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trailer world Issue Two 2014

Issue Two 2014 11 Title make sense for them, and also when, if ever, they will introduce them,” explains Dr.  Christian Kille, professor for com- mercial logistics and operations manage- ment at the University for Applied Scienc- es in Würzburg-Schweinfurt (FHWS). On the one hand, logistics, which is a very traditional industry, will have to be- come more transparent, he says. “On the other hand, high investments of course represent barriers for decisions such as these.” This represents a challenge for the developers who are launching the tech- nology onto the market, since they need to answer a simple question for their cus- tomers: “What business model is possible with this technology?” Service provision is undergoing a re- orientation: “The product and the service are merging increasingly,” explains Prof. Kille. The iPhone would not be successful as it is without apps, most probably. And someone who orders a book from a large online retailer can select gift-wrapping for the article with a simple mouse click. “Confidence in service providers is growing increasingly, and this is opening up new areas of business for them,” says Kille. This is because more responsibility is being transferred to companies: For ex- ample, a logistics company based in Bel- gium not only delivers the laptops from a major computer manufacturer, it also sets them up in advance according to the indi- vidual orders by German customers. “The trend is for customers’ wishes to be taken into account as late as possible in the pro- duction process.” At the same time, many companies are increasingly concentrating on their core expertise in their particular sectors. “Commercial and industrial business are considering what they can do best, just like logistics companies,” explains Kille. Haulage companies that may have owned vehicles, a warehouse and operated an IT department completely within their com- pany in the past are now asking them- selves whether they really need their own fleet if they can organise the correspond- ing chains well and rent the vehicles. A warehouse or an IT department can also be outsourced to service providers. “Even today, many shipping companies do not own any of their own ships,” says Kille. “Their expertise lies in finding the appro- priate service providers.” Increasing state influence Kille is also convinced that state influ- ence over the logistics sector will contin- ue to grow in future: firstly in the form of stricter conditions with regard to hygiene, transport of foodstuffs or road tolls, for ex- ample. This is presenting transport compa- nies with additional challenges. Secondly, subsidy programmes and new requirements due to globalisation are exerting a greater influence, amongst other things regula- tions on imports and customs. Markets and companies that are operating there should be protected, as a result of which bilateral agreements are being concluded to an in- creasing extent. “For companies, this can mean that they export less and thus trans- port more things within their own country, or that they generate more sales because the logistics company can offer additional ser- vices such as processing the formalities for customs clearance,” explains the expert. In view of this situation, logistics compa-Prof. Dr. Christian Kille 24h Photos:AxelGriesch,DVZ »One central aspect with regard to competitiveness of haulage companies is networking vehicles with scheduling as effectively as possible, for example via telematics. This makes it possible to respond in good time using individually configured alarm messages, even in emergencies, or to plan service stops as effectively as possible in the course of predictive maintenance« Frank Simon, Director Overseas Sales at BPW

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