Destination: The world

From 1950 to today: The success story of DACHSER Air & Sea Logistics

The market in air and sea freight is growing at a rapid pace; the demand for international logistics chains is increasing. In air freight alone, transport volumes have risen more than a hundredfold since 1950. DACHSER Air & Sea Logistics is also feeling the effects of the increasing globalization of the economy, with sales in this business segment rising by 27% last year alone.

One thing is clear: statistically documented international goods trade has increased more than 27-fold over the past 60 years. DACHSER Air & Sea Logistics has recognized this trend towards internationalization and is continuously expanding its worldwide network of own branches and partner companies. 2,156 employees at 133 locations worldwide are ample proof that a lot has happened for DACHSER Air and Sea Freight since the company first ventured into international logistics operations in 1950.

How it all began

DACHSER first started to develop its international forwarding operations practically from scratch. On the morning of 15 September 1950, one single member of staff started work at DACHSER’s newly established international department in Kempten. The first order was the dispatch of a parcel from Pfronten in the Allgäu region to Zurich, Switzerland. It was not long before customers were requesting services to other destinations in Europe and overseas.

After the door to air freight operations was opened with the granting of the “IATA license” by the International Air Transport Association, DACHSER was in 1951 the first German air freight forwarder to set up an office at Munich’s Riem Airport. Intercontinental expansion got underway in 1970 with the opening of an office in New York, USA.

The decisive step towards globalization was joining the WACO (World Air Cargo Organization) in 1981. By becoming a member in an already internationally operating partnership network, DACHSER was able to benefit from already existing international connections. The logistics provider intensified its network through a cooperation with fixed rules and a global reach. This important alliance is still one of several cornerstones of DACHSER’s worldwide activities today.

In another no less important step, DACHSER forged ahead with the development of its own intercontinental air and sea freight network. In the early days, this took place via participations in various overseas markets in the course of the 1980s – an eventful time in which sales more than doubled within just one decade.

Since the end of the 1990s, DACHSER’s Air & Sea Logistics division has become even more dynamic. This is demonstrated by the continued expansion of the US network, the strengthening of the European presence in the air and sea freight sector – especially through the acquisition of the French logistics company Transports GRAVELEAU – and finally the 100% acquisition of the participation in Hong Kong in 2003. Since then, the positive development has continued unabated. This is also reflected in sales figures, which at the beginning of the 1990s amounted to some EUR 68 million and by 2000 had again more than tripled in the space of a mere decade to sales of approx. EUR 225 million.

Promoting internationalization with GLOBAL

With its latest strategy programme, “GLOBAL”, DACHSER Air & Sea Logistics is looking to further promote its policy of internationalization. The goal is to increase sales from EUR 574 million today to EUR 1.1 billion. Within the scope of this project, the idea is for growth in the Air & Sea division to be self-funded as far as possible; part of the planned project is to be realized via acquisitions and joint ventures.

The expansion will concentrate on Asia. However, it is also planned to consolidate the network in Europe and America in order to strengthen the organization’s presence in key markets here in the future. The recent establishment of joint ventures with Logimasters in Brazil or AFL in India, bringing DACHSER Air & Sea Logistics an additional 48 new locations altogether, are the latest examples within this strategy.

The project also encompasses the in-house development of a group-wide, standardized air and sea freight software solution that is to be integrated into DACHSER’s existing software systems. DACHSER is one of the few logistics providers to offer integrated and homogeneous networks in processes and information technology.

Thomas Reuter, managing director of DACHSER Air & Sea Logistics, explains: “The GLOBAL project enables us to support our customers in a variety of ways. As well as covering the entire supply chain, increasing transparency and offering on-the-spot support in markets around the globe, DACHSER assists its customers in making their own processes more controllable, plannable, transparent and efficient.”

Find out more about the range of services offered by DACHSER Air & Sea Logistics

eLetter overview 04/2007

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