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The magazine for logistics customers and decision makers 02|2010

InterviewwithProf.RaimundKlinkneron excellent competencesand the Germanmanufacturing base

A strongfootprint inSingaporeChallenging warehousingIT for sports shoes

IntelligentIT: Countand becounted

2 www.logwin-logistics.com – Logwin Magazine – 02|10

editorial

ImprintLogwinMagazine 02|2010

PublisherLogwin AGZIR Potaschberg5, an de LaengtenL-6776 GrevenmacherPhone +352 719 690-0Fax +352 719 690-0E-Mail [email protected]

V. i. s. d. P.Mara Hancker

Titel:Pascal Hercher is Manager IT inAschaffenburg (Germany) and isresponsible for the e-commerce,tracking and forwarding systemswithin the business SegmentSolutions at Logwin

ABOUT LOGWIN

Dear Readers,

In 1941 the first digital computer in the world was based on the functions “true or false”. Today,70 years later, almost all electronic devices work thanks to the familiar binary system of onesand zeroes. And yet, plenty has changed. From PCs to the internet andmobile phones – over thepast decades, IT has had an impact on our everyday lives unlike virtually any other new develop-ment. Society and the economy have fundamentally changed. Not only has IT transformed pro-duction processes and created new branches of industry, but ultimately, without digitisationand networking, globalisation itself would be unimaginable.

And yet most of us know little about the technology we take for granted every day. “So long asit works” is what many people say. And, indeed, this basic requirement is at the heart of everysuccessful system, be it hardware or software. IT is not an end in itself. The best solution is notnecessarily the most technically intricate one; often the best solution is the one that worksreliably and therebymakes people’s lives easier over the long term. The same is true in logistics.IT has made the flow of goods and information faster, simpler andmore transparent. In this edi-tion of the LogwinMagazine we show you how companies are reaping the benefits.

As customers’ needs change and technology develops, IT solutions change too. The pace is briskand it’s not always possible, andmay not even be necessary, to follow every step.But it is crucialto remain flexible and capable of learning. What do our customers need, what can we alreadyoffer them today, what do we still need to develop? Let me be quite honest: we don’t have a com-prehensive solution for every issue right now. But we are continuing to develop by optimising ourlogistics services, while at the same time critically examining our IT systems, building on strengthsand learning from criticism.

For all the enthusiasm for IT and its apparently unlimited possibilities, however, we must notneglect three key aspects: people make logistics happen, programs cannot replace experience,and binary codes cannot replace personal dialogue.

I hope you enjoy this exciting edition!

Sincerely

Berndt-Michael WinterCEO Logwin AG

As an integrated logistics andservice provider, Logwin developcomprehensive solutions forindustry and commerce. Witha staff of 5,500 in 37 countriesaround the world, Logwin offercontract logistics, internationalair and sea freight as well astransportation solutions forroad and rail. Logwin’s custo-mised logistics solutions helpcreate sustainable growth forits customers. To find out howthis can happen for you too, logon to www.logwin-logistics.com

3www.logwin-logistics.com – Logwin Magazine – 02|10

contents

4 Count and be countedHow information technology hasrevolutionised our lives and logistics

8 “Good IT is invisible”Handling hazardous goods:Huntsman case study

10 Real and virtual interactionThe interactive flow of goods andinformation

12 Bilingual newspaper logisticsA high-pressure solution forSüddeutsche Zeitung

14 Strong footprint in SingaporeLogwin creates special warehouse IT forNew Balance sporting goods label

28 News in briefCustomers, projects and awards

30 Competition

16 E-Freight: The real deal onscreenLogwin pioneers electronic waybills

18 Interviewwith Professor Raimund Klinker,Chairman of theManufacturingExcellence Board

20 Joint effort delivers rewardsTeam performance - Synergy andflexibility with general cargo alliance24plus

22 Land of contrastsCountry report Kenya: Flourishing tradein East Africa

24 White goods on themoveDistribution for Elektrolux:How household appliancesmake it tothe shop floor

26 Power Projects for theEmiratesLogwin empowers with transformingdelivery

Focus on IT

A 21st Century imperative

Multi-faceted Kenya

Between tradition andmodernity

Süddeutsche Zeitung

Growing cooperation

224

FOCUS BACKGROUND NEWSFLASH

12


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THE RISE OF BITS & BYTES

Count and be countedCharles Babbage (1791–1871) was annoyed by errors in logarithmic tables and Konrad Zuse (1910–1995) wasbored by highly repetitive structural engineering calculations. So they each individually came upwith the samesolution 120 years apart: calculatingmachines, the precursors tomodern computers. From there itwas still a longway until IT ignited a logistics revolution.

Some of youmay still be able to remember how ‘electronic brains’ firstentered the world of work in the 1950s, largely in the commercialsphere. The first production series programmable electronic computerwas launched onto themarket in the United States in 1950 by J. PresperEckert and John Mauchly, who had developed the general purposeENIAC computer for the military. The UNIVACs (universal automaticcomputers) worked with magnetic tapes instead of punched cards.

Computer technology was also used for graphics andmusic in themid-1950s, with the first scanned colour images and the first synthesi-sers producing a range of tones and sounds by purely electronicmeans.Mainframe computers delivered forecasts for the outcome of electionsin the 1960s, as well as simplifying payroll calculations and assistinggovernment officials to process tax returns. The 1970s saw the birth ofmodern word processing systems such as the “Wang 1200” and “Word-Star”.

It was to be 20 years until computer users had global access to infor-mation via the Internet – theWorldWideWebwas released for commer-cial use in 1990. Yet again it was amilitary application which lay behindthe development. The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA)established by the US Defence Department in 1957 linked computercentres to form a network for the first time in 1960. At the same timeuniversities were also driving developments in order to provide broadacademic access to knowledge and information. The aim was to inter-connect computers in such a way that the failure of a single node wouldnot cause the whole network to crash. In 1972, Ray Tomlinson, who hadalready been involved in the development of the ARPANet, created thefirst e-mail program. In 1984 the University of Karlsruhe was the firstrecipient of electronicmail in Germany.

IT systems for logistics

Information technology had long been employed for scientific, militaryand accounting purposes before it made its way into other areas in themid-1980s. There was one simple reason: New diminutive versions of

existing computersmade them attractive to tradesmen, doctors andpublishers operating small companies.

Compact computers were first used by logistics service providersto process orders. Although companies had theminimum resourcesrequired for IT-based planning systems, in the early 1990s there waslittle interest in applying the technology for three main reasons:1. Freight forwarders were loath to make the investment, doubting thepotential savings.

2. They were sceptical whether the systems were sufficiently flexibleand individualised.

3. The technology was in its infancy. Response times were long andthe logic of the proposed routes was difficult to follow, i.e. how thecriteria were being applied.

Nevertheless, a 1993 studyconcluded that contemporary IT-basedroute planning was indeed superior to its manual counterpart – pro-vided that all requisite informationwas available, from the initial order tothe delivery receipt. Once these benefits were recognised, things ad-vanced in leaps and bounds. Logistics service providers were some ofthe earliest companies to exploit the opportunities provided by infor-mation technology and drove its further development. And it wasn’t justfor planning purposes, with inventorymanagement systems helping im-prove the utilisation of storage space.

The success of route planning, order entry, warehousemanagementand other systems is based on one simple recipe: They only work withstandardised and complete information. Consequently, the first benefitof IT solutions was the level of discipline enforced upon users. And thatstill applies today.

Life and the Internet

In the 21st century electronic order tracking and inventorymanagementsystems are a logistics service provider’s basic tools – but only for thecore business. The total number of IT solutions has been keeping pace u


with the enlarged product range of these service providers. Today, theyare responsible for a huge range of additional tasks such as� supplier management incl. ordering, inventory and the electronicintegration of suppliers within the scope of procurement logistics

� supply chain management und supply chain event management� on-call deliveries to manufacturers (just-in-time, just-in-sequence)� electronic processing and documentation of order data using orderfulfilment systems (e.g. packing lists, commercial invoices, book-ings, waybills, certificates, invoice management)

The applications for the various services can now be combined so wellthat users can work with them as a closed system. This means thatthese days the entire flow ofmaterials can bemapped virtually at anytime in its full complexity. Tracking systems allow logistics service pro-viders and their customers to monitor all relevant consignment data,while being able to virtually inspect warehouses and containers. Somesystems proactively send status updates in the event of disparities inthe process chain. Online communications systems interconnect allparticipants (customers, suppliers, shipping agents, airlines, customsagents etc.), regardless of the system in use. Containers transmit GPSsignals indicating their location andmanual barcode scanning triggersautomated RFID technology in many industries already. If this is allpossible today – what will tomorrow bring? �

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The English mathematician Charles Babbage never lived to see his “dif-ferencemachine” –which he designed in 1822 – actually be built. It wasonly in 1991 that Doron Swade, curator of the computer departmentat London’s ScienceMuseum, was able to prove that the prototypeme-chanical calculating machine would actually have worked.Consequently, particularly in the German speaking world, the Berlin-based engineer Konrad Zuse is credited with inventing the computer.His “Z3”, developed in 1941, was the first fully functional programmablecomputer in the world.

Not only the differencemachine and its successor, the analyticalmachine, but also the Z3 fulfil the criteria of amodern computer:

� They have a separate data storage device.� They have their own working memory.� A separate arithmetic logic unit is integrated as a processor(“controller”).

“There isa worldmarketfor five

computers.”Thomas J. Watson,IBM founder, 1943

� The machines recognise branching logic such as IF-THEN relation-ships.

� Punch card programming is possible.

In contrast to modernmachines they were designed exclusively to per-form specific calculations for a single purpose – Babbage wanted toimprove shipping safety with precise logarithmic tables, while thepunched card system of the Z3 and subsequent models served to ana-lyse data. Scientists andmilitary authorities were particularly interestedin the automatic calculators. For instance, the general-purpose Elec-tronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) unveiled in 1946was designed to calculate ballistic tables for the US Army. Althoughits function was basically the same as the Z3, the technology was quitedifferent. The first purely electronic general-purpose computer em-ployed vacuum tubes to represent numbers and electrical pulses totransmit them. At that time no one had any idea howwide-spread com-puters would become. In 1943 IBM founder Thomas J. Watson statedcategorically: “I think there is a worldmarket formaybe five computers.”

Counters, then all-rounders – the history of IT


OttoWagner, Memberof the inconso AG boardof directors (Integration-Consulting-Software)speaks about futuretrends in IT logisticssystems:

Robust logistics chainswith an uninterrupted flowof information“IT must measure up not only in terms of technicaladvancement, but also with respect to marketrequirements. In the world of logistics these areincreasingly complex value added chains involvingmore and more partners. At the same time, thevolatility of these networks is increasing – saleschannels are in flux, with business partners beingreplaced or integrated more frequently. Today, themain emphasis is on the overall design of robustlogistics chains with an uninterrupted flow of infor-mation. In the medium term there will be an evengreater need to be able to meta-manage constantlyevolving logistics networks. This, along with im-proved system scalability, means increasing pres-sure on IT systems, particularly in terms of� all-encompassing planning and managementinstruments for logistics networks

� operational management’s response capabilitiesin the face of change arising from the constantflow of information between partners

� the ability to adapt to market changes by opti-mising processes and even designing new onesin a flexible manner

� integrating the processes of logistics partnersin a transparent manner, while maintaining thetechnical and commercial boundaries.

These challenges can be met by implementingservice-oriented architecture (SOA). The aim is tobe able to organise flexible business processesrapidly at a justifiable cost on the basis of existingsystems, standards or innovative services usingthe appropriate IT infrastructure.“

EXPERT OPINION

By 1948, market research in the US indicated a slightly greater need,its survey showing demand for around 75 production series IBMCom-puters.

In the 1960s, American freight forwarders and warehousing companieswere using the new technology for logistic purposes, combining the flowof goods and information for the first time. At the end of the 1970s, theGerman automotive industry paved the way for data to be exchangedalong the whole length of the material flow. At the same time, bar-codeand scanner technology becamemore widespread, allowing productsto be identified automatically. The 1970s saw the first software systemsfor warehousemanagement and planning. The next developmentalstep was to network systems to monitor the flow of goods withoutinterruption (mid-1980s and 1990s). From there it was only a shortstep to the first complete supply chain management systems. Thesewere accompanied by newwarehouse technologies, with pick-by-light,pick-by-voice and RFID labels making processes faster andmorereliable.


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Jörg Salzer:We’ve beenworking together with our custom-er Huntsman now for over three years with great success.Initially, there was a call for tenders for a logistics companyto operate the European Distribution Centre and we weregiven the nod. We have been delivering contract logisticsservices to Huntsman in our multi-user warehouse inHeppenheim since July 2007.Martin Moser: The call for tenders was preceded by re-search we commissioned on how to optimise our interna-tional distribution further. The result was a central ware-house in theMannheim-Frankfurt region to operate as ahub for the Europe/Africa region. The aimwas to give uphaving local warehouses and supply our customers inFrance, Germany, Switzerland, the Benelux countries,Austria, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe directly from thenew central location.Jörg Salzer:Consequently, the location of the newHunts-man European Distribution Centre was virtually perfect.Thenwe needed to find the perfect logistics and IT solution.Specifically, it’s always about knowing a customer’s preciserequirements and what is important to him.MartinMoser: As a chemical company, safety is our ut-most priority – and that's what we expect from our serviceproviders aswell. They need to guarantee the highest possi-ble safety standards at all times by having the requisitetechnicalmeans andwell trained staff accordingly. Further-more, it goes without saying that the operational side mustrun without a hitch. In a nutshell, the requisitioned goods

must be loaded onto the correct truckwith the correct labelsat the correct time.Jörg Salzer: You mentioned the core aspect of safety. Inthe practical sense this involves safety standards for hand-ling and storing goods, as recently confirmed by a verysatisfying SQAS assessment. In another sense, it’s alsoabout process reliability. And that's where IT comes intoit.MartinMoser: The bottom line inmy opinion is that a goodIT solution should be invisible to the customer. As long aseverything is working well, I see the whole thing as a blackbox. We felt it was important to be interfaced with Logwin’sWMS, to be able to rely on an existing IT solution with agood track record.Jens Emrich: Networking was a two-stage procedure: In-itially in 2007, connecting to the ERP BPCS (Business Plan-ning and Control System) used by Huntsman at that time,and thenmigrating to SAP in 2009.MartinMoser: Some interfaces still hadn’t been installedwhile wewere working with the BPCS. Consequently, someorders were also being entered into our ERP system via theHuntsman hardware in Heppenheim. Now that SAP hasbeen implemented, we are sending all transaction andmas-ter data via a single interface, so these days Logwin has nodirect access to Huntsman’s SAP. Our system’s seam-less

WAREHOUSING FOR HUNTSMAN

“Good IT is invisible”Logwin processes up to 200 orders per day at its Heppenheim facility for theinternationally active chemical company Huntsman. Branchmanager Jörg Salzerand Jens Emrich, Manager Information Technology Solutions at Logwin, spokewithMartinMoser,Warehousing & TransportManager Europe at Huntsman TextileEffects, about logistics and IT solutions in Heppenheim.

Martin Moser, Warehousing & Transport ManagerEurope by Huntsman Textile Effects


FULL COOPERATION

HUNTSMAN

BranchManager Jörg Salzer and Jens Emrich, Manager Information Technology Solutions at Logwin

Since July 2007 Logwin has been providing con-tract logistics services to Huntsman Textile Effectsin Heppenheim in its fully automated multi-userwarehouse. Every day in Heppenheim between150 and 200 orders are communicated via a singleinterface linking Huntsman’s SAP and Logwin’sWMS and then processed. The warehouse servesHuntsman Textile Effects as a central distributioncentre for the Europe/Africa region. Orders receivedbefore 2 p.m. are even dispatched the same day toFrance, Germany, Switzerland, the Benelux coun-tries, Denmark or Austria. Logwin also providesHuntsman with a range of value added services,including product labelling, sampling and the man-agement of promotional samples. Logwin process-es around 30,000 consignments per year.

Huntsman isone of thelargest chemical companies in theworld. The operating companies ofthe group, which is headquartered inSalt Lake City (USA), produce rawmaterials for the chemical, automotive,aviation and pharmaceutical industries,to name just some. The product portfo-lio of Huntsman Textile Effects includesprimarily colourings, dyes and water/fire resistant chemicals for the textileindustry. Huntsman employs over11,000 staff at 80 locations worldwide.In 2009, the company generated salesof around US$ 8 billion.

communication with Logwin’s WMS – that’swhatmatters. Ultimately, the orders we aresending need to arrive in Heppenheim for pro-cessing unchanged. Of course, we also bene-fit directly for example when the transit time ofgoods is cut thanks to lean processingarchitecture.Jens Emrich:We are able to achieve thisthanks to the intricately networked IT infra-structure in Heppenheim. Our core IT systemsolution is the ICAMwarehousemanagementsystem. One of its special functions is the abil-ity to control our fully automatic hazardousmaterials high bay warehouse. Wemanage allinward goods notifications using complexstock placement strategies, with outboundgoodsmessages being processed automati-cally via our internal EDI competence centre.A basic part of this process is to distinguishbetween normal orders and samples beingprepared and/or picked. Huntsman receivesnotification of the dispatch of goods via CIDXstandard RDT. These are complex processesthat are all mapped by the information tech-nology.MartinMoser: I’m extremely satisfied withthe project to date and the interfaces are allworking almost faultlessly. And as long asLogwin’s IT remains invisible here at Hunts-man, that's a good sign isn’t it? �

10

Real and virtual interactionSound waves, x-rays, gases – invisible things are everywhere. The flow of electronic information is also imperceptible,only becoming visible to humanswhen it appears onmonitors or on the printed page. Nevertheless, it underpins the entirelogistics process chain.

Every logistics company of a certain size de-clares publicly as amatter of course that every“flow of goods” is accompanied by a “flow ofinformation”. We would like to explain herehow invisible IT and visible logistics processesare linked.

The substructure: Transportand warehouse management

Like the foundations supporting a whole build-ing, the underlying ‘front end’ logistics proc-esses concerned with transport and ware-housemanagement are invisible to the outsideworld. “The details of howwe do our planningand storage is of little concern tomost custom-ers. What matters is that the quality and serv-ice are in order,” explains Thomas Lauber,Director IT Strategy & IntegrationManagementwithin the Logwin business segment Solutions.“Consequently, information regarding trans-portation scheduling or the status of individualitems in warehouses is primarily for the pur-pose of internal auditing and organisation.”Primarily, but not exclusively: In addition to theinternal IT in these front-end systems, thereare also tracking systems. Thanks to thesecustomers have the transparency they desire– whether monitoring the route of their con-signments in real time or actually viewing theirgoods virtually in the warehouse.

Every real logistic operation ismirrored in the IT system. The

starting point is alwaysthe customer’s order.Anyone who has ever

bought anything onlineknows how an electronic order works.

While any (solvent) Internet user can shopwhen they like, the business relationshipbetween logistics service providers and cus-tomers is somewhatmore complex. The firstelectronic order is usually preceded by ameetand greet, the submission of a tender and the

conclusion of a contract. It is only then thatthe logistics service provider has what is re-quired for processing orders electronicallyand delivering the add-on services – whetherthrough a direct link to the customer’s systemor having password protected access via theInternet.

Communicating systems

Engaging the logistics service provider initiatesa dialogue that only concludes – at least untilthe next order – with the delivery receipt. Withcontract logistics, where agreements run formonths and years, this means an endless loopof actions and reactions, real transactions andelectronic documentation. An example illus-trates how this flow of goods and informationare intertwined:

Monday morning in City X. The last shockabsorber is rolling onto the production line of arenowned automobilemanufacturer. EmployeeJohn Smith electronically orders further stockvia the logisticsmanager. His ordering systemis linked to the IT system of his external logis-tics service provider. He enters the item num-ber, quantity, timeframe and recipient into theinput fields. The actual dialogue begins nowwhen he discovers whether the item is avail-able or not. The order information also appearson the monitor in the warehouse of his logi-stics partner. IT is hard at work in the ware-house control centre, fully automatic, butunder human supervision. The warehousemanagement system (WMS) is programmedto automatically sort all incoming orders ac-cording to urgency (prioritisation) and feed theorder data into the system. The order informa-tion is now visible to thewarehouse staff – theytake the required items from the shelves andreport their action by scanning the bar codeinto the system.When they pass the goods onto the packers, they also record this electroni-cally. The packers wrap the goods and take

them to the picking area, with the flow of infor-mation running parallel yet again. The pickersnow assemble the order going to a commondestination in themanufacturing facility.

Depending on the designated priority, thelogistics service provider transports the re-quired parts to the production line on ascheduled run or by express delivery. Only afewminutes separate an order being placedand delivery – depending on the distancebetween the warehouse and the productionfacility. Every day it is common for several con-signments to be dispatched for ongoing pro-duction just-in-time (JIT) and just-in-sequence(JIS) – non-stop orders and the immediatedelivery of individually loaded racks to theassembly line is the norm here. Whether JIT orJIS, urgent or scheduled, each outgoing con-signment is registered by the IT systems ofthe customer and logistics service provider.At the end of this flow of goods and informa-tion the consignment is received and anelectronic receipt issued.

If an item is no longer available or its de-livery can no longer be guaranteed, the logis-tics service provider in our example either noti-fies the carmanufacturer or commissions thesupplier directly if the appropriate service pro-vision agreement is in place. When it comes tosupply logistics, the supplier is also networkedwith the IT system of the logistics service pro-vider. All parties involved communicate orderdata, availability and transport terms to eachother within the scope of this virtual dialogue.In the ideal world, every order communicatedby computer would be executed and con-

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www.logwin-logistics.com – Logwin Magazine – 02|10

1) www.logwin-bots.com


firmed electronically. “We also enter these status messages into thetracking system if requested by the customer, so that they canmonitorthe consignment every inch of the way, whether in the warehouse orduring transportation,” explains Thomas Lauber.

Systematic information

A customer can access all information in great detail in the “TrackingZone”. The window formonitoring the consignment gives details of itscurrent status aswell as the commissioning party, dispatcher, recipient,terms and conditions of supply/modes of payment, type/scope of con-signment and themeans of transport. The on-screen warehouse infor-mation includes a complete list with the customer, item number anddesignation, type of packaging, storage location, RTI number andinventory status.

Supply chain eventmanagement (SCEM) systems provide compre-hensive and virtually real time information, proactively reporting anypossible or actual discrepancies in the process. Logwin BOTS, the Air +Ocean SCEM system is a good example. Together with the customer,Logwin defines informationmilestones – amaximumof 10 staging posts

over the course of an order. Agreed statusmessages could for examplebe “Number and type of goods available from supplier” or “Goods beingprocessed by Customs”. A traffic light system operates throughout theentire transportation process, indicating any deviations from optimumstatus. The Logwin system reports discrepancies immediately to the

customer’s system or via e-mail. BOTSautomatically checks the in-formation received for logical errors, for example a ship has arrivedalthough it has not yet departed. BOTS also allows Logwin customersto have a virtual peek into containers as part of the tracking system.

Simple means user-friendly

The pièce de résistance of IT logistics is the ability to integrate thevarious information and communication systems. Thomas Lauberexplains: “Our clients work predominantly with enterprise resourceplanning solutions such as SAP. It was not always amatter of coursethat our applications could communicate with SAP perfectly, withoutsomeone having to actively ‘translate’.” With global flows of goods andincreasing numbers of people working on a project at the same time,networking of communication platforms is an absolute necessity.Lauber: “Logistics service providers, their customers and other partiessuch as airlines, shipping companies, customs and port agents mustbe able to exchange information limitlessly in real time.”

Another essential integrative element is SOA – service-oriented ar-chitecture. This refers to the networking of completely different ITsystems and applications invisible to the user. The integration of existingindividual solutions generates cost-effective and efficient new applica-tions that match the needs of customers precisely. Example: The cus-tomer is able to monitor the consignment as well as check the ware-house inventory using the same input screen, without having to switchsystems.

At the same time, logistics service providers are facing new challen-ges in terms of value added services, with customers requesting theinclusion for instance of quality assurance and claimsmanagement.Providing the requisite applications and tightly networking the supplierand customer systems ensures transparency and rapid implemen-tation. �

The pièce de résistance ofIT logistics is the ability to

integrate the information andcommunication systems

“

”

The Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) is the flagshipof the Süddeutscher Verlag publishing com-pany, with a daily reader-ship of 1.16million.Logwin has been delivering SZ newspapersfrom the German printing facilities in Berlin-Spandau, Ahrensburg (near Hamburg) andEssen-Kettwig for a long time. Now the pub-lishing house has commissioned Logwin withdelivery of the newspaper from its Munichprinting facility as well.

Logistics hot off the press

Who actually delivers the paper to the reader?The Logwin Sprinter Networkmight be the firstresponse that comes to mind. But of course,the logistics process has commenced long be-

fore the first pallets are in the loading bay. Itis initiatedmuch earlier, with IT systems

exchanging data before the firstvan has hit the road.

Delivery of the newspaper is organized onthe basis of printing facility machine controldata. Information contained in this data pro-vides the “to do list” for offset printing pressesproducing and processing the SZ. It specifiesthe number of issues of each edition to beprinted for each consignee. This data evenincludes the delivery route to wholesale dis-tributors, train station media outlets and sub-scription suppliers. “The entire delivery sched-ule for the issues produced every day at eachfacility is based on themachine control data,”explains Hartmut Fischer, ManagerMediaSystems at Logwin.

ITmanaging delivery logistics

The updated printing control data are provideddaily to the Logwin EDI Centre by electronicdata transfer. These are by no means yourrun-of-the-mill logistics IT formats. In order tounderstand the content of the news items,Logwin’s IT department has programmed aconverter specifically for this file format thattranslates the data into a standardised exten-sible markup language (XML) document, inother words into readable text. Thismeans thatthe file, with approx. 6,000 lines encompassingonemillion characters, has to be decoded.

The converter is a kind of simultaneoustranslator for printing press files. However,before the transport vehicles can setoff to the distribution points with thecorrect number of newspapers, onemore translation is required: Logwinreplaces the route ID numbers assig-

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Bilingual newspaperlogisticsNowadays, large publishing houses are working with digital editing and produc-tion systems as amatter of course. They are extremely IT savvy and place highdemands on their partners accordingly. This certainly applies to SüddeutscherVerlag, a Logwin customer of many years standing.


ned by SZ with numerical codes. Now theLogwin transport management system canprocess and forward the data.

Ferag can’t speakMüllerMartini

However, printing presses are not necessarilyalike. All printing facilities previously managedby Logwin operated Müller Martini presses.This meant that any new orders could be han-dled using the existing converter – but not anymore.

The printer in Munich-Steinhausen usespresses manufactured by Ferag, a MüllerMartini competitor. Despite the fact that bothcompanies were originally Swiss, their prod-ucts speak two different languages altogether.“TheMunich facility delivers control data inthe form of a Ferag string, a proprietary pro-gram developed by the printing press manu-facturer,” explains Hartmut Fischer. “The datacould not be read by our converter as it iscoded differently. Consequently, we had toprogram a new ‘translator’ practically fromscratch.”

Two languages and only five daysprogramming

The timeframe itself was rather ambitious, withthe Media IT section only receiving the neworder on May 12th and June 1 scheduled asthe official starting date. Tomake things evenmore challenging, this period also includedtwo German public holidays. This meant thatmany contacts were away on holiday and effec-tively unavailable for theMedia team to clarifyany unresolved issues. OnMay 14th the teamreceived the first set of test data from thenewspaper, only to realize that the Ferag datarecords were definitely incompatible with theexisting solution.

So the Media IT unit started analyzing thefile format onMay 16th – in coordination withthe Logwin EDI Centre. Meanwhile, the SZ pro-vided a data record description. This, in aman-ner of speaking, is a “vocabulary list”indicating themeaning of the various symbolsused in the Ferag string. The holiday periodmeant that theMedia IT team could only startprogramming properly onMay 25th. Theconverter was ready to go onMay 28th. Withbated breath the team fed the first test datainto the system. And it worked – the new con-

SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG

The Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) is Germany’slargest national subscription-based-news-paper with an average circulation (Mon – Sat)of around 446,000 copies. The national editionof the SZ is printed in four locations:Munich Steinhausen, Berlin-Spandau, Essen-Kettwigand Hamburg-Ahrensburg. The Munich printing facility also produces a Bavarian and aMunich edition with 4 suburban and 7 regional editions.

The first edition of the Süddeutsche Zeitung appeared on 6th October 1945, under6 months after the end ofWWII. The SZ is produced by Süddeutscher Verlag, a publishinghouse owned by a Munich publishing family and Südwestdeutsche Medien-Holding(SWMH). Süddeutscher Verlag is one of the largest media groups in Germany, is active inboth Germany and abroad, has over 100 subsidiaries under its roof and employs around3,500 staff. The focus of the publishing firm still lies in the newspaper business and thepublication of specialist journals.

verter “spoke” proper “Ferag”. After a finaltest onMay 31st the con-verter went intostandard operation on June 1st as scheduled.Actual programming time: 5 days.

“Thanks to the outstanding level of cooper-ation between our IT staff and the SZ contactswewere able to execute the distribution orderon the desired date,” says Hartmut Fischer.“This example shows very clearly how goodlogistics performance relies on a solid infor-mation technology footing.” �


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IT SOLUTION FOR NEW BALANCE

A strong footprintin Singapore

Shoe and shoe are not alike – the innovative sports shoemodels of the US label NewBalance come in a variety of styles, colours, sizes and even widths. This poses

challenges for the logistics handling: the warehousemanagementsystemmust be able to process all of these attributes.

NewBalance sells its products, besides shoesalso clothing and accessories, in 140 countriesaround the globe. In Singapore the company isrelying on Logwin’s fashion competence sinceMarch 2010. “Within a period of only twoweeks after signing the contract, 500 sqm ofourmulti-user fashion hub in Singapore werefilled with New Balance products.” reportsJimmy Ler, Country Director Singapore forLogwin. “Concurrently the implementation ofthe IT in ourWarehouseManagement System(WMS) Logwin Bits went similarly fast.”

Logwin scans each item upon arrival and trans-fers all attributes from the bar code to LogwinBits. New Balance has access to Bits via the in-ternet allowing them to view and track their in-ventory in real time. The client gets an optimaloverview of incoming and outgoing shipmentsas well as stock on hand. Also the reports arewell structured and user friendly. “Format, ar-rangement and level of detail are always in linewith the customer’s requirements,” says AndyNutz. “Specifications for theNewBalance pro-ject weremulti-faceted and presenting the de-tails in amatrix became a rather thrilling task.”

Boston, in summer 1906: Watching the chickens in the yard,33-year old shoemakerWilliam J. Riley has an inspiration: if thesebirds are able to keep their balance so perfectly with three toeson each foot, the same principle should work for shoe inlays aswell. Inspired by his observation, Riley developed a three-prongedtype of inlay which he later refined further, based on his ortho-paedic knowledge about the human foot - giving birth to the“New Balance” concept.

MODELLED ON NATURE: FROM A CHICKEN’SFOOT TO THE PERFECT RUNNING SHOE

TheMatrix Reloaded

“Our IT system captures the standard detailsfor fashion articles, such as style, colour andsize. A particular aspect of the IT solution forNewBalance is the recording of the shoewidthin addition to the above,” explains Andy Nutz,Director Information Technology Air + Oceanat Logwin. “All attributes of a specific articleare displayed and analysed in the form of amatrix which is part of our WMS. This givesthe system an additional dimension, allowingreports to be readmore easily.”


Logistics perfectly balanced

Whether it is a trendy sneaker, a lightweightjogging singlet or a comfortable pair of Yogapants: approximately 150 pallets of NewBalance articles arrive at the warehouse inSingapore permonth. Logwin distributes thesports products to over 50NewBalance stores,specialist shops and department stores acrossthe island nation. Even some schools and theArmy in Singapore are among the recipients.The service does not endwith warehousing,distribution and themanagement of returns:

New Balance celebrated its 100th an-niversary as a company in 2006. Itwas founded at the beginning of the20th century as a small orthopaedicworkshop in Boston, Massachusetts

(USA). Today it is the fourth-largest sports brand worldwide. Theenterprise employs a workforce of over 4,000 on all continents anddistributes its products in 120 countries. Currently New Balanceoperates five factories in the US and one in the United Kingdom.

COMPANY PHILOSOPHY: FASHION FOLLOWS FUNCTION

The product range comprises shoes for running, walking, training,basketball, tennis, leisure and children. In developing newmodelsNew Balance always puts function before fashion. The optimal sizeand width for each athlete are expected to have a positive effecton their performance. New Balance produces 25,000 pairs ofshoes per week, with brand names such as Dunham, PF Flyers,Warrior and Brine.

the experienced fashion team carries out agreat number of supplementary services ran-ging from quality and hygiene controls, pickingand packing, labelling and price tagging. �


focus it

THE FUTURE OF THE AIR WAYBILL

E-Freight:The real deal on screenEverything on line? Telephone book, dictionary and daily newspaper – all the hard copy content of yesteryear cannow be accessed with ease on the net. A growing acceptance of electronic documents is also being seen in thebusinessworld. This trend is of particular interest to air freight.

If all the customary documents accompanying airfreight disappeared,around 7,800 tonnes of paper andmassive amounts of fuel would besaved. Moreover, customers would benefit from the new electronicdocumentation replacing it – an increase in speed and data quality plusmore reliable and transparent consignment management. However,its overall success depends on one thing: all parties must embody thee-freight approach – logistics service providers, airlines, airport opera-tors, customs agents and customers alike.

“Light” air waybill

Logwin is one of the first logistics service providers to fully replicate alldocumentary aspects of air freight consignments electronically, pavingthe way for uninterrupted e-freight handling. The conventional paper airwaybill (AWB) then becomes superfluous as Logwin transmits the AWB

data directly to the airline elec-tronically. Customers shippingpaperless airfreight enjoymaxi-mum data quality. The reasonaccording to Volker Hoebelt,Director Sales + MarketingAir + Ocean at Logwin, is simple:“Hardcopy forms allow a greaterrange of responses. The optionsare far more restricted in elec-tronic forms. E-freight providesformore transparency overallthanks to the precision involvedin data collection.” The precon-figured templates used for elec-tronic documentation force all

parties to be extremely precise because it is only possible to completea procedurewhen all information relevant to the consignment has beenentered into the standardised form.

Electronic transmission is also safer for another reason. There isno longer any risk of important documents disappearing during longjourneys, only to be missing at the destination when required forcustoms processing.

All for one and one for all

Despite all the aforementioned benefits of e-freight, it is not simplyenough for a customer to request it and a logistics service provider tooffer it. “In order to send a paperless airfreight consignment all partiesmust be adequately equipped and willing to be involved,” explainsAndy Nutz, Director Information Technology Air + Ocean at Logwin.“In addition to the shipping and destination agents, there are theairports, airlines, ground handlersand customs officials.” It only takesone of those involved not to be e-freight ready for hard copies to berequired at some stage during the process. If they are missing there isa chance that there will be customs and liability problems when theconsignment reaches its destination. E-freight ready means twothings: The requisite technical standards and a willingness to acceptvirtual electronic documents in the same way that hard copies of theairway bill and accompanying paperwork were in the past (e.g. packinglist, commercial invoice etc.).

But how do logistics service providers, airport staff and customsemployees determine whether freight without accompanying docu-mentation is an e-freight consignment or the documents have simplygonemissing? Appropriate labels will provide the answer in future. Onthe IATAwebsite it is possible to check which airlines, logistics serviceproviders and customs agents are already accredited and for whichdestinations. Nevertheless, it is necessary to examine the routesclosely – e-freight capability also depends on the particular connec-tions and the scheduled transit stops.

E-freight test run

To further improve the data quality and acceptance of e-freight, theInternational Air Transport Association (IATA) launched the so-called“Message Improvement Program” (MIP) shortly after the e-freightproject was initiated inmid-2007. Participants include airlines as wellas logistics and transportation companies. The MIP audits the dataquality of all parties involved in the process. The participants provideregular feedback on their e- freight experiences, covering such aspectsas the completeness of data, transmission times or any notableincidents. The MIP documents the reports, evaluates the monthly


statistics and provides these to all program participants.“This is an outstanding opportunity to improve processespermanently,” declares Volker Hoebelt. “Logwin is keenlyaware of utilising the optimisation potential that comeswith being part of theMIP.”

Christian Gessner, IATA Manager Cargo ServicesGermany & Austria: “Establishing e-freight as a globalstandard by 2015 will save billions across the entiresupply chain. In addition to the positive environmentalimpact, quality improvements and a 24-hour reductionin transit times, e-freight will satisfy the current and futureregulatory requirements.”

Logistics service providers wishing to utilise e-freightfirst need to research IT programs, make them availableand train their staff accordingly. Andy Nutz explains:“We have all the technical requirements in place andcan execute paperless airfreight consignments utilisinge-freight for our customers.”

Logwin Bots – ahead of their time

Logwin customers have been enjoying the advantages ofelectronic documentation for some time. The globallystandardised Logwin Bots order fulfilment and trackingsystem involves scanning all relevant documents such aspacking lists and commercial invoices as PDFs andmakingthem available online – also for processing by customs.The associated customer service effort is worthwhile. Theentire export supply chain can bemapped paperlessly andtracked continuously thanks to Bots. “Not only do ourcustomers benefit from an increase in the reliability of theprocess using Bots, but the program allows their order tobemanaged paperlessly. Logwin customers can book theirconsignments directly around the clock, uploading andinserting up to 10 documents,” explains Volker Hoebelt. �


interview

LogwinMagazine: TheManufacturing Excellence Awards have recog-nised best practices in Germany since 2005. What are you aiming toachieve with the awards?Prof. RaimundKlinkner: As amanufacturing base Germany faces stiffcompetition internationally. Successful companies in Germany arefacing up to this challenge every day, developing competitive productsand processes. There is an opportunity for companies to learn fromone another. The Manufacturing ExcellenceAwards (MX Awards) aim to encourage col-laboration between German businessesacross industries. Innovative and creative solu-tions can strengthen not only individual com-panies but also the competitiveness of manu-facturing in Germany as a whole. Through theMX Awards, outstanding ideas and techniquesused by manufacturing companies in Germanyare identified and publicised through various channels of communica-tion. Our media partner, the Financial Times Deutschland, providesassistance in this regard.

LogwinMagazine: The headwind on globalmarkets has gotten strongerparticularly for exporting countries like Germany.What are the key skillsthat will enable Germanmanufacturers tomaintain their success intothe future?Prof. RaimundKlinkner:Many of the companies that take part in theMX Awardsmake themajority of their sales overseas. There are variouskey elements that come into play depending on a business’s marketfocus and product range. Firstly, and common to all, is a high degree oftechnological skill. Beyond that, if companies understand their cus-tomers’ needs and know the value that their products provide, it speaksin favour of a high level of skill in the relevant market. Of course all ofthe aspects that theMX jury assesses play an important role in com-mercial success. But especially in hard fought international markets,customer orientation is a fundamental and essential skill.

LogwinMagazine:Markets are very dynamic, companies are network-ing more than ever and supply chains are becoming more complex.How can companies respond to this and effectively come to termswith, for instance, new challenges in logistics?Prof. Raimund Klinkner: An integrated approach to planning andcontrolling the flow of information and materials is crucial to a busi-ness’s success because it means interfaces are connected and there is

INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR DR.- ING. RAIMUND KLINKNER, ENGINEER

“Customer orientation is afundamental skill”TheManufacturing Excellence (MX) Awards recognise best-practice solutions in industry andmedium-size enterprises. Logwin Magazine spoke with Professor Raimund Klinkner, chairmanof the MX Board, about the outstanding skills of German companies, new challenges in thelogistics industry, and Germany as a base for manufacturing operations.

a higher optimisation in which several partners participate. Logisticsfaces a number of specific challenges these days. Market conditionsare changing rapidly and on a scale that was unimaginable a few yearsago. Value-adding partners acting single-handedly cannot come upwith appropriate responses and specially tailoredways of doing things.Collaborative, coordinated activities are made possible when logisticsproviders go beyond market power and competition. This allows indi-

vidual and joint processes, as well as strategicdirections, to be examined and realigned. Theimpact of logistics is seen especially clearly inthree areas: the manageability of networks,greater product utility for the customer, andgreater transparency in the value-addingprocesses.

LogwinMagazine: The global economiccrisis has been especially challenging for small andmediumenterprises. Where do you see the strengths, and also the potential thatis yet to be fully exploited, in SMEs?Will theMX jury award the “BestSME” again in 2010?Prof. Raimund Klinkner: One of the great strengths of small and me-dium enterprises (SMEs) is their flexibility. Flat hierarchies and shortchains of commandmake for quick response times when it comes tocustomer enquiries, for example. Working on theMX Awards we havealso found that the organisational culture of these companies is charac-terised by staff having a high level of personal identification with thecompany and their own work. The basis for this is a high level of staffintegration and staff being given broad areas of responsibility. On theother hand, SMEs are often at a disadvantage in the battle to recruit thebest people. Barriers to recruiting staff include the limited opportunitiesfor promotion that result from flat hierarchies and the generally lowerfinancial incentives offered by SMEs. Leading SMEs address this by ap-proaching potential staff in a variety of ways, offering such things as ex-tensive training and professional development opportunities as well aspersonal support and career planning.

Anothermajor challenge for SMEs very commonly lies in procure-ment logistics and inmanaging suppliers. Small purchasing volumesmeans SMEs lack market power. Increasingly they are trying to makeup for this by acting through purchasing cooperatives. Nevertheless,there is great potential for many SMEs to optimise their supply chainthrough expert, independentmanagement of suppliers. In view of thesignificance of small andmedium enterprises we are aiming to present

An integrated approach toplanning and controlling the

flow of information andmaterials is crucial to thesuccess of a business.

”

”

Prof. RaimundKlinkner:Companies takingpart in the competition clearly see the trendtowards tailored solutions and will often usetheir ability to offer this to their customers asan important selling point. At the end of theday, the trick is to not let the tailored solutions,that customers want, lead to too much com-plexity in the business. That means avoidingcomplexity in the first instance, and then, as


theMX Award in the category “Best SME”again in 2010.

Apart from anything else, the fact that noaward was given in the category last yearspeaks for the integrity and independence oftheMX Awards. TheMX jury does not give outtrophies just for the sake of it; they only awardprizes to outstanding companies that areworthy of distinction.

LogwinMagazine:Current research shows asignificant trend towards tailored solutions inthe provision of services. What are some of theramifications of this trend for contenders inthe “Customer Orientation” category?

The trick is to not let thetailored solutions thatcustomers want lead totoo much complexity.

“

”

THE MANUFACTURING EXCELLENCE AWARDS

The Manufacturing Excellence Awards (MXAwards) were successfully presented in Ger-many for the first time in 2004. The aim of theMX Awards is to strengthen the economy byraising awareness of best practice solutions

in industry, to foster international cooperation, and to provide aforum for communication between experts in academia and prac-tice. In Great Britain the MX Awards have been distinguishingcompanies and paying tribute to best practice solutions for over25 years. The 2010MX Awards ceremony will take place on26 November 2010 at Axel-Springer-Haus in Berlin.

GermanMXAward categories:� Customer Orientation � Process Innovation� Product Innovation � Information Technology� Logistics and Network � Talent Management andManagement Employee Integration

� Quality Management � Change Management

Logwin is supporting the “Customer Orientation” category as anofficial sponsor.

www.mx-award.de

a secondary consideration, managing com-plexity.

An example of this is the platform-and-module construction technique introducedby the automotive industry. Standardisedcomponents and modules are used acrossdifferent product lines. This idea has beenimplemented widely and it works in favourof the business because, in terms of process-ing orders, it pushes back as far as possiblethat cross-over point between customer-neutral prefabrication and customer-specificfinal assembly. Another increasingly signifi-cant factor is the use of IT systems to supportcomplex order processing regimes. A modern

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Raimund Klinkner,Chairman of theManufacturing Excellence Board,Honorary professor for manufacturing logisticsat Technische Universität Berlin,Chairman of the Executive Board of Knorr-Bremse AG

u


A general cargo network spanning the length and breadth of 14 European countries,consistently outstanding quality and a specified range of services at fair prices: Thatis what themembers of the 24plus logistics network deliver their customers. Logwinwas a foundingmember in 1996 and now operates three of the 62 facilities in the al-liance. Logwin’s customers enjoy the benefits of unrestricted access to the broadestof networks.

“General cargo alliances such as 24plus have a size and flexibility that a singlecompany is just not able to provide these days,” explains Stefan Polster, BranchManager at Logwin in Burgstädt.“Shipping agents have uninterrupted access to the

full capacity of the network with any size of consignment.”

TAKE ADVANTAGE FROM SYNERGIES

Joint effort delivers rewardsStrength in numbers –medium-sized logistics companies have been relying on coordinated

transportation networks for years. One such undertaking is the general cargo alliance 24plus.Compared to its competitors, this logistics network survived themost recent economic

upheavals with flying colours. Where are the strengths of this alliance to be found?

variant configuration system makes it pos-sible to configure a constructed product atthe sales and marketing stage and send itsspecifications directly to an ERP system.

LogwinMagazine:Companies need to knowwhat their customers want to be able to fulfiltheir needs. Weak points need to be identifiedin order for improvements to bemade. How doleading companies achieve this ongoing dia-logue?Prof. RaimundKlinkner: Various approachescan be used depending on the business struc-ture. To give an example, one participant in theMXAwardswasworking very successfully withdirect marketing. The Customer RelationshipManagement System (CRM) used in this con-text not only managed all the relevant cus-tomer data, it also efficiently organised all thefield sales staff’s appointments, recommend-ed visits to companies, optimised itineraries,and archived and catalogued visit records. The

system also provided aggregatedmarket dataand identified acquisition opportunities. Thispowerful IT support enabled the company toknow its market extremely well and to developthat market extremely effectively.

Another example would be the approachused by last year’s winner in theMX category“Customer Orientation”, BMWMotorcycles.How does the motorcycle factory in Berlinmaintain a dialogue with its customers? Itstechniques include conveying to its staff aclear sense of the brand’s premium position-ing and the high standard of quality that goesalong with that. The factory also maintainsclose contact with BMW dealers in the sur-rounding area, it offers its customers a highlycustomisable product that can be easily modi-fied, it organises its own BMWMotorcycle Daysand it continually pushes its level of customerorientation forwards. An outstanding perfor-mance overall.

LogwinMagazine:Germany’s economysuffered a greater than average contractionduring the crisis. Are you seeing that have animpact on the country’s appeal as a base formanufacturing operations?Prof. Raimund Klinkner: There is hardly acountry on earth that did not suffer from theglobal decline in demand. Because Germanyis strongly export-oriented, the crisis had a rel-atively severe impact here. However, currenteconomic data shows that the German econo-my is now growing at an above-average rateand continues to be the leader in Europe. Mak-ing a key contribution to that growth are thosebusinesses that responded to the crisis in asteady way, rather than a hasty one. Not leastof all, the outstanding results in this year’sMX Awards demonstrate Germany’s competi-tiveness as amanufacturing base as well asits international appeal.

LogwinMagazine: Professor Klinkner, thankyou for speaking with us. �

interview

Perfect connection

Logwin and the other 24plus partners ensure the rapid, extensive andcomprehensive transfer of goods, primarily through direct deliveryservices. Subject to efficiency constraints, shipments are dispatcheddirectly to the local partner at the destination. The remaining generalcargo consignments are shipped either via the central hub in Hauneck-Unterhaun in central Germany or routed via one of the two regionalhubs in southern Heilbronn and Hanover in the mid-north. “When itcomes to shipping cargo, a hub provides an incredible advantage interms of organisation and time” states Christian Hiemeyer, BranchManager at Logwin in Kempten. “Consignments of the various locationsthat cannot be shipped directly can bemanaged efficiently using suchhubs, reaching their destinations within the standard 24plus timeframeof 24 hours or 48 hours at themost.”

The alliance also provides the added bonus of supplementary, stand-ardised services: “CashService” allows the recipient to pay for the con-signment COD (cash on delivery). “Speedtime” guarantees delivery of aconsignment at a scheduled time (8, 10 or 12 o’clock), while “Extratime”provides for deliveries until 9 p.m. or on Saturdays. Using the “Prolog” ITtool Logwin is able tomanage supply logistics to ensure that customersalways have adequate quantities of materials or products in stock.

Flexible service, rigid quality

All members are able to inject theircargo consignments into the 24plusnetwork on a flexible basis. Only oneaspect is inflexible: Quality. Rigidstandards apply in this respect, withall collaborating partners subject tostrict ongoing internal and externalauditing. A comprehensive range ofcriteria are used by theQA teamdur-ing the annual audits to assess the

perfor-mance of the member companies, including punctuality andconformity with procedural directives. “Thismeans that Logwin’s cus-tomers can rest assured that 24plus is forwarding their consignmentswith a consistently high standard of service quality,” acknowledgesWerner Schelter, branchmanager at the Logwin facility in Nuremberg.

Such consolidated expertise affordsmembers of the alliance – andtherefore the shipping agents aswell – considerable advantages at alltimes. These include the fact that operational processes can be opti-mised cooperatively, with a broad range of ideas, experiences andapproaches flowing into the collectivemanagement of logistics opera-tions thanks to the large number ofmembers. �


Logwin operates three of the 62 facilities in the alliance: Burgstädt, Kempten and Nuremberg.

projects


JAMBO! WELCOME TO KENYA

Land ofcontrastsSnow-covered peaks, fine sandy beaches and a uniqueworld of plants and animals – Kenya is one of Africa’sfavourite travel destinations, with just over amilliontourists visiting the east-coast nation last year. Along-side tourism, exports are ofmajor importance to thecountry. Kenya is among the top five exporters of cutflowers in theworld. To ensure the trade continues tobloom, Kenya is focussing on a commonmarket witha number of other East African countries.

With a gross domestic product of over US$ 30 billion, Kenya is thestrongest performing economy in the East African Community (EAC).Agriculture is themost important sector despite the fact that only 20 %of the country’s surface area is arable land, due to low rainfall and poorsoil quality. The economic heart of the country is the capital city, Nairobi.Around three million people live in this rapidly growing metropolis. Themajority of Kenya’s airfreight imports and exports – amounting to ap-proximately 200,000 tonnes of goods per year – are handled throughJomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. Kenya’s second largestcity, Mombasa, is 500 kilometres away and has a population of around800,000. Located on the Indian Ocean coast, Mombasa serves as amajor hub for Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and Burundi and is hometo the largest seaport in East Africa. Kenya’smain imports are petroleumand petroleum products, chemicals, white goods, machinery, and

vehicles. Cut flowers are one of the main exports, along with tea andcoffee.

Roses fromNairobi

Tulips come from Amsterdam of course – but roses from Nairobi?Believe it or not, it’s true. Gigantic flower farms were establishedin Kenya in the 1980s, most of them located on Lake Naivashanorthwest of the capital Nairobi. Since then, flower farminghas become one of the country’s most important in-dustries, with 87,000 tons moving at GBP 310 millionworth of cut flowers exported in 2009. The trade inKenyan roses is blossoming especially well. Today,

country report


one in every three bouquets of flowers sold in Europe comes fromKenya, with Germany being the biggest customer. In total, over amillion people work in Kenya’s flower industry. But there is a dark sideto this boom. In many cases, mass production is made possible onlyby using highly toxic plant preservatives, and working conditions onthe farms are often poor. Product certification regimes, such as the“Flower Label Program” introduced in 1998 or the Fairtrade label,identify cut flowers that have been produced in the most environ-

mentally sensitive way and under decent workingconditions. Demand for certified roses, carna-

tions and so on is growing. In 2009, salesof fair-trade flowers in Germany in-creased by 40 per cent over theprevious year.

…on 6November 2008 it was “ObamaDay” inKenya? PresidentMwai Kibaki spontaneously declared anational holiday to honour Barack Obama’s presidentialvictory. Obama’s father was originally from Kenya.

… the world’s first piracy court is located inMombasa? The special court set up in June 2010is financed by the UnitedNations, the EU, Australiaand Canada, and has been established to take pro-ceedings against piracy around the Horn of Africa.

DID YOU KNOW THAT …

u

EXPANDING THE NETWORKIN AFRICA

100 km


country report

Light and shadow

Abundant fields of flowers and barren deserts,tropical coral reefs and icy mountaintops –Kenya is a land full of contrasts. The varyinglandscapes are all characteristic of the Africancontinent. Within Kenyan society, there is agreat deal of contrast, too. Just a few kilome-tres fromNairobi’s affluent district of Karenlies Kibera, the second largest slum in Africa.Half of all Kenyans live below the poverty line,a quarter of them have less than a dollar a dayto live on. Poverty, violence, diseases and AIDSare the country’s biggest problems.

The presidential elections three years agobrought the country to the brink of civil war.Weeks of unrest followed the disputed electionresult. 1,500 people died and 300,000 weredisplaced. It now appears that a new politicalera has dawned. On 4 August 2010, 67 per centof the electorate voted peacefully in favour ofa new constitution. Among other things, thereforms include a return to the old presidentialsystem. Following the next election in two

KENYA

� Capital: Nairobi� Population: approx. 39million� Area: approx. 580,000 km2� Official languages: English andKiswahili

� Neighbouring countries: Sudan,Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda

Logwin in Kenya

In April this year Logwin launched a na-tional subsidiary in Kenya. The companyis based in the capital Nairobi, with Logwinhaving a second branch inMombasa. TheCountry Director of the newly foundedLogwin Air + Ocean Kenya Ltd. is DarrenBrown (40). Mr Brown and his teamoffer acomplete range of logistics services, withspecial focus on freight management,warehousing, distribution and customsprocessing. Logwin’s presence in Africagoes all the way back to 1976. The com-pany operates in five locations in SouthAfrica.

years’ time, the office of primeminister will beeliminated and, as was previously the case, thePresident will be both the head of state andthe head of government.

CommonMarket

On 1 July 2010, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda andBurundi formed the East African CommonMarket modelled on the European Union. Theaim is to allow for the free exchange of goods,services, capital and labour. The countries arealso aiming to implement a unified currency in2012. Amason Kingi, the Kenyanminister res-ponsible for regional integration, estimatesthat a true commonmarket will not become areality until 2015 because, he says, it takesmany years for laws and regulations to bechanged. �

ETHIOPIA

I NDI A

NOCEAN

SUDAN

TANZANIA

UGANDA

NAIROBI

NAKURU

MOMBASA

KISUMU Mount Kenya

SOMALIA


DISTRIBUTION FOR ELECTROLUX

White goods on themove“Housework is a breeze” – even if that’s not entirely true, household chores have certainly become alot easier thanks to the latest electrical appliances at our disposal. One of the leadingmanufacturersof such white goods is Electrolux. Logwin delivers refrigerators, vacuum cleaners etc. to specialistretailers in themetropolitan region of Nuremberg (Germany) for this longstanding customer.

Logwin distributes around 100,000 Electrolux products annually. Thelogistics service provider picks up the goods every day from the Elec-trolux Nuremberg logistics centre and delivers them to retailers andspecialist stores in northern Bavaria. “We customise our service tomeet the individual needs of our customers in terms of time schedulesand destinations,” explainsWerner Schelter, BranchManager at Logwinin Nuremberg. “It is very important for these products to be handledprofessionally and transported very carefully. Therefore, refrigeratorsand washing machines are delivered upright and in their retail packag-ing.” There is no need to unpack or repackage them in the stores.

Quality counts

Logwin started working with Electrolux in 1998. “Quality is our primaryconcern”, declares Wolfgang Sarcletti, Electrolux Logistic MarketManager Germany. “That applies not only to our products, but also ourprocesses. That is why we expect impeccable performance from ourlogistics partners.” When Electrolux was seeking a new distributionpartner for northern Bavaria in 2007, Logwin was again awarded thecontract. Wolfgang Sarcletti: “Our positive experience in the past wasthe deciding factor.” Current performance confirms the choice: Logwinalways comes in the top positions in the monthly Electrolux qualityranking. �

ELECTROLUX

Swedish Electrolux AG is one of theleading manufacturers of privateand commercial household appliances. The company employsaround 55,000 staff globally and sells more than 40 millionhousehold appliances to customers in 150 countries. Its pro-ducts include refrigerators, dishwashers, washingmachines,vacuum cleaners and stoves, sold under well-known brands suchas AEG, Electrolux, Zanussi or Frigidaire. Product developmentis based on the concept of “Thoughtful Design”: Customer sug-gestions are incorporated into all aspects of product develop-ment, from functionality to user-friendliness and outward ap-pearance.

White goods are electrical household appliances. They are usedfor cooking, baking, washing, cleaning and personal hygiene. Adistinction is generallymade between small andmajor appliances.Major appliances are for example refrigerators, washingmachinesor clothes dryers, while coffeemachines, mixers and hair dryersare examples of small appliances. The term “white goods” stemsfrom the classic white colour of washing machines and kitchenappliances.

WHAT ARE “WHITE GOODS” ACTUALLY?

projects


projects

HEAVY DUTY IN THE DESERT

Power Projects for the EmiratesHowdoes the power get to the point? Answer: mostly by overhead transmission lines. For that purpose, the powermustfirst be transformed into “travel voltage” using huge converters, and reverted to domestic voltage just before it gets tothe final destination. There is a group of specialists who get the sparks flying in Dubai – not by getting involved in powertransmission but by transporting large components for the grid – the Logwin Power Projects Team.

Within three years, Logwin in Dubai has organ-ised the transport of over 50 large converterunits. Orders of that kind are placed by sup-pliers of the state-owned power andwater utili-ties in the United Arab Emirates.

The converters are in fact voltage transfor-mers weighing several tons. They are the corecomponent of every transformer substation,for instance those used for reducing high-vol-tage power from overhead lines back to 220volts, the level used for domestic power. Apartfrom the converters themselves, Logwin alsotakes care of transporting other componentparts for power supply plants. The logisticscompany is now dealing with virtually all com-panies that deliver such parts to the Emirates–mostly to Dubai and Sharjah.

Logwin fully switched on

In 2005 Logwin in Dubai got underway withits own national subsidiary. Heavy goodstransport was jump-started in 2007 by theMalaysian electrical component producerAMBC. The brief: transport by sea of two

inductors from Turkey to Jebel Ali. These huge components are used to separate direct fromalternating current and weigh in at 50 tons a piece – a completely new order of magnitude forthe young national subsidiary. “For us this was the first heavy transport of this nature,” saysMuhammed Naizer, Project Sales Executive at Logwin in Dubai. “Our colleagues in Turkey sup-ported us magnificently in getting the load on board within the set time schedule.” Logwin didnot only take on the loading but the delivery and transport organisation as well. The customerwas so satisfied that a new order was placed straight after the original one. In this case threevoltage converters had to be put through the customs system and transported to their plannedlocation – once again to an exact and fixed time frame.

By now, other manufacturers had become aware of Logwin's competence in Dubai and“high-voltage” orders have since become a company speciality. With “Power Projects” a teamof four Logwin staff has established that is standing by for customers from the power industry.Demand remains steady as the United Arab Emirates are extending their power supply grid everfurther. More transports are already planned, for instance of an inductor and six converters fromGermany. Logwin organises the entire supply chain from loading at the starting point on to sea

freight, reloading at the destination port, un-loading and positioning at the final destina-tion.

Just-in-time deliveries, size XXL

“For the erection of these large components ofup to 70 tons of weight we have two differentmethods of proceeding that are dependent onthe spatial conditions on location,” explainsMuhammedNaizer. If enough space is avail-able, a heavy-duty crane will be used by whichthe weighty parts can be put into precisely thecorrect position within the shortest period oftime. But even if a crane is too big for the con-struction site, Logwin staff will find a solution:“In that case we have to rely on the so-called‘jacking-and-skidding’ method,” saysMuham-med Naizer, in other words, they are lifting

these large chunks up and pushing them inposition.

If it isn’t the delivery itself, what is thegreatest challenge in power projects? “Theavailable time slots for transport and erectionare extremely narrow. All organisational andtransport steps must fit in with each otherseamlessly so that the chain is not broken,”explainsMuhammedNaizer. At the destina-tion, the principal assembles a team of highlyqualified specialists on each occasion. Theystand ready to tie in the newly built supplycomponents into the complex power grid. “Ifthe specialists are forced to wait it will lead tovery costly time delays,” says Muhammed

Naizer. The Power Projects team is a very well-rehearsed team, making sure that ensuingtasks can be carried out in top form and inaccordance with the schedule. This is how thepower grid in the United Arab Emirates growsever stronger. �



newsflash

newsflashFASHION LOGISTICS

Old hands, new trends

Four old fashionistas are behind thescenes of the fashion house lab4style,founded in early 2010: Rüdiger Pusch,Christian Völke,Marcus Frammelsbergerand Peter Döll previously worked for Ingolstadt-based menswearspecialist Bäumler. Following its liquidation they set up the inde-pendent lab4style in Aschaffenburg. The fashion house designsand produces the lifestyle collection for the Féraud label as wellas a private label collection. The new clothing manufacturer hasentrusted Logwin with its international supply and distribution.The experienced fashion logistics service provider imports thearticles – for example T-shirts and leather jackets from Turkey –and delivers to sales outlets in Europe and Canada. �

NÜRBURGRING

Platinum for Macedonia

High quality, innovation and outstanding service – these werethe characteristics that won the day for Logwin’s Macedoniannational subsidiary this year at the 24th International QualitySummit Convention. Dedication was duly rewarded whenCountry Director Trajan Angelov accepted the platinum awardon behalf of his team at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in NewYork. �

INTERNATIONAL AWARD SOUTH AFRICA

Explosive assignment

Logwin delivers the goods with a bang… DetNet’s electronicdetonators provide the utmost precision in the application ofinitiating explosives in engineering projects such asmining androad building. DetNet has entrusted Logwin with the task ofplanning and coordinating the shipping of its products fromSouth Africa. The products are exported to Australia, Latin

America, North America, Great Britain andSweden. Among other things, Logwin takes

care of planning the routes, booking theflights and providing the airlines with

the necessary paperwork for thesensitive cargo in a timely

manner. The material is de-clared as a class 1.4

dangerous goods(explosives). �

News from theLogwin world?

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logwin_group

Prize ceremony in New York: Trajan Angelov (left), Country Director of theMacedonian national subsidiary within the Logwin business segmentSolutions, receives the award from José E. Prieto, President of BusinessInitiative Directions which awards the prize each year.

Life in the fast lane

It is regarded as the toughest track race in the world: the tradi-tional 24-hour race around the 25-kilometre Nürburgringcircuit in Germany demands absolutely everything ofman andmachine. This year once again, the RDMCargraphic Logwin Racing team lined up at thestart and came homewith a fantastic result. ThePorsche 997 Cup powered through to an overallplacing of14th out of197 starters, achieving an impres-sive 8th place in the SP9 category – an improvement oftwo positions on the 2009 result in each case. Having comple-ted 145 laps for a total of 3,683 kilometres, the trio of driversevenmade it onto the podium as the second best amateur team! �

29

THAILAND

Luxury on four wheels

From refined family limousines from Germany to zippy sports cars fromEngland, the Thai company Autosport Ltd specialises in importing luxury carsof all kinds. For the past two years, Logwin has beenmaking sure these up-scale vehicles start the journey from their place of lading in pole position.Professionally and securely stowed in an aircraft hold or shipping container,the cars make their way from Europe and Asia to the Thai capital, Bangkok.A range of accessories and spare parts go along for the ride as well. �

INCREASING VOLUME

TRANSPORT LOGISTIC CHINA

DANISH DESIGN

That’s how you make a shoe!

Did you know that the human foot is made up of 26bones, 33 joints, 20muscles and over 100 ligaments?The Danish shoemaker ecco never loses sight of thiscomplex anatomy when designing new styles. Ecco’sphilosophy is simple: “Our shoes must fit your feet,not the other way around.” Each year, the long estab-lished company makes around 15 million pairs ofmen’s, women’s and children’s shoes which are soldat around 3,000 retail outlets worldwide. In 2004,ecco opened a newmanufacturing facility, its largestin Asia, in the Chinese city of Xiamen. To ensure thatoperations continue to run like clockwork, Logwinhas been on the job since the beginning of this year,transporting rawmaterials such as leather and fabricby sea and air from Hong Kong, Thailand, Korea andIndonesia to Xiamen. �

Makeover for MCA’s logistics

Furniture wholesaler MCA furniture has beena client of Logwin’s for years, but until recentlyit also worked with other service providers. Tooptimise its flow of goods, MCA has now chosen Logwin to be its exclusivelogistics service provider, with the sole exception of supplies in Asia whereother carriers continue to play a part. In Germany, Logwin is responsible forthe entire logistics chain, including warehousing in Lemgo, commissioning,nationwide distribution to retailers, and handling returns for the entire MCAproduct range. MCA’s products include a comprehensive range of cornerdining suites, living room and kitchen furniture, and a huge selection of tablesand chairs (or “table companions” as they are affectionately knownat MCA). �

HUNGARY

On the move across the country

Logwin’s customers with operations in Hungary nowenjoy the benefits of a general cargo and logistics net-work that covers the entire country and offers a com-prehensive range of services. This has beenmadepossible through the use of the facility in Györ as a na-tional hub and through a strategic partnership withMaSped. For the “Retail” and “Textiles” operations,Logwin is currently workingwith the company Rede-mann to develop an additional hub in Budapest. �

Exhibition success: For the first, but certainly not the last, time Logwin this year had its ownstand at the transport logistic exhibition in Shanghai. The event, which ran from 8 –10 June2010, was an opportunity for over 440 exhibitors from 42 countries to demonstrate theirservices and their expertise. The international exhibition attracted around13,500 professio-nals from 67 countries to the 15,000m2 exhibition halls at the Shanghai New InternationalExpo Centre. The fifth transport logistic China exhibition will run from 5 –7 June 2012.

www.logwin-logistics.com – Logwin Magazine – 02|10


play sudoku and win

1st prize:Portable PET745 DVD player from Philipsvalued at approx. 250 euros

Watch your favourite shows and DVDswhere ever you go.The PET745 portable DVD player receives digital free-to-airTV channels via its integrated digital TV receiver. Enjoy upto 5 hours of films, music and images during your trip onthe rotatable 18cm LCD display.

Unlockkeytoprize technology!Win a thrilling experience or take a voyage of discovery.Our prizes will keep your finger on the pulse.


2nd prize:Start Central Europe Trafficnavigation device from TomTomvalued at approx.150 euros

Never get lost again! Enjoy stress-free navi-gation with the integrated lane assistantdisplaying realistic 3D images of complexmotorway intersections. An added highlightis the IQ Routes™ and Map Share™ technol-ogy, showing you the fastest route at any timeof day thanks to real time data updating; yourmaps are also editable.

3rd prize:2 tickets to CeBit 2011valued at approx. 70 euros

Visit CeBit 2011 in Hanover between 1-5Marchand discover all the latest technology trends.Under the motto “Heart of the digital world”,CeBit 2011 - the world’s largest trade fair fordigital information and communication tech-nology solutions - will be showing everythingthat’s new in the world of work and life ingeneral.

Here’s how to enter:Fill in each blank square with a num-ber from 1 to 9 so that in each row,each column and each 3x3 box, eachnumber appears once only. The num-bers in the coloured squares formthe solution code you need to enter.Email the solution code along withyour name and address to:[email protected]

Entries close 31 January 2011. Emplo-yees of the Logwin Group and theirnext of kin are excluded from partic-ipating. There will be no right oflegal appeal against the outcome.Winners will be notified in writingand published in the next edition.

The solution to the puzzle in the1/2010 edition was: 59323.The winners were: Rainer Sextroh,Bruchsal, Germany (1st prize: fullyautomatic Saeco espressomachine),Lizelle Fourie, Marlboro, South Africa(2nd prize: Nintendo DS Lite), GuoJuan, Nanjing, China (3rd prize:Philips Wake-Up Light). Congratula-tions to all our winners!

© Logwin unless indicated otherwise;p.3©Strauss/Curtis/Masterfile, p.4©Getty Images, p.6 Franck Boston;c© www.fotolia.de, p.8+9 Gosteli© www.fotolia.de, p.10 TheThirdMan©www.fotolia.de, p.14+15© ImagesfromNew Balance, p.19© Photo fromKnorr-Bremse AG, p.22 Jiri Kasal ©www.fotolia.de; Masterfile p.23©Strauss/Curtis/Masterfile; Elena(shotshop.com), p.24©AlbertoBiscaro/Masterfile, p.25© Elektro-lux,p.28 scusi©www.fotolia.de,p.30© Philips, p.31© TomTom

SOURCE OF IMAGES

Als integrierter Logistikdienstleister entwickelt Logwin ganzheitliche Logistik- und Servicelösungen für Industrie und Handel: mit rund 5.500 Mitarbeitern an mehr als 250 Standorten in 37 Ländern. Logwin bietet Kontraktlogistik, weltweite Luft- und Seefracht sowie Transportlösungen auf Straße und Schiene. Mit individuellen Logistikkonzepten bringt Logwin das Geschäft seiner Kunden nachhaltig voran. Wie das für Sie funktioniert? Das erfahren Sie unter: www.logwin-logistics.com

UND WENN ICH EINEN

LOGISTIKPARTNER SUCHE,

DER UNTER IT-LÖSUNGEN MEHR VERSTEHT ALS

BITS & BYTES?

Dann fragen Sie Logwin!

AND IF I NEED A

MORE ABOUT IT THAN

THAT UNDERSTANDSLOGISTICS PARTNER

BITS & BYTES?Just ask Logwin!

As an integrated logistics and service provider, Logwin develops comprehensive solutions for industry and commerce. Withapproximately 5,500 staff at more than 250 locations in 37 countries. Logwin offers contract logistics, international air andsea freight as well as transport solutions for road and rail. Logwin’s customised logistics solutions help create sustainablegrowth for its customers. How can we do that for you? Find out at: www.logwin-logistics.com

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