This was announced by Dr. Lothar Thoma, Managing Director Air & Sea at Gebrüder Weiss, at the latest Aircargo Club Deutschland (ACD) event. He also provided insights into how the oldest logistics company is successfully implementing its expansion strategy with the help of a digitalization initiative and teamwork, despite the difficult conditions.
Gebrüder Weiss is one of the oldest companies in the logistics sector and has achieved unprecedented growth over the last three decades. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the family-owned company based in Austria has initially expanded in Central and Eastern Europe and, in view of the increased global division of labor, also in Asia. Today, the logistics company is represented at over 150 locations. The company recently opened new representative offices in South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

At the Aircargo Club Germany, Dr. Lothar Thoma, Managing Director Air & Sea at Gebrüder Weiss, announced his intention to continuously expand the company's presence in Germany. A first step in this direction was the takeover of the operational business of Ipsen Logistics in Germany, Poland and Malaysia this year. "By taking over the customers and employees of Ipsen Logistics, we have strengthened our presence in the important German air and sea market. The addition of the new locations in Germany to our global network opens up new development opportunities for both our customers and our employees," explained Dr. Thoma to the interested members of the ACD.
However, due to the global coronavirus pandemic, the logistics provider faced the challenge of connecting the new locations and employees almost completely remotely. "The crisis has shown us that new locations can be integrated without having to be on site thanks to digital solutions. In order to optimally integrate and protect the business and colleagues, we quickly equipped over 1,000 colleagues with devices for working from home and implemented security measures at the locations," said Dr. Thoma. The company also created "myGW", a new online customer portal that not only provides customers with real-time information on their goods flows, but also allows them to contact the logistics company quickly and easily.

Prof. Dr. Christopher Stoller, President of the Aircargo Club Germany, also referred to the importance of digital strategies and solutions: "The successful integration of the new locations into the Gebrüder Weiss corporate structure shows once again how important the topic of digitalization is today. However, there is still a great need for action in many companies, not only in the development of new business, but also in paperless and transparent supply chains. As Aircargo Club Deutschland, we will continue to encourage the exchange of ideas in the industry, not least to make the air freight industry fit for the digital future."