be processed successfully with the appropriate expertise. In-depth knowledge of transport network processes, IT and the competition are just some of the factors that have to be taken into account when processing an invitation to tender. Staying on the ball is therefore very important for the personal success of a sales representative. And the regular exchange of information among co-workers creates a solid basis for keeping possession of the ball. The transfer of know-how is thus one of the primary objectives of this task force. It primarily focuses on sharing competition information and market developments. General trends and developments are also identified and discussed. THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE MEET REGULARLY TO EXCHANGE INFORMATION: Monika Kricke Eiltrans Nachtverteilerservice Thorsten Junk CretschmarCargo Benjamin Mäße Spedition Gertner Jens Seidel ZUFALL logistics group Stephan Meyer Hellmann Worldwide Logistics Sascha Ullrich Night Star Express Honold Ralph Sachse Key Account Manager, central coordination office Joachim Zeuch Sales Project Manager, central coordination office Matthias Hohmann, Managing Director of Night Star Express GmbH Logistik, enjoys guest status
NEWS NORLA 2015 A HIGH OLD TIME WAY UP NORTH FOUR SUCCESSFUL DAYS AT NORLA The blue and yellow team of the Night Star Express shareholder 17111 Transit Transport & Logistik GmbH & Co. KG charmingly presented itself to the approximately 70,000 visitors who attended Norla, the biggest agricultural and consumer fair in northern Germany, held in Rendsburg from 3 to 6 September 2015. Prominently located directly opposite the entrance to the outdoor area, the team s stand area was a real eye-catcher for the vi- sitors thanks to the sparkling first-class van parked there. The team headed by Katja Thomsen and Tom Lassen-Thomsen gave expert advice to many visitors who enquired about the urgent overnight delivery of goods. In addition to nurturing their close ties with existing customers during the fair, the two account managers Klaus Rohwer and Marc Thies forged links with a great many potential new customers. Another positive aspect for the Transit team was that a number of school groups showed interest in their stand area and were therefore approached by team members, allowing them to also present Transit as a training company in a very personal way. Everyone in northern Germany agreed that this year s fair was a resounding success, and the company already plans to attend again in 2016. I 11 I
EUROPE CROATIA MORE THAN JUST A HOLIDAY DESTINATION! Croatia conjures up images first and foremost of sunshine, the sea, clear water, beaches and dense forests. We think of it as a holiday paradise in the south-east of Europe. But it goes without saying that Croatia has plenty to offer in economic sectors other than simply tourism. I 12 I This is something that G. Englmayer realised very early on, so he founded the company Englmayer Zagreb d.o.o. in Croatia s capital, Zagreb, in 2001. The company s current premises, which it moved into in 2013, com- Deliveries can be made to anywhere in Croatia from Zagreb within 24 hours. And when you take a closer look at a map of Croatia, the challenges this entails soon become apparent. For example, to get to Dubrovnik, you have to cross a stretch of a few kilometres belonging to the neighbouring country Bosnia, as this is where Bosnia has access to the Adriatic Sea. The company is active in many fields, such as agricultural machinery and tools, and is also strongly affiliated with the automotive sector, as is the entire group. Its portfolio of services ranges from scheduled deliveries of spare parts (e.g. for Ford, DAF, Renault and Volvo Trucks) to procurement logistics and automobile production. Full truckload (FTL) and less than truckload (LTL) business also account for a large proportion of the compaprise approximately 2,000 m2 of trans-shipment and logistics space and 400 m2 of office space which is used by 19 members of staff. Geographically speaking, it s the ideal location, explains Igor Matanovic, who has been head of Englmayer Zagreb since 2012. We can be on the motorway heading in any direction in a matter of minutes, and the city centre is close by too. Approximately 100,000 consignments are handled in the general cargo and express delivery segments every year, both for national and international delivery. A consignment collected from the customer in Hamburg by Night Star Express late in the afternoon is dispatched to Zagreb in less than 36 hours, where it can then be delivered immediately. Only a delivery by plane would be quicker!
EUROPE CROATIA HEADS OF G. ENGLMAYER GROUP COMPANIES MEET IN CROATIA ny s activities. The portfolio is rounded out by warehouse logistics and customs services. With Croatia s accession to the EU in July 2013, the transport business there changed a great deal. Customs clearance ceased to apply and Croatia s borders with the EU were opened for the movement of goods. ID checks are still carried out at its borders, however, as Croatia has not yet signed up to the Schengen Agreement. But the dismantling of borders in Croatia has resulted in new opportunities and possibilities relating to the movement of goods and transport. Many things are now a lot quicker and simpler than they once were. But as Englmayer Zagreb also serves as a gateway to Bosnia, customs are, of course, still an issue. INTERNATIONAL TEAM MEETING To help the international team to bond and to regularly provide them with new input, there is an annual meeting of the heads of the G. Englmayer Group companies, and it is held in a different country every year. Croatia was chosen to host the 2015 meeting, and it was held in Zagreb in mid-october. We had the honour of hosting this year s meeting in Zagreb, explains Igor Matanovic. We held a strategy workshop and gave the participants a tour of our plant, then spent the evening at a go-kart track. A joint experience away from day-to-day business brings us even closer together. It s also extremely important in order for us to develop and pursue common goals. As is the case with our delivery service, it was all a question of speed at the go-kart track! I 13 I
EUROPE NETHERLANDS Left to right: Night Star Express Hellmann Account Manager Wim Mulder and Head of Sales Robert Overgoor are delighted with the success of their trade fair appearance. BLUE IS THE COLOUR IN ANTWERP NIGHT STAR EXPRESS HELLMANN B.V. AT THE TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS FAIR IN BELGIUM I 14 I Night Star Express Hellmann B.V. attended the TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS fair in Antwerp for the second time on 21 to 24 September 2015 and received a lot of attention. Visitor numbers were high, with numerous logistics specialists, supply chain managers, shipping agents and people interested in logistics having accepted the invitation to attend the fair held in Antwerp. Industry representatives meet there every two years to maintain business contacts, close deals and discover industry innovations. Night Star Express Hellmann once again attended the four-day fair with its parent company Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, this time with a significantly larger stand and sporting its blue and yellow corporate colours. Not only were we able to talk to existing customers during the event there were also plenty of opportunities for us to engage with potential customers, says Head of Sales Robert Overgoor in his positive review of the trade fair. We did an excellent job of presenting Night Star Express with its first-class overnight express service. The fair proved to be very popular, attracting approximately 9,000 visitors on each of the days. At times, there were so many visitors at the Night Star Express stand that Head of Sales Robert Overgoor and Account Manager Wim Mulder regularly needed assistance from the other Hellmann staff members in order to cope with the visitor numbers. The TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS fair in Antwerp has shown us that Night Star Express attending once again was very important. In addition to being able to talk to lots of existing and potential customers, we have seen that it is exactly this kind of trade fair appearance that helps us to boost our profile in Benelux, emphasises Overgoor. We therefore achieved our goal with our appearance at the fair in Antwerp, adds a delighted Wim Mulder.
EUROPE SWITZERLAND THE FIRST CLASS - OBERNIGHT-EXPRESS HUB NIGHT STAR EXPRESS CENTRAL DEPOT IN WOLFWIL, SWITZERLAND At Night Star Express Schweiz AG s 4,500 m2 central depot, Depot Manager Lena Wagegg and her team forward 7,000 to 10,000 parcels by hand a day, 70 per cent of which are handled between the hours of 6.00 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. Lena Wagegg is assisted by her deputy Josip Rados and the employees Thomas, Michael, Luca and Ilyas with data processing and distributing the goods that are delivered to and dispatched from Wolfwil by some 80 vehicles every day. The night shift team A large proportion of the consignments arriving in Wolfwil are partially packed or unpacked vehicle body panels, windscreens, long parts or bulky products that can The five- to ten-strong team at the central depot is technologically assisted with order management and driver dispatch by a cloud-based software that allows only be forwarded by hand. There for an efficient order manare therefore no conveyor belts Depot Manager agement structure and that also Lena Wagegg for automated distribution to be supports mobile devices and information found in this hall. In order to reliably forward the goods to the vehicles, they are carefully placed on trolleys that are each assigned to a different sector. These loaded sector trolleys are then passed on to the drivers in the goods receipt zone to be loaded onto the correct vehicles. In their work, the team pay especially close attention to checking all the goods for signs of damage. Any such items are filtered out immediately and a damage report is then drawn up for the customer. In addition to their management for the customers. The only manual check is to see whether there are weight and dimension deviations, which are then corrected. If the drivers present a different depot space description, these addresses are likewise revised within the IT. In addition, a key check is conducted at regular intervals to make sure that the 1,000 keys held by the drivers for customers all over Switzerland are all still coded and are therefore safe. distribution and dispatch duties, the team in Wolfwil also see to returns, outsourcing and order picking. And at all times, they work hand in hand and focus on quality. I 15 I
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