Added value for customers
After the acquisition by DACHSER in January 2023, Müller Fresh Food Logistics has also been a member of the European Food Network since January 1, 2024. In this interview, Managing Director Jan-Peter Müller explains how his customers from the retail, food production and catering sectors benefit from the strong European network for general cargo food transportation.
Mr. Müller, with the takeover of your company Müller Fresh Food Logistics by DACHSER and also as a new member of the European Food Network, you have full access to the services of the strongest logistics network for food transport in Europe. To what extent does this confirm your decision to sell your family business?
Jan-Peter Müller: Surely the international growth opportunities as part of DACHSER were a key point. In the past, we saw ourselves more as a local hero. Good 80 percent of our turnover we generated in the Netherlands. The remaining 20 percent were achieved in the other Benelux countries and in the UK. Now we can use the network to distribute food from the Netherlands to almost everywhere in Europe. This gives us a unique selling point in the market. From now on, we can transport temperature-controlled foodstuffs to 34 European countries efficiently and safely via the European Food Network using regular scheduled services with fixed transit times. This is a real added value for our customers, which they really appreciate and to which they have responded throughout positively.
Didn’t you expect that?
Jan-Peter Müller: In a way I did. The Netherlands is one of the leading food export nations in Europe. From this point of view, it is a real win-win situation that Müller is now part of DACHSER. For our customers, for DACHSER, for the member companies in the European Food Network and for Müller Fresh Food Logistics itself. Because we can expand our export business, DACHSER can push exports to the Netherlands and our network partners benefit from the general cargo shipments from the Netherlands to their home countries and from the exports to our home country.
You have been part of the DACHSER family only for a few months. Did you already gain new business?
Jan-Peter Müller: Yes, we were able to generate new business. Without listing them all here, for example, we are distributing the products of a major German producer in the milk processing industry in the Netherlands and have also taken on tasks in the area of contract logistics. Concerning the international general cargo distribution, we were able to acquire one of the leading cheese exporters from the Netherlands as a new customer just in time for the start of our membership in the European Food Network.
You are certainly working hard to ensure a smooth logistical and technical connection to the DACHSER network and the European Food Network. Which projects are you currently focusing on?
Jan-Peter Müller: Our main focus this year lies on connecting and synchronizing our IT systems and processes as well as integrating our employees into the DACHSER family. It is a great advantage that DACHSER and the companies in the European Food Network are family-run and foster a corporate culture characterized by medium-sized companies. This includes values such as trust and reliability as well as long-term oriented action. In particular, we attach great importance to the satisfaction of our employees and live this throughout. When companies that share a common corporate culture join forces, integration is much easier.
But we are also pushing the technical integration because we want to achieve full connectivity of the IT systems as quickly as possible. We certainly have a powerful IT system, but DACHSER's IT systems are in a different league. Regarding to our customers in particular, we will be able to offer even more comprehensive information and customized solutions in the future. For example, we can provide to our export customers the DACHSER eLogistics portal with its proven tracking and tracing information and digitally available proof of delivery.
DACHSER plays a pioneering role in the logistics industry when it comes to digitalization.
Jan-Peter Müller: I once said in an interview that we are in the process of developing from a teenager into an adult. By this I wanted to say that with the sale we've set the right course for the future viability of Müller Fresh Food Logistics. This applies to digitalization in the area of logistics, but also with regard to the climate transition, for example. All these challenges that lie ahead are almost impossible for medium-sized logistics companies to tackle on their own. This also benefits all members of the European Food Network, who maintain a very open exchange of experience. DACHSER already has several e-trucks and e-cargo bikes in use, while Galliker in Switzerland uses hydrogen trucks, to name just a few examples. We benefit from the network's experience and can therefore implement future technologies even faster.
Mr. Müller, you have been helping out at Müller Fresh Food Logistics since you were a little boy, washing the vehicles and driving tours as a student - you are a born logistician, so to speak. What do you like about your job?
Jan-Peter Müller: The dynamics of logistics, working with people and getting to know them and their cultures better. And as a foodie who enjoys specialties from other countries, I also love making the excellent cheese from the Netherlands available to end customers throughout Europe and, in return, spoiling my fellow citizens with excellent food from other countries.
Thank you for the informative interview.
