Ideas that shape the future
In 2014, DACHSER launched its strategic focus program, Idea2net. It is founded on the conviction that there was a great deal to be gained from involving all employees in the ideas and innovation process—gains for DACHSER, its employees, and its customers. Over the past ten years, Idea2net has not only met expectations but has often greatly exceeded them, and yielded results that are transforming day-to-day logistics.
Innovations are like flashes of inspiration: they don’t appear out of nowhere. Instead, they require fertile ground on which to develop and mature. It’s a process that doesn’t happen overnight and calls for patience and favorable growth conditions. In 2024, DACHSER is celebrating ten years of its Idea2net strategic focus program—a decade full of innovation and advances.
What began as an initiative to structure innovation processes and to involve employees in idea generation in a more focused way has evolved into an integral part of DACHSER’s corporate strategy. “Courage to innovate is one of our core values—and innovation is the basis for our company’s commercial success and long-term survival,” says DACHSER hser CEO Burkhard Eling.
This is where Idea2net comes in: as a holistic platform through which DACHSER collects and structures ideas from throughout its network and develops them into tangible projects. “It’s rarely stand-alone ideas that propel us forward. Rather, it’s networking and the pooling and sharing of knowledge that give rise to innovation,” says Chief Development Officer (CDO) Stefan Hohm.
On a course for a sustainable future
“Innovation calls for us to be courageous and agile, while focusing on providing our customers with added value,” Eling says. That’s why he feels it’s important to think of innovation as a process that is driven by management but that is also firmly rooted in the bedrock of the company: the employees at the branches.
DACHSER created the @ILO Idea2net project, a pioneering digital map of all packages, assets, and procedures in groupage logistics—a paradigm shift in how transit terminals are organized that is now catching on across Europe. In recognition of this innovation, DACHSER and its research partner Fraunhofer IML received the prestigious German Logistics Award in 2023.
“What impresses me time and again is the innovative spirit that resides within our DACHSER family. The way our employees contribute their ideas makes it possible for us to find new, often surprising approaches that drive our company forward.”
Innovations from practice, for practice
A key part of the success of Idea2net is ensuring that the ideas gathered from employees’ day-to-day experience dovetail with the company’s strategic goals. “The many suggestions and experience- based concepts that emerge locally at our branches are a valuable source of innovations—some even with global implications,” Hohm says.
DACHSER has set itself on a clear course. The general concept of Idea2net is not merely to gather ideas, but also to translate these into concrete projects wherever possible. Systematically bundling individual ideas into what are known as Idea2net clusters leads to the development of solutions that can actually be put into practice and add tangible value to the network. These include things like new digitalization tools as well as many minor process optimizations to increase efficiency.
Ideas for "DACHSER Climate Protection"
Moreover, Idea2net has proved to be a catalyst for the topic of sustainability. A global ideas campaign related to the DACHSER Climate Protection program yielded more than 2,000 ideas, of which over two-thirds have already been processed, further developed, or implemented. This is yet another illustration of how effective the network is. “The wealth of ideas emerging from the network is impressive. Bundling and then implementing this multitude of innovative approaches is a key element of our success,” Hohm says.
Progress in day-to-day logistics
All this has a big effect on day-to-day logistics operations. As part of the Idea2net Digital Documents project, for instance, 4,734 document folders were digitalized and 712 clipboard processes eliminated. Thanks to the Telematics project, DACHSER has 8,500 swap bodies equipped with internet-of-things devices, which makes it possible to track the majority of long-distance transports in real time and estimate their time of arrival.
Through the City Distribution project, DACHSER has brought emission-free delivery to 16 European city centers to date, and a further eight are expected to be added by the end of 2025. DACHSER Emission-Free Delivery won an award in the German Federal Competition for Sustainable Urban Logistics.
“We’re excited to see where else Idea2net will lead us,” Eling says. “One thing is clear: we’ve set a course for innovation—and DACHSER is determined to stay on it.”
