Tailored solutions

Mr. Wollmann, you’ve been overseeing all of DACHSER’s global industry solutions since the middle of last year. What appeals to you about this task?

I’ve always found it fascinating to consider things from the customer’s perspective. This is the way to create integrated logistics concepts that really add value and that enhance our customers’ logistics balance sheets, which is very much in line with the DACHSER mission. Since there’s a certain amount of overlap in logistics requirements within an industry, a concept developed for one customer can often work for many others as well. This can then help create global solutions that prove successful on the market.

Can you give some examples?

Such solutions combine specific industry expertise with proven services within DACHSER’s global logistics network. This lets us offer tailored logistics solutions to specific industries, while still meeting global standards of quality. Prime examples of this are DACHSER DIY Logistics for the home improvement sector and DACHSER Chem Logistics for the chemical industry.

Take us back in time for a moment. When did DACHSER establish its Corporate Solutions Division?

That’s a long story, which begins in 1998 with DACHSER DIY Logistics. Back then, suppliers and especially retailers in the building and home improvement sector were recognizing the significance of the value that logistics adds. At that time, retailers were trying to reshape logistics to fit their interests by using the pull principle to gain more flexibility. Manufacturers, however, wanted to stick with the push principle, which they found more predictable. This resulted in real power struggles between those involved.

What was DACHSER able to do in this situation?

When we were creating our new industry solution, we took a really close look at the market and configured logistics processes that resulted in a win-win situation for both industry and retail. That was when the DACHSER DIY Logistics Pipeline was born, our flagship for the integrated and continuous flow of goods and information—from global procurement through to delivery. At the time, incidentally, that still only included bricks-and-mortar retailers. Since then, we’ve been continuously developing the Pipeline—for example to include delivery to private customers—so that we now offer the full range of omnichannel logistics. Suppliers and retailers alike benefit from the synergy created by bundling deliveries—in keeping with sector requirements—to today’s total of over 18,000 DIY and garden centers across Europe.

How did this development continue?

Our next milestone was DACHSER Chem Logistics in 2007. DACHSER already had very successful working relationships with numerous companies in the chemical industry. Following an in-depth analysis of the various industry segments, requirement profiles, and the corresponding opportunities, this provided a solid foundation from which to launch our own industry solution.

Since then, DACHSER has expanded its focus to include additional industries, always asking the central question: Where can we offer our customers tangible benefits by pooling our expertise? We went on to create DACHSER Automotive Logistics, DACHSER Fashion Logistics, and DACHSER Life Science and Healthcare Logistics—very closely linking the global markets for our customers and connecting them to the European overland transport network. We’re also about to launch DACHSER Cosmetics Logistics to meet the specific requirements of the cosmetics industry—first in France and then expanding to other places from 2023 onward.

What innovations came about with the establishment of these solutions?

An excellent example from DACHSER Fashion Logistics is Roll&GOH, a rolling container DACHSER developed for transporting both flat and hanging garments; in the fashion industry, GOH stands for “garment on hanger.” We designed Roll&GOH to be very efficient when used in our network. It’s especially well-suited for challenging deliveries to stores and malls in the city centers of European metropolitan areas—and not just for fashion products.