MW LOGISTICA

At the end of last year, we had an official visit from our partners from EMONS Spedition GmbH. Mr. Arne Lingeman, Head of International Road Transport, and Mr. Wilbert Herf, Procurator and Manager for Eastern and Central Europe, became part of the official opening of our new warehouse, and LOGISTICA magazine took an exclusive interview focusing on the prospects and development plans given the economic situation in Europe.

What are the winning business strategies in logistics, new digital freight forwarding platforms, and green solutions? What helpful moves is the industry making to address the workforce crisis and the adoption of autonomous freight? See the answers to these questions and more in the interview with them.

What are the critical business strategies that companies from Bulgaria's transport and logistics sector must follow to succeed in 2023?

A.L.: Regardless of whether we are talking about 2023, 2025... It is essential for every entrepreneur in Bulgaria, or anywhere in the world, to be aware of what he wants to do and what it is better not to undertake. Where are its strengths, does it make sense to enter a new market, and how to achieve it? There are two main questions - where and how to compete with the others. Company managers must have crystal clear what the market is, whether they will operate in it alone or with a partner. Every company in the industry wants global coverage and to be best in class, whether based in Europe, Asia, or America. However, conquering new territories with a partner is sometimes more profitable because this is how the good sides of both companies are combined. The capacity and capabilities of your company are crucial to decision-making.

What precisely should entrepreneurs focus on to stay competitive?

A.L.: Capacity is crucial if we are talking about road transport. Then comes the other question - what is it - own or jointly with subcontractors, and what is the level of flexibility? Here, the entire supply chain and all its discontinuities must be considered from a macroeconomic perspective. People realized that the lowest price is not the ultimate achievement, but the reliability of the service is more important.
V.H.: And yet, each market must be considered separately. It should always be approached individually - whether the respective company follows the approach of outsourcing services or intends to implement a new project independently. In Romania, for example, an in-house model has traditionally prevailed, in which the organization performs a large part of our business operations. At the same time, in Germany, over the past five years, entrepreneurial sentiment has favored outsourcing until the housekeeper downturn tipped things toward insourcing.

What are the new trends in freight transport?

A.L.: Transactions will more often take place online. A trend is emerging for the emergence of more and more digital forwarding platforms on the market.
V.H.: Here we are talking about the web brokers in the freight transport market, the startups that are entering, such as DHL's subsidiary - the digital cargo platform Saloodo! or InstaFreght (based in Germany, ed.), which rely on A.I. for their operations.(…)"

You can read the entire interview in the January edition of LOGISTIKA magazine - print edition or digitally at www.transport-press.bg.