SHANGHAI, March 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The international transport and logistics company Gebruder Weiss ended the past fiscal year 2017 with a sales increase of about 14 percent. Provisional net sales amount to approximately 1.55 billion euros, as compared to 1.36 billion euros in the previous year. Apart from good economic conditions, regional expansion activities in Europe, Asia and North America as well as the most recent acquisition of a company in Southern Germany were crucial for this positive balance. Overall, Gebruder Weiss has invested about 65 million euros in the expansion of its network, accordingly doubling the volume of its investments as compared to the previous year (2016: 32.7 million euros). "With forward-looking investments in locations, infrastructure and personnel, 2017 was an excellent year for Gebruder Weiss," says Wolfgang Niessner, CEO of Gebruder Weiss.
Foundation for growth in China
In Greater China, Gebruder Weiss has established four new offices in the country's South in 2017 – in Shenzhen, Zhanjiang, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. "We now operate 19 locations in Greater China, strategically located in the country's transport hubs. This is the foundation for our company's future growth in this important market", explains Yongquan Chen, General Manager of Gebruder Weiss in China.
China E-commerce: full steam ahead
Mr. Chen expects the Chinese logistics industry to develop at high speed in the coming years: "The logistics demand will be enormous, both domestically and internationally. Logistics will be more digitalized, faster, and more efficient. Without a doubt, the strongest growth will be in E-commerce and the import sector." Not surprisingly, Gebruder Weiss aims to focus on expanding its E-commerce services in China in the coming years.
For a full-service provider like Gebruder Weiss, this expected rapid development brings chances, but also challenges. "We need to invest in IT, know-how and in our facilities to continue to grow in this competitive market", says Mr. Chen. The most important factor for sustainable growth, emphasizes the General Manager, is the development of employees. "We will continue to invest in recruiting new talents, and we will also continue to invest in training our existing employees."
Global network consolidation
In 2017, Gebruder Weiss did not only open new offices in Greater China but set another milestone by expanding its network globally: In the United States, the logistics expert founded an own country organization with headquarters in Chicago and additional locations in New York, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, and Los Angeles. A gap in the route of the former Silk Road connecting Europe and Asia was closed by establishing a representative office in Yerevan, Armenia. Another location on the Arabian Peninsula was opened by Gebruder Weiss in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. In Germany, Gebruder Weiss has opened four new Air & Sea offices in Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich. The logistics expert consolidated its Southern German land transport network through the takeover of Deutsche Transport Compagnie Erich Bogdan GmbH & Co. KG (DTC), headquartered in Nuremberg. In Tyrol, the event and relocation logistics expert Kapeller was integrated into the Gebruder Weiss network as a 100-percent subsidiary. Moreover, the company expanded its logistics facilities in several branches in Austria, the Czech Republic, and Romania.
The equity ratio was again slightly increased and now amounts to 59 percent, emphasizing the high financial stability of the company. The number of employees increased by 4.7 percent to 6,724 employees (full-time equivalent) year-on-year.
Integrated services in demand
However, it was not only in terms of network expansion that the logistics expert was in demand. The service portfolio was enhanced as well. "Today, controlling the entire logistics chain provides many globally operating companies with a decisive competitive advantage," explains Niessner. "This is why, for an increasing number of customers, we act not only as a transport company in the traditional sense." Rather, according to Niessner, industry-specific logistics solutions are in demand today. For this reason, the company has formed dedicated Competence Clusters for the high-tech and automotive industries that analyze these industrial sectors and develop integrated solutions for them. Apart from typical warehousing, procurement and distribution logistics, the services for technology companies also comprise security concepts and technical distribution including the installation of large electronic equipment. The automotive service portfolio contains just-in-time deliveries directly to the plant, in-house logistics and the transnational servicing of regions as regional freight forwarder.
About Gebruder Weiss
With about 7,000 employees, 150 company-owned locations and a provisional annual turnover of 1.55 billion euros (2017), Gebruder Weiss ranks among Europe's leading transport and logistics companies. In addition to its core business of land transport, air & sea freight, and logistics, the company operates a number of highly specialized industry solutions and subsidiaries under the umbrella of Gebruder Weiss Holding AG, based in Lauterach (Austria). This includes the logistics consultancy firm x|vise, tectraxx (industry specialist for hi-tech businesses), dicall (communications solutions, market research, training), Rail Cargo (railway transports) and the Gebruder Weiss parcel service GWP, co-partner of the Austrian company DPD. This bundling of services allows the corporate group to respond to customer needs quickly and flexibly. Having implemented a variety of environmental, economic and social initiatives, today the family-run company with a 500-year history is a pioneer in sustainable business practices.
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