Customer confidence strengthened: Dachser is satisfied with the year´s results
Virtually no dip in company revenue in 2020, the year blighted by Covid-19, with the strong second half offsetting the impact of the European lockdowns in April and May. Investments of EUR 190 million earmarked for logistics capacity, technical equipment, and digital systems.
Kempten, April 13, 2021 - Dachser can look back on a successful 2020, which was characterized by the loyalty and climate of mutual trust between the logistics provider, its customers, and its transport partners. Dachser’s consolidated net revenue totaled EUR 5.61 billion, a slight decrease of 0.9 percent compared to the previous year.
DACHSER Corproate Figures 2020
“We have delivered on our promise to be a rock of stability during the coronavirus crisis,” says Dachser CEO Burkhard Eling. “The enormous encouragement of our customers and partners has been a great source of motivation. Special thanks are due to our staff and all those who drive on behalf of Dachser, who made last year such a success. Despite the extra burdens imposed by Covid-19, their performance was remarkable and they shouldered the responsibility that comes with systemic relevance at all times.”
Dachser kept its customers’ global supply chains running without interruption and came up with flexible solutions to capacity bottlenecks, particularly on intercontinental freight services. At the same time, the company provided the best possible protection for its employees’ health and supported its longstanding service partners in Europe.
“Following a solid first quarter, the lockdowns in many European countries meant sometimes drastic declines in overland transport shipments,” says Dachser CEO Eling. “There was a clear improvement by June, however, with volumes remaining more or less consistently above 2019 levels. Our business model has proved that it can withstand crises, at the same time boasting strong growth potential and adaptability,” Eling is delighted to report.
Dachser CEO, Burkhard Eling
In contrast to the decline of 2.2 percent in the Road Logistics business field, the Air & Sea Logistics business field saw growth of 5.2 percent. The business field benefited from having air freight charter capacity of its own as well as from high freight rates for intercontinental transport. At the Group level, the number of shipments dropped by 2.5 percent to 78.6 million, while tonnage fell by 2.9 percent to 39.8 million metric tons.
Business development in detail
Staying in the driver’s seat
Eling emphasizes that Dachser refused to let the coronavirus crisis dictate its actions. This applies both to the generational change on the Executive Board—prepared in 2020 and finalized on January 1, 2021—and to investment planning. “Last year, we invested EUR 142.6 million in our global logistics network. This year, we are earmarking some EUR 190 million to create additional contract logistics capacity and forge ahead with digitalizing processes and business models.” The newly created IT & Development executive unit headed by Chief Development Officer Stefan Hohm will figure prominently in this regard.
According to Eling, the high equity ratio of 61.6 percent and the shareholders’ clear allegiance to the family-owned company give Dachser the support it needs to continue its tried-and-true policy of growth by drawing on its own resources. Moreover, the coronavirus crisis has reinforced Dachser’s commitment to training, particularly for drivers and logistics operatives, that is deeply rooted in its corporate culture. In 2020, despite the constraints of the coronavirus crisis, 625 new trainees and students on dual degree programs started their careers at Dachser in Germany.
“Our goal is to preserve the company’s strengths while enhancing its agility. In other words, we are expediting the integration of our networks and the introduction of digital technologies for use in areas such as machine learning or swap body localization. We will also be stepping up our sustainability and climate protection efforts,” Eling says. “Over the next two years, we intend to start by expanding our DACHSER Emission-Free Delivery areas to at least eleven European cities, while deploying more battery electric trucks and electrically assisted cargo bikes. What’s more, as a member of the German Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association, we are actively supporting the research and testing of hydrogen fuel-cell drives for trucks.”
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.
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.
Celebrating four decades: Dachser South Africa's expertise facilitates seamless logistics in Africa
In the dynamic and diverse landscape of African trade, navigating the complexities of logistics requires not just a service provider but a partner committed to fostering business growth. With over 45 years of experience and a deep-rooted understanding of the continent's unique challenges and opportunities, Dachser South Africa stands out.
Managing Director Detlev Duve says, "Our mission at Dachser South Africa has always been to not only move goods but also to move businesses forward, leveraging our family business's heritage of reliability, innovation, and a deep commitment to customer service. We have a deep understanding of the Africa's logistics landscape, earned through experience, and we are committed to improving trade flows within it."
Camso specializes in off-road tires, wheels, rubber tracks, and track systems for commercial and powersport vehicles. To reach its customers in Europe as quickly and efficiently as possible, the company entrusted its logistics management to DACHSER as Lead Logistics Provider—a solution with a future.
Camso supplies tires for massive jobs.
When things get really slippery, muddy, gravelly, or slick, that’s when thick pneumatic rollers, rubber tracks, and hard rubber tires prove their mettle. They’re indispensable for the high-performance equipment used in material handling, on construction sites, in agriculture and quarries, and even in outdoor powersports. The message is very clear: the more demanding the terrain, the better.
And that’s precisely what Camso, a Michelin Group brand, specializes in. A global leader in the development, manufacture, and distribution of industrial tires, wheels, and rubber tracks, Camso has more than 8,000 employees in 26 countries across the globe, primarily in Asia, Europe, and North America. It also operates four research and development centers, 23 manufacturing facilities, and an international distribution network in more than 100 countries.
This setup puts as many demands on Camso’s logistics operations as the areas of application put on its products. To keep the company on track for growth and to tap the full potential of digitalization, Camso began reviewing its global and European logistics network some time ago. “Having ten local distribution centers in Europe, each of them independently managed, was no longer in keeping with the times,” says Pierrick Bouf, Supply Chain and Logistics Director EMEA at Camso. “As a result, we reorganized our network around three main distribution centers: one in the UK, one in Germany to cover northern Europe, and one in France to serve southern Europe.”
A reliable partner
The French distribution center in Grans, located near the Mediterranean port of Fos-sur-Mer northwest of Marseille, is operated by DACHSER. “Its location, logistics capacities, and groupage network made it a good fit with our plans to be able to deliver goods to the French market within 24 or 48 hours,” Bouf says. This cooperation would prove successful and resulted in DACHSER being included in the discussion about handing over responsibility for all logistics services to a Lead Logistics Provider (LLP).
"The close collaboration with DACHSER as LLP has made our processes significantly easier and increased our responsiveness in extremely turbulent times", says Pierrick Bouf, Supply Chain and Logistics Director EMEA at Camso.
The LLP would be tasked with orchestrating twelve different transport service providers and ensuring that they deliver an average of 170 shipments per day from the three central shipping warehouses to the target customers in Europe with maximum efficiency and transparency. “In parallel with this new logistics organization, we wanted to improve our services by centralizing and standardizing them and having a knowledgeable point of contact for all logistics-related questions,” Bouf says.
But first, an explanation of the term and the underlying concept is in order: a Lead Logistics Provider is a logistics company that acts as a neutral party in organizing all or at least the essential logistics processes for its customers, regardless of which service provider carries out the operational activity. LLPs are deeply integrated in their customers’ (logistics) processes. After all, this comprehensive service approach isn’t restricted to conducting transports or performing terminal handling or warehousing services; it also involves designing, implementing, and organizing supply chains, optimizing transport and warehouse planning, coordinating suppliers, and integrating the latest (communication) technologies. Customer-specific services such as customs clearance, packaging management, and value-added services also fall under the range of LLP responsibilities.
Delivering tires to customers throughout Europe.
The “premiere league of logistics”
That’s why Stefan Hohm, Chief Development Officer (CDO) at DACHSER, considers LLPs to represent the “premiere league of logistics”: “The LLP concept requires a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the customer’s supply chain and all associated processes. Using the network and IT expertise that we have acquired and grown over the years, we continue to develop and refine this system to create sustainable complete solutions that our customers need for their business model. In addition to the shipments transported by DACHSER, our portfolio will also incorporate the transparency and management of other logistics providers.”
This made Dachser an obvious choice as Camso’s LLP. “In our collaboration to date, Dachser has proven that it’s capable of organizing and allocating transports exactly the way we want. Following our shared experience with the Dachser-operated Camso distribution center in France, we then began working to expand the LLP solution to the other two distribution centers in the UK and Germany,” Bouf says. “Dachser is very familiar with our products and how we work, and it understands our special service-level requirements when shipping to another country.”
On the DACHSER end, the various strands of the Camso LLP project all converge in the hands of Martin Poost, Department Head Lead Logistics Provider. “All supply chain information flows into the DACHSER LLP Control Tower,” Poost says. “That’s the center where all data, independent of company and location, is pooled and monitored. To do this, we transform the physical supply chain processes and the specific customer requirements into an appropriate IT logic. We then display all relevant data in a transparent and traceable format on the DACHSER Supply Chain Visibility platform, where it can be accessed at any time.”
For this to work, the Camso and DACHSER systems have to be able to “talk” to each other and allow data to be shared in real time without losing information. According to Poost, this is a demanding challenge that, together with Camso, DACHSERsucceeded in transforming into a practical solution. Paving the way for this success was a working group with IT teams from Camso, DACHSER, and technology partner Siemens. “Working closely together, we were able to design the interfaces and the data structure in a way that ensures that communication between our ERP system and the DACHSER Supply Chain Visibility platform functions securely,” Bouf says.
An integrated overall concept
Camso had formulated clear expectations for DACHSER as LLP. It wanted an integrated concept for warehousing, distribution, and management of the various transport providers handling the groupage shipments, partial and full loads, and package deliveries. To this end, DACHSER was tasked with managing and controlling all transports and service providers, including transmitting shipment data to everyone involved, printing barcode labels, and managing proofs of delivery. And last but not least, the LLP is responsible for validating invoices. In other words, it was entrusted with the entire portfolio of highly developed and practical supply chain management processes.
For the Dachser LLP team led by Martin Poost, and for their partners at Camso, working together to draw up the detailed requirements and specifications once again showed very clearly that DACHSER could provide the orchestration of all required logistics services far more efficiently and reliably than if Camso had to create a suitable structure itself.
A glance at the Control Tower and the functionalities of DACHSER’s Supply Chain Visibility platform shows just why that is: “Here, all transport-related data, independent of company and location, is pooled together in one system and presented graphically, making it practical for use in different media,” Poost says. “This enables us and customers, regardless of location, to see where any shipment is at any given time and to intervene if necessary.” Thanks to DACHSER’s proprietary Supply Chain Visibility platform, everyone involved in the transport has access to the latest information and can contact other parties directly if desired, regardless of which type of transport is used. “We cover full and partial loads as well as groupage and parcel services. And it’s all part of a single solution for procurement and distribution logistics,” Poost says.
Easy to use
As the logistics experts know, digitalized and automated processes are only as good and worthwhile as their level of acceptance in day-to-day operations. “That’s why we pay particular attention to user acceptance of all the tools we use,” Poost says. It’s crucial that solutions be easy to use, for example via smartphone, app, and special web services.
If, for example, a rubber track needs to be sent from Germany to France, the Camso systems transmit the shipment data via an EDI to the Supply Chain Visibility platform, which Camso uses to control and release the shipment. The platform then transmits the data to the selected transport provider, who ultimately accepts the shipment. This system is used in transport scheduling, in the transit terminal, and by the drivers. “This means everyone can always see where the track is on its journey through Europe,” Poost says. That’s more than conventional tracking and tracing. “The major advantage of consolidating all shipment data in a single system is that it enables us to work for and with customers from an early stage to plan all transport services. For example, to arrange delivery in accordance with the recipient’s available time slots.” After the rubber track is delivered in France, the proof of delivery is transmitted, enabling the immediate final review of the transport costs indicated on the transport provider’s EDI invoice. “This carrier management,” Poost says, “is a well-oiled process and everyone has their part to play in it.”
The Control Tower and the DACHSER Supply Chain Visibility platform also provide tangible benefits when it comes to analysis, for instance when creating reports or Excel tables and forecasts for such things as order planning and timely provision of container and transport capacities. And last but not least, Poost says, another key aspect of the Control Tower is quality assurance. “When evaluating the services agreed with suppliers and transport providers, an appropriately qualified LLP partner has the professional and technological edge over customers when this evaluation can be explicitly ‘based on daily practice, for daily practice’.”
Poost’s and Bouf’s preliminary verdict on the Camso-DACHSER LLP partnership is thus a positive one. “Especially during the pandemic and the Ukraine crisis, the close collaboration with DACHSER made our processes significantly easier and increased our responsiveness in these extremely turbulent times,” Bouf notes with satisfaction. This also includes the parties having long since established a trusting and mutually appreciative connection on a personal level. “Since the start of our collaboration more than five years ago, we have had weekly operations meetings where we can discuss the events of the previous week and plans for the coming week, and where many potential problems can be anticipated and addressed proactively,” Poost says. “For all the technology it uses and all the progress it is making toward digitalization, logistics is still and will remain a ‘people business’—even, and especially, for a Lead Logistics Provider.”
