Celebrating a milestone moment: Detlev Duve celebrates 30 years with DACHSER South Africa! 

Freight and cargo insurance – a neglected safety net

As logistics involves a network of different partners, goods may pass through multiple transfers, different service providers and various modes of transport en route to the end destination. Most of the time, freight is transported by air or sea without issues. However, all transport carries an element of risk – and it’s important to know that your goods are not automatically covered against damage, theft or loss by liability insurance alone. The additional combination of both freight and cargo insurance provides an essential safety net. Due to the complexity, this should be applied for by an experienced partner in logistics.

Liability coverage protects the carrier or freight forwarder, but does not generally cover damaged cargo. The carrier or freight forwarder can only be proven liable if damage or loss occurs through clear mistakes or negligence during transport. The extent of the carrier of freight forwarder’s liability is however limited, and the maximum amount of compensation they are required to pay usually will not equate to the value of the shippers goods or products.

Corporate Compliance - Integrity is a question of attitude

"Integrity in Logistics" is the self-imposed moral commitment of the major family-led company DACHSER. It is based upon respect for society, its citizens and their norms, which must be respected, followed and upheld. This is done both as part of our daily work as well as in our interactions with others.

DACHSER Compliance Management covers both the internal company Code of Conduct as well as the DACHSER conduct guidelines. These mandatory rules and guidelines clearly specify that all DACHSER employees are to act ethically and legally in carrying out their tasks and services and consistently adhere to national laws. This also applies to the customs, traditions and societal values of each state and society.

If you would like to play an active part in supporting the DACHSER Compliance Management System or report potential misconduct, you are welcome to use our compliance reporting system supportDACHSER.

Compliance Statement of the Executive Board of DACHSER Group SE & Co. KG

A resilient compliance management system is an important pillar for maintaining integrity, also and especially in times of global challenges.

Once again, people are being shown that they do not always have everything one hundred percent under control. The worldwide exceptional situation of the pandemic can only be influenced to a limited extent by political or economic interests. International supply chains seem to be out of control. Especially in such a situation, it is important to give people the necessary confidence that their basic supplies will be maintained. Global supply chains are under enormous pressure because they form the backbone of any supply.

DACHSER is facing up to all these developments. With our global logistics network and our sophisticated systems, we are excellently equipped to meet the challenges ahead.  In times of reinventing delivery strategies and the general fear of further escalation in the market, we at DACHSER never lose sight of the most important piece of the mosaic: the people. Each of us has it in our hands to make our individual contribution in the interest of all. At the same time, especially in times like these, people long for a sense of trust and security. A shared understanding of values certainly makes a significant contribution to fulfilling this longing.   

Our compliance motto "Integrity in Logistics" not only provides our own employees with guidance for acting in accordance with our DACHSER values. Rather, our business partners can also align themselves with this strong foundation. Together, we thus form the basis for trusting cooperation in line with the traditional ideals of the honorable businessman. 

In addition, we are sending out another signal to express our value-based actions: DACHSER has used the past year intensively to expand the options it previously made available for reporting compliance violations. With supportDACHSER all persons now have a technically supported option for reporting in addition to the analog contact channels. The highly secure system offers full anonymity and complies with all relevant data protection requirements. In this way, both internal employees and external third parties are enabled to report potential integrity violations to the DACHSER Compliance Office without fear of reprisals.

Even in times of great challenges Compliance does not take a break. With "Integrity in Logistics" we are always at the side of our business partners as a reliable partner.

Step by step toward the goal — Sea freight groupage containers facilitate the continuous flow of goods

In turbulent economic times, sea freight groupage containers are becoming increasingly popular. Production bottlenecks, fragile global supply chains, and a container shortage have further increased the demand for small and predictable shipment sizes in sea freight. Michael Kriegel, Department Head DACHSER Chem Logistics, explains the service that enables a reliable flow of goods in sea freight. He also talks about why a good network connection is crucial, especially for goods with high security requirements.

Companies are already analyzing their global supply chains and increasingly shifting their shipments to sea freight groupage (called “less than container load,” or LCL for short). The big advantage of groupage for customers is that they can ship smaller loads without having to pay for a full container. As a result, they can maintain a continuous flow of goods, even in the event of production bottlenecks, and also respond more flexibly to seasonal fluctuations. LCL containers are often prioritized over full containers in the loading process, which provides an additional time advantage and allows for better planning of transportation times. DACHSER markets what it calls “consolidation boxes” - customers pay only for the space they actually occupy in the containers. In addition, the company plans departures weeks in advance rather than only once production volumes are known. This means that containers, which are still in short supply, can be pre-booked in good time and customers retain flexibility when booking. 

Many companies, especially in the automotive, life science, and healthcare industries, have been using groupage shipments by sea for years. But this service is also suitable for the chemical industry, which places particularly high demands on safety and transparency during transport - and thus needs a logistics provider with the appropriate experience. DACHSER is one such provider. It set up a purchasing partnership with the German Chemical Industry Association (Verband der Chemischen Industrie e.V., or VCI) in 2009. This successful alliance for European groupage shipments from Germany was then expanded in 2015 to include air and sea freight. Member companies of the association now benefit from globally standardized core services in the groupage network - transport, warehousing, and IT solutions. All this specialist industry experience has been pooled in the DACHSER Chem Logistics team. 

“In shipments from customers in the chemical industry, which sometimes contain dangerous goods, the decisive factor is always safety. We have to protect life, limb, and the environment,” says Claus Freydag, Managing Director DACHSER Air & Sea Logistics Germany. “DACHSER also boasts global dangerous goods expertise in the groupage container segment and covers all LCL-compatible IMO classes in its own network and in its partner network,” he adds. The company’s central dangerous goods management system and its more than 250 regional safety advisors monitor compliance with special regulations governing the transport of dangerous goods. In addition, many DACHSER employees are trained annually in the particular requirements of chemical logistics.

For sea freight groupage, the sea freight team consolidates various LCLs and loads them into a full container. This optimizes utilization of container capacity, which in turn provides the basis for economical transport costs. Maximum utilization also improves transport sustainability while reducing the risk for individual companies at a time when supply chains are fragile. “Ports around the world have been clogged for months, causing significant delays - and making it rare, if not impossible, for shipping companies to stay on schedule. Instead of sending a full container on its way, which can get held up if loading windows are missed, more and more customers are opting for sea freight groupage containers. This reduces their risk by spreading it over several departures and ships and ensures a more timely transport,” Freydag explains.

Intelligent logistics solutions and a strong network are crucial

Demand for LCL services will continue to grow, even apart from the impact of the pandemic. That’s why DACHSER, as a market leader in the German and European groupage market, has also expanded its maritime LCL network to include 70 weekly direct services to and from Germany. “With a focus on the main global routes, we are systematically expanding our dangerous goods capacity as well. This of course means serving the major markets in both the eastern and western hemispheres, such as China, India, and the US,” Freydag says. In 2021, DACHSER shipped around 19,700 cbm of dangerous goods as LCL with customers in the chemical industry. Dangerous goods thus already represent 15 percent of DACHSER ASL Germany’s LCL business. In addition to the usual port-to-port services, DACHSER also operates various direct import services to the hinterland or other European cities. For example, once a week LCL groupage containers travel directly from port locations such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Ningbo to ports such as Hamburg and Bremen - but also with direct loading to Frankfurt, Kaufbeuren, Cologne, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart as well as Copenhagen and Gothenburg. Direct loading minimizes the risk of cargo damage and provides additional safety by eliminating deconsolidation at the transit terminal.

Furthermore, this increases profitability and achieves additional lead time advantages by rectifying bottlenecks in the port. “DACHSER’s global network connects all groupage transports on land and water. We link our own sea freight groupage container services to and from Germany to the comprehensive range of services offered by DACHSER European Logistics, thus enabling end-to-end service throughout Europe,” Freydag says. For storage and unloading, DACHSER is increasingly using its own branch infrastructure in addition to the standard container freight stations (CFS) at the ports. When port capacity is limited, companies thus benefit from additional dispatch quality and shorter transit times.

This concept, in keeping with the idea of “everything from a single source” links the European overland transport network with the global sea freight network - a feature that not every company can offer. “Thanks to the end-to-end solution of our LCL product, which goes beyond just sea transport, we can maintain high quality across the aforementioned carriers and offer transparent traceability of the goods,” Freydag adds.

The past two years have seen risk minimization in the global movement of goods become a crucial factor for success. To take full advantage of LCL shipping, it is crucial that pick-up and onward carriage are also handled in an integrated manner, thus ensuring expertise in the safe transport of dangerous goods along the entire transport route.

Chinese New Year: Impact on logistics

In 2021, Chinese New Year falls on February 12, it is the biggest festival in China where people celebrate the beginning of a new year with their families. The week-long national public holiday has consequences on global supply chains.

The following information provides an overview of some key facts of the festival and its possible impacts on logistics.

Dates and key facts

• February 12, 2021 marks the start of the Chinese New Year (the year of Ox).
• Chinese national holiday begins on February 11 and ends on February 17, meaning that most of the businesses, including DACHSER branches in China, will be closed and resumes on February 18.
• Factories and manufacturing sites used to be closed for a longer period of time. Production might pause already one week before Chinese New Year, some factories will only resume one month after.
• The long holiday allows workers in the city to travel back to their hometown for a family reunion, though it might not be the case this year due to the pandemic.

Impact on supply chain

• Extensive holidays in China can lead to delays to your shipments for up to one month.
• Due to the abovementioned closing period of manufacturing industries, there will be no productions from China for at least a week. Even though factories will be restarting gradually, operations will not resume to full swing immediately.
• Productions from other countries in Asia will also be impacted as some parts might come from China or the assembling processes are done there.
• Most shippers will stock up inventories that are sufficient to cover the Chinese New Year period, this leads to a pre-holiday cargo rush; it will also take some time after the festival to normalize the market conditions.

Get prepared

To avoid unnecessary price hikes and delays, it is strongly recommended to place bookings well in advance. At DACHSER, our logistics experts can help you to plan together. Feel free to discuss with us about your needs and we can work out the best to maintain your supply chain uninterrupted throughout the Chinese New Year.

Below you find the dates of office closures in APAC countries. 
Mainland China      Chinese New Year    11-17/Feb
Hong Kong             Chinese New Year    12-15/Feb 
Indonesia               Chinese New Year    12-Feb
Korea                     Lunar New Year     11-14/Feb
Malaysia                Chinese New Year    12-13/Feb
Singapore              Chinese New Year    12-13/Feb
Taiwan                   Chinese New Year    10-16/Feb
Vietnam                 Lunar New Year    10-16/Feb