Annual Report 2018 by Gebrüder Weiss

www.gw-world.com

Editorial 2

Gebrüder Weiss in three minutes thirty seconds 8 Gebrüder Weiss from A to Z 24 Deadline delivery. Logistics solutions for the high-tech sector 26 Forklift 28 Doorstep service. Home delivery service posts further growth 30 The same high standards around the globe. Modern warehouse software for modern logistics services 32 A bustling junction. Expansion of the Wolfurt freight yard 34 Barcode 36 Delivered fresh and fast. Sound partnership with Krombacher 38 Thirtieth anniversary celebrated with record. DPD Austria passes 50 million mark 40 Dedicated drivers. Truckers are in demand 41 From niche supplier to full-service logistics provider. A quarter of a century in Romania 42 Warehouse Management System 44

Everything is falling into place. Extensive service palette in the USA 48

Principles in practice. Winners of the Orange Championship Awards announced 84

Agricultural machines for Turkmenistan, ships for the desert. Multimodal transport to Central Asia 50

From apprentice to regional director. Roland Gander bids farewell 85

Employees 52

Flexible learning. myOC fully rolled out 89

Pioneers on the Silk Road. Tblisi – the pivotal hub in the Caucasus 54 Eastward bound. Custom solution in Japan 58 Safely shipped from A to B. Standardized transport security concept 59 A calling card for logistics solutions. Singapore boom 60 Multi-customer warehouse 62 Superlatives in the Yangtze River Delta. Shanghai’s container port 64 Green light. Sustainable ideas for tomorrow 67 Career opportunities abroad. An expat on assignment in Hong Kong 69 Palett 70 Logistics terminals expanded. Investments in Zagreb, Stuttgart and Carinthia 72 Measurement in motion. Digital 3D freight calculation 76

Warehouse standards 86

Welcome to the orange network. Gebrüder Weiss Nuremburg integrated 90 Kickstarting apprenticeships. International info day 91 Clickability. Online communication 92 Value-added services 94 Cycloholics & The Mad Greyhounds. Cycling sponsorship 96 Orange wherever you look. International sponsorship 101 Partnerships for people. Gebrüder Weiss supports aid projects 103 7,100 Employees of the Year. People at Gebrüder Weiss 104 A distinguished farewell. Wolfgang Niessner hands over the reins 106 Future 108

Subsidiaries, Brands, Joint Ventures 110

Process standards 78 Air & Sea in Germany and Dubai. An extra mile for customers 46

Imprint 112 In the heart of the Balkans. Sofia fast becoming a southern European hub 80 Passed with distinction. Prizes for Gebrüder Weiss projects 82

Wolfram Senger-Weiss, Chairman of the Board of Management

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Dear readers, Dear friends of Gebrüder Weiss,

As planned, Wolfgang Niessner stepped down as CEO at the close of 2018, following 15 years at the helm of Gebrüder Weiss. I want to thank him sincerely for his commitment and achievements over all these years. It is a great pleasure to me to address you in my new role. I am approaching my new task with delight, yet also with the respect it deserves. In many ways 2018 was a special year for Gebrüder Weiss: our business environment faced a number of challenges and there were changes of the guard at various management levels. We are extremely fortunate that the transitions were completed in a spirit of trust and mutual respect. At a memorable management meeting in Rome, we were able to cast off any remaining uncertainties and embrace the future with optimism and enthusiasm. 2018 may have started rather slowly, but by year’s end we had successfully added a gear and posted eight percent organic growth across the board. Our land transport business once again proved a mainstay of our operations. While the healthy economic climate created additional demand in Europe, it forced us to confront difficulties such as a shortage of drivers, a lack of cargo space and significant fluctuations in shipment volumes – all in the context of a highly competitive market environment. Notwithstanding this, we were yet again able to maintain consistently high service quality and therefore distinguish ourselves from our competitors. Building up and further developing operations in the southern German market is another of our focuses. Alongside strengthening international links, the objective here is to take a stand in Germany’s d omestic groupage market. Given the increasing popularity of e-commerce, volumes in the Home Delivery (B2C) sector are rising sharply and proving themselves as a growth engine. As in Austria, we were able to secure leading market positions in Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, the Czech Republic and,

most recently, in Romania – with international furniture companies, electrical goods retailers and home improvement stores counting among our customers. Global trading conditions were dominated in 2018 by the dispute erupting between the USA , China and the EU , along with other geo political developments including the continuation and renewed imposition of economic sanctions. These were not ideal conditions for our reorganized Air & Sea area to flourish. However, it still posted promising growth figures showing significant gains in controlled volumes in both air and sea freight. Our management focus was on consolidating the new structures and repositioning our business in Asia, the USA and Germany. In addition to traditional air and sea freight services, we are offering logistics solutions to our overseas customers. We also expanded and stabilized our global partner network. Our parcel team successfully maintained its lead in the Austrian B2B market and is now seeking to cope with the rapid rise in e-commerce volumes. We have prepared for the future by upping our investments in parcel collection facilities in greater Vienna and this year in western Austria as well; that being said, this has seen fixed costs jump. In the last mile, we need to balance the needs of our customers with the political and environmental regulations demanded by society, e.g. limitations on road traffic. Over the years, the parcel business has been an important and highly successful element within the Gebrüder Weiss portfolio. Our structures and processes have again grown in complexity as a result of new locations and increased networking. This makes it all the more important that we develop company-wide standards to guarantee that we can deliver the systems, interfaces and service quality that customers around the world have learned to expect from us. We have been following the technological advances in our industry with a keen interest. Some of these are mainly marketing-oriented. But there is also an array of important inputs that we can harness for our processes and products. Digitalization is driving the evolution

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Sales–Gebrüder Weiss 2018 Logistics

29 %

International land transport

15 %

Air & Sea

25 % 12 %

12 %

Parcel service

6 %

Domestic transport

Customs/Other Consulting

Net sales in millions of euros 2 01 8

1,675.0

201 7

1,546.0

2016

1,360.2

2015

1,280.1

2014

1,240.2

2013

1,182.8

2012

1,146.6

2011

1,065.6

2010

976.0

2009

830.2

2008

985.1

of our organization, and doing so adaptively rather than disruptively. We are focusing on digitalized freight forwarding, i. e. customer orientation with our employees’ in-depth understanding of products and market developments paired with digital processes. In this way we can combine logistics know-how with state-of-the-art solutions, allowing us to react flexibly to customer requirements and intervene when necessary. We will also be prioritizing our own infrastructure, because ultimately the physical movement of goods will always remain one of our core functions. Slowly but surely, the availability of infrastructure is becoming an asset. Logistics is a service and therefore a “People’s Business.” Today we employ some 7,100 men and women in 30 countries. It means a great deal to us that so many of them are enthusiastic about our culture, positioning and indeed our whole “package”: in a European-wide survey, some 90 percent of our employees stated that they are proud to work for Gebrüder Weiss and that they would happily recommend the company as an employer to others. I would now like to invite you to embark upon a journey through the world of logistics – and the world of Gebrüder Weiss. You’ll see for yourself: in many respects Gebrüder Weiss is the best service provider in the logistics industry. Yours,

Wolfram Senger-Weiss Chairman of the Board of Management

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The Gebrüder Weiss Board of Management (left to right): Wolfram Senger-Weiss (CEO), Peter Kloiber, Heinz Senger-Weiss and Jürgen Bauer

Gebrüder Weiss in three minutes thirty seconds

With over 7,100 employees and 150 sites in 30 countries, Gebrüder Weiss ranks among Europe’s leading transport and logistics companies. The themes that guided the company’s operations in 2018 are outlined on the following pages.

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Our year in numbers

1,675 million euros net sales 507 million euros gross profitability

13.4 million consignments by land transport

108,000 standard containers (TEU) by sea

61,000 metric tons of air freight

50.5 million parcels for DPD Austria

Over 7,100 employees worldwide

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Logistics in a booming economy

In 2018, the global economy slowed somewhat; in contrast, Central Europe picked up speed, ensuring full order books at Gebrüder Weiss. The positive economic climate in the Eurozone holds its own challenges for the logistics specialist. What is the smartest solution for handling fluctuating loads? Where can goods be stored during production peaks when trucks are full to capacity? And who can be entrusted to fulfill the orders when there are hardly any qualified drivers? Gebrüder Weiss finds answers by continuously evolving its product palette and above all by harnessing the flexi bility and commitment of its employees. → Thirtieth anniversary celebrated with record

p. 40

→ Dedicated drivers p. 41 → Safely shipped from A to B p. 59 → Superlatives in the Yangtze River Delta p. 64 → Measurement in motion p. 76 → 7,100 Employees of the Year p. 104

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Investments and growth

In 2018, Gebrüder Weiss invested a total of some 50 million euros in driving the further buildup of its physical infrastructure. The USA and Asian countries, particularly those situated along the former Silk Road continue to play a key role with the logistics hub in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi leading the way. Other locations and networks were also expanded last year. In southern Germany, for instance, the Nuremberg branch made a successful start and the Wernau location near Stuttgart was enlarged. Investments were also made in the company’s Austrian, Croatian and Romanian operations. Gebrüder Weiss is growing in tandem with its customers, and it appreciates their loyalty and trust. → Air & Sea in Germany and Dubai p. 46 → Pioneers on the Silk Road p. 54 → Logistics terminals expanded p. 72 → In the heart of the Balkans p. 80 → Welcome to the orange network p. 90

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Special countries, special services

In its role as a transport and logistics provider, Gebrüder Weiss continuously seeks to broaden its expertise and tread new paths – both within and outside its existing network. This is the only way to ensure that customers get the support and tailored solutions they need. In 2018, the group expanded its established services and launched these in additional markets; it also extended the service portfolios of several up-and-coming national organizations and performed pioneering work in the high-tech logistics sector. → Deadline delivery p. 26 → Doorstep delivery and beyond p. 30 → Delivered fresh and fast p. 38 → From niche supplier to full-service logistics provider p. 42 → Everything is falling into place p. 48 → Agricultural machines for Turkmenistan, ships for the desert p. 50 → Eastward bound p. 58 → A calling card for logistics s olutions p. 60

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An eye for the future

At a summit back in September 2015, the United Nations agreed its “Agenda 2030.” The organization formulated 17 goals for sustainable development: an ambitious task list born of a conviction that today’s global challenges can only be surmounted with a united, combined effort – and that everyone is called upon to do their part. Given the needs of upcoming generations, Gebrüder Weiss too is united in its concerns for the economy and ecology. In addition to the judicious use of existing resources, the logistics specialist also strives to take responsible actions that benefit society. → A bustling junction p. 34 → Green light p. 67 → Partnerships for people p. 103

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Ambassador for a strong brand

Over the past 15 years, Gebrüder Weiss has grown in leaps and bounds. In 2004 the logistics specialist operated 102 locations; in 2019 there are 150. The headcount has risen during this period from 3,500 to more than 7,100. In Austria everyone knows the orange trucks, but how can brand awareness be raised on a global scale? For many years now the company has been actively involved in sports sponsorship: at bottom, both logistics and physical performance are tests of agility, mobility and commitment. But other, unusual forms of communication are also instrumen tal in powering the brand image. → Passed with distinction p. 82 → Principles in practice p. 84 → Clickability p. 92 → Cycloholics & The Mad Greyhounds p. 96 → Orange wherever you look p. 101

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Successful handover at the helm

Gebrüder Weiss underwent a generational changing of the guard in 2018 – at the executive level, but also in middle management, at both regional and branch levels. All of the vacant positions were filled by inhouse management trainees, thanks to the group’s consistent nurturing of these talents. “That is a wonderful testament to the strength of our organization and culture. We are investing in continuity and, with this team, equipping ourselves to face the challenges of a digital future,” said Wolfram Senger-Weiss, who has been CEO since January 2019. The attractive training options open to all employees further validate this strategy, as does their overall satisfaction with Gebrüder Weiss as an employer. → From apprentice to regional director p. 85 → Flexible learning p. 89 → Kickstarting apprenticeships p. 91 → A distinguished farewell p. 106

Gebrüder Weiss from A to Z

Gebrüder Weiss is synonymous with r eliable transport services powered by local know-how. There is plenty to say about the organization’s individual locations. Above and beyond that, the family-owned company offers attractive l ogistics solutions. After all, a lthough size might look impressive, it is attention to detail that ultimately prevails. Definitions of warehousing logistics are interspersed between the articles; this mini-dictionary offers insights into one of the company’s core focuses.

Deadline delivery Logistics solutions for the high-tech industry

Higher, faster, further: the high-tech segment offers a textbook example of today’s rising quality expectations, cost pressures and frequent new-product launches. As a provider of solutions in this industry, Gebrüder Weiss helps its customers meet these challenges in many areas. One of these is technical distribution, which entails more than managing transport operations. Together with the in-house business unit tectraxx, the logistics company also handles the setup and instal lation of special technical apparatus – all the way from planning the logistics processes and organizing human resource and material requirements to the operational assembly of the sensitive equipment. Filling an order for its customer HP Inc., for instance, the logistics experts planned and implemented the complex, pre- installation-ready setup of a large scale printing line for use in the corrugated cardboard packaging industry. Thanks to precision planning, the hand-picked international team completed this challenging task with great pioneering spirit – as HP Inc. itself declared.

Digital press dimensions

36 meters long 8 meters wide 4.8 meters high

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In the pipeline: part of a large scale printing line that was jointly assembled and pre-installed by high-tech experts from Gebrüder Weiss and tectraxx.

See the pre-installation here through a time-lapse camera: gw-world.com/de/hp/

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FORKLIFT

Forklifts are relatively small, engine-driven vehicles. The front end is equipped with systems that lift and load as well as stack general freight. The forklift has already celebrated its centennial, having been invented by the American entre preneur Eugene Clark in 1917 to meet his own company’s needs. In today’s versions, touchscreens have replaced traditional instrument panels, levers and indicator lights. Forklift driver’s licenses are currently only valid in the country of issue. In Austria, 20.5 hours of training and a final exami nation are required.

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Doorstep delivery and beyond Home delivery service posts further growth Around the globe, people are buying more and more goods on the internet. E-commerce is also booming in the European Union, with over half of all residents already claiming to have made a private purchase online within the past year. Alone on so-called Cyber-Monday – November 26, 2018 – more than a hundred Gebrüder Weiss home delivery teams were out on their rounds in Austria, with calendar weeks 47 and 48 the peak periods for end-customer deliveries. Bulky items such as refrigerators, washing machines, furniture and large TVs were delivered to customer’s homes by two-person teams – who also unpacked, connected and installed the equipment. Gebrüder Weiss is the market leader in this field in Austria. Of the total 900,000 shipments it handled, some 335,000 finished their journeys at Austrian addresses. But the company also delivers to people’s doorsteps in Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia and the Czech Republic. The top priority in every country is to ensure con sistently smooth processes and perfect service. →

From niche supplier to full-service logistics provider p. 42

35% 29% 23%

21% 14% 14%

12% 8%

IRL

SLO

E-commerce shares of total company sales in selected European countries (2018) Source: statista.com

HOME DELIVERY AT GEBRÜDER WEISS

Total home delivery shipments: approximately 900,000 White goods dispatched (refrigerators, washing machines, washer-dryers): 385,070 Pieces of furniture dispatched: 418,542 Home delivery employees (warehouse and office): 454 Home delivery drivers: 476

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With its home delivery service, Gebrüder Weiss offers on-time arrival and assembly at customers’ premises by teams of two.

The same high standards around the globe Modern warehouse software for modern logistics services The Orange Warehouse Management System, abbreviated as oWMS , is the project name for the new software that is progressively being incorporated into orange storage facilities – increasing the speed, efficiency and transparency of their logistics processes. The software has been developed with the primary goal of satisfying customer requirements. By the end of 2018 about 50 percent of the organization’s order volume was already being handled using oWMS. When the rollout is concluded in 2020, more than 1,000 customers’ business at 100 storage sites around the world will be managed with the new software package. oWMS is just one of many pieces in the puzzle serving to ensure consistently high quality standards around the world. In other areas, the company’s warehousing logistics processes are also being continuously refined and automated. For example, the same rules are now being applied to picking processes at all the orange warehouse sites. Standardized and state-of-the-art storage and logistics processes have now become a calling card for Gebrüder Weiss. The Vorarlberg- based lighting manufacturer Tridonic has learned to really appreciate this: “Gebrüder Weiss supports us with standardized processes that apply from Austria to China, Shanghai to the USA . That allows us to offer our customers the best-conceivable logistics service, the same high quality standards and economic logistics processes,” explains Alexander Kieslinger, Global Logistics Manager at Tridonic.

“State-of-the-art processes – that translates into supreme logistics standards, maximum efficiency and outstanding quality, all of which we can offer to more than 1,000 customers at over 100 locations. A standardized, seamless process quality – that’s our recipe for success.” HARRY STIASTNY, HEAD OF CORPORATE LOGISTICS

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Harry Stiastny, Head of Corporate Logistics (right), and Thomas Klettl, Project Manager Logistics Team, coordinated the rollout ofÂ the oWMS software.

A bustling junction Expansion of the Wolfurt freight yard

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Between 1970 and 1982, one of Austria’s most modern freight yards was built in Wolfurt. Located close to the borders between Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, it is a major railway hub for products such as fuel, heating oil, wood and steel. In October 2018, following almost four years of construction, the new facility began operation. More than 60 million euros were invested to double its capacity, setting the stage for faster and more efficient rail freight services in the Lake Constance area. Another beneficiary of the expanded station is the Air & Sea location of G ebrüder Weiss in Wolfurt which is located directly on the premises. “This will allow us to boost rail transport services and offer customers new rail options as an alternative to road transport,” explains branch manager Michael Kramer. Air & Sea Wolfurt already moves 98 percent of its container traffic by rail, and the expansion of the freight yard will allow a further increase. As such, the improved facilities have brought major opportunities for both the economy and the environment. Wolfurt also already allows Gebrüder Weiss, in cooperation with Rail Cargo, to provide services for its export and import customers to the international ports in Germany and the Netherlands. →

Green light p. 67

Freight yard facts & figures:

Savings from rail transport:

• t otal area: 106,000 m² • t hrough station • 1 ,700 places for storing full containers • 3 ,500 places for storing empty containers • f our loading tracks, each crane-accessible for 600 meters

A metric ton of freight transported by rail produces 18 times less CO2 emissions then transport by truck.

BARCODE

A barcode is a machine-readable code on goods and packaging that communicates product in formation. It was created by Joseph Norman Woodland and Bernard Silver, who drew their inspiration from Morse Code. Patented in 1952, it was originally created to identify railway cars. The two inventors went down in history – in the Logistics Hall of Fame, to be exact. Heidi Senger-Weiss is in good company. Its breakthrough did not come until 1974, when the barcode was first scanned in a supermarket – on a packet of chewing gum. It subsequently conquered the world, so that today the system is implemented in nearly every area of industry, trade, government, and everyday life. In Europe, the EAN code has been in use since 1976. Leading the way in Austria, the supermarket chain BILLA first introduced barcodes at two of its Vienna stores in 1979.

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The employees have everything under control: the block storage facility for Krombacher at the Passau location.

Delivered fresh and fast Sound partnership with Krombacher

Water makes up more than 50 percent of the human body. And while the body can continue to function for over a month without solid food, it can only survive two to four days without fluid. Drinks and beverages made by Krombacher are the antidote for any emergency: Gebrüder Weiss delivers them within 24 hours. The company has created a block storage facility at its Passau site that is devoted exclusively to Germany’s largest private brewery. It is from here that the brewery’s customers throughout Austria receive their supplies. That’s good news for all fans of Schweppes and other non-alcoholic Krombacher products. And it’s good for the brewery too. Not only does it benefit from the established transport services GW direct.line (direct transport) and GW pro.line (groupage freight); it can also forget about capacity planning en route. Every day the logistics experts in Passau supply some 150 food and beverage wholesalers across Austria, before returning to base with any empty crates and bottles. Gebrüder Weiss adapts flexibly to production fluctuations, pooling merchandise during slack phases and stepping up deliveries at peak periods.

Gebrüder Weiss for Krombacher:

• 2 0,000 pallets are transported every year • 90% of products are delivered directly, 10% as groupage freight • Offering a capacity of 1,000 m², the warehouse is conveniently located for the daily delivery routes to Austria

Thirtieth anniversary celebrated with record DPD Austria passes 50 million mark

2018 was a special year for Austria’s leading private parcel service, DPD Austria: the parcel pioneer turned 30! And there were even more reasons to celebrate because the 2018 fiscal year proved successful too: compared to 2017, package volumes were up approximately four percent and, as a customer survey showed, recipient satisfaction remained very high at 3.7 out of 4 points. Now in use for some two years, the evaluation system automatically asks customers how satisfied they are after every delivery. Some 430,000 ratings were submitted in 2018 alone. Including its premium “primetime” service, DPD Austria transported almost two million more packages in 2018 than in the previous year. In absolute terms, that translates into a daily average of 203,600 packages, the majority of which were sent and received in Austria. At about 67 percent, Germany is still the number one foreign destination for shipments – followed by Italy and France. With the majority of its deliveries for business customers, the company successfully defended its position as the largest provider in the highly competitive B2B segment. With myDPD.at, the parcel service has also launched a new platform offering flexible and individual package management. This tool provides a complete overview of shipments for private customers. They can follow their packages live, redirect them if required, locate their nearest DPD Parcel Shop, and even prepare and pay for consignments online.

About DPD Austria

DPD Austria (DPD Direct Parcel Distribution Austria GmbH) is part of the DPDgroup, the secondlargest international service in Europe. Gebrüder Weiss is a co-partner in the company, which was launched as the first package delivery service in 1988 under the name APS-Austria Paket System.

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Dedicated drivers Truckers are in demand

According to its official employment statistics, Germany alone needs another 45,000 drivers, and the figures for Austria and Switzerland are only marginally lower. That’s a big problem for some freight forwarders. So it’s all the more important for Gebrüder Weiss that its workplaces in trucks are clean and safe, and that the people plying its routes remain highly motivated. After all, dependable truckers are key links in the logistics chain and their commitment makes a real difference: employees who are willing to go the extra mile in peak periods ensure the flexibility needed for customized logistics solutions. The company’s decades of experience and healthy approach to quality and pricing also helped it to adjust to changing circumstances in 2018 and provide service at a high standard. → → →

Delivered fresh and fast p. 38 Principles in practice p. 84 7,100 Employees of the Year p. 104

“I only got my trucker’s license recently. Since then I’ve been driving local routes. I’ve never regretted my decision to take up this profession. I really enjoy working with different people and meeting all the new customers. From my seat high up in the cab, I get to experience life from a different perspective. In western Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland – where I spend most of my time – I’ve seen lots of very scenic places. I opted to work for Gebrüder Weiss because the company has a good reputation and tries to accommodate its employees’ wishes.” MICHELLE PLONER, TRUCK DRIVER, WOLFURT

From niche supplier to full-service logistics provider A quarter of a century in Romania

Viorel Leca (left), Country Manager Gebrüder Weiss Romania, and Gerd Bommer, the Austrian delegate to the Foreign Trade Center in Bucharest, open the new terminal in Sibiu.

Automotive sector grows:

In 2018 the Gebrüder Weiss Romania team managed 65,000 consignments, while the GW Group as a whole delivered approximately 700,000.

At the start of the 1990s, Romania’s communist-style dictatorship was still transitioning into a democratic republic. During this turbulent era, Gebrüder Weiss opened an office with four employees in Bucharest – starting operations in 1994 as a niche provider of varied transport services. Now, 25 years on, the Austrian company is regarded as one of the country’s top five logistics specialists, offering its clients a full-service package. Today’s customers not only benefit from traditional land transport and comprehensive Air & Sea freight services, all of which provide access to markets around the world. They can also tap into a range of sector-specific warehousing and logistics solutions. In recent years Gebrüder Weiss Romania has made a name for itself in the automotive market. At its location in Arad, no fewer than 100 employees are engaged in providing services in this sector alone. For example, the Romanian team organizes warehousing for automotive parts, FTL and FCL transport services, and air freight when complex logistics solutions are required. Most of Romania’s exports are destined for Hungary, Austria, Germany, Great Britain, France and China. In its operations, Gebrüder Weiss Romania deploys state-of-the-art transport and logistics solutions such as GPS monitoring, just-in-time solutions and lean management which can be tailored to the needs of customers. As in other countries, online trade is booming in Romania. Gebrüder Weiss is responding accordingly and now offering home delivery services for end-customers. If requested, the companya lso handles returns management. → Doorstep delivery and beyond p. 30

GOOD TO KNOW

When it comes to the fastest broadband internet, Romania is among the world’s top five countries – behind only Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Monaco. Source: Ookla, 2/2019

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“I’m proud of our achievements over the last 25 years. Having survived multiple crises and mastered a number of challenges, Gebrüder Weiss Romania is a company that is posting organic growth, offering premium services andis blessed with employees who don’t merely aspire to service excellence but actually deliver it. Our aim is to keep following this path to success – by providing consistently high quality and logistics services that our customers really appreciate.” VIOREL LECA, COUNTRY MANAGER ROMANIA

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WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

(abbreviated: WMS)

Warehouse Management Systems are the software solutions that handle the administration of warehouses and distribution centers. Gebrüder Weiss follows its customers wherever they go – or wherever they need storage services. The logistics specialist offers standardized WMS software for all of its company-owned logistics terminals. The package helps to control, plan and monitor incoming and outgoing goods, inventories – not to mention cross-process functions for all the group’s customers.

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Air & Sea in Germany and Dubai An extra mile for customers

The Air & Sea Region Europe and Middle East is genuinely diverse, given its 15 countries, 33 branches and 525 employees from different cultures. But the region is united by a shared orange spirit that Michael Büchele, Regional Manager Air & Sea Europe, and his team epitomize. Personal contact with customers remains the team focus, along with a willingness to go the extra mile. Germany at the epicenter Germany was one of the focuses of the Air & Sea Europe business realignment in 2018. The five locations (Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Hamburg) are all evolving well and generally posting growth. While Gebrüder Weiss is already familiar as a brand in southern Germany, the strategy in the north is to progressively add new partners and customers, and to win them over with excellent service. As was the case recently at the country’s most northerly outpost: the team at Gebrüder Weiss in Hamburg secured approximately 50 percent of all the transport requirements of a well-known mountain-bike manufacturer.

“It’s absolutely right that we have our own locations in China, USA and

Hub in Dubai Gebrüder Weiss Air & Sea is adding a second focus some 6,500 kilometers from Hamburg: in Dubai. The logistics experts have been represented in the country since 2004, and in 2016 it opened a new logistics terminal in the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) . Since then customers have been able to access the entire Gebrüder Weiss service portfolio from the Persian Gulf, including custom logistics solutions. This business area is slated for further expansion in future, underscoring Dubai’s status as a key logistics hub in the Middle East.

Germany. They are the main markets, in many ways the growth engines of the global economy. Having our own brand represented locally is beneficial and strategically sensible. The challenge now is to spark enthusiasm for the orange philosophy by providing tailored services and cementing strong

The Port of Hamburg is the third-largest in Europe – and it never sleeps.

personal relations with customers and partners.” MICHAEL BÜCHELE, REGIONAL MANAGER AIR & SEA EUROPE

Everything is falling into place Extensive service palette in the USA

“We try to help our customers overcome their natural inhibitions about their first foray into the US market. We simplify the system for them and use language t hey understand.” MARK MCCULLOUGH, C OUNTRY MANAGER USA

Gebrüder Weiss has been represented by its own organization in the world’s third largest country since 2017 and, at the start of 2019, opened its seventh location there in San Francisco. As a result, the company can now cover the northwestern United States with its own regional office. Step by step, Gebrüder Weiss USA is evolving into a full-service operator that offers an array of added-value logistics services. Depending on the customers’ requirements, these can extend to logistics solutions, e-commerce products and warehouse logistics. One feature of its work is the support provided to international companies that are accessing the US market for the first time. The San Francisco team also handles Air & Sea operations in conjunction with a French partner – to cope with the flourishing trade between California, America’s number one wine-producing region, and the traditional wine-growing country of France. Via a web-based Transport Management System (TMS) , the company further offers transport services to the USA , Canada and Mexico online. This standardized system not only saves customers time and money: they can also track their orders 24/7 and receive itemized reports on their shipments. The staff team at Gebrüder Weiss USA benefits from the standardized digital systems as well: all seven of its branches are now connected to the company’s internal training platform myOrangeCollege. → Flexible learning p. 89

GOOD TO KNOW

After its neighbor Germany, the USA is Austria’s second-largest trading partner. The value of goods exported across the Atlantic in 2018 totaled approximately 10.6 billion euros.

Navigating America’s highways by truck.

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Agricultural machines for Turkmenistan, ships for the desert Multimodal transport to Central Asia

The managers at Gebrüder Weiss East plus, the competence center for transport to the CIS region and Middle East, have had their achievements recognized. CLAAS , the globally operational company based in the western German town of Harsewinkel, awarded the organization its “Supplier of the Year” prize. The Gebrüder Weiss team has been working for the agricultural machine manufacturer since 2012. Last year Gebrüder Weiss once again secured the company’s most recent major order. This involved the delivery of several hundred agricultural machines to Turkmenistan, including cutting equipment, TUCANO combine harvesters and AXION tractors. The main challenge lay in reserving the required number of special-class railroad cars at extremely short notice. Additionally, a new route was configured for transporting the cutting equipment, one which not only reduced costs but eliminated two transhipments as well. One particular cause for celebration: the combine harvesters arrived at their destination in pristine condition – without a single scratch or scrape on their paintwork.

“Beavers” at work in the Amu Darya river.

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Numerous special-class railroad cars were secured to transport the equipment – a real challenge.

GOOD TO KNOW

About 95 percent of Turkmenistan’s land is made up of sand and gravel desert. Climate change and the associated rises in temperature therefore pose particular challenges for the country.

The delivery of over 30 dredgers from the Netherlands to Turkmenistan also met with satisfaction all around. The so-called “beavers” are being used on the banks of the Amu Darya. The river runs some 1,400 kilometers before being effectively blocked by silt in a desert region. For this reason Turkmenistan is investing in the modernization of its dredgers, enabling sand and sediment to be removed from the river and adjoining canals, and the current to continue flowing into the Aral Sea. Gebrüder Weiss impressed the customer with its two decades of transport services to Russia, central Asia and the Caucasus region, and went on to secure further orders. → Principles in practice

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EMPLOYEES

There are two types of warehouse employees: administrative and industrial. Administrative staff maintain contact with customers from their desks and control the processes in the warehouse. They include warehouse and process managers. Industrial employees include the pickers, forklift drivers and packers who are responsible for incoming and outgoing goods, in-house transport and packaging. And the atmosphere among warehousing staff at Gebrüder Weiss is positive. According to a recent survey, 81 percent feel proud that they work here and would recommend Gebrüder Weiss as a good employer.

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Pioneers on the Silk Road Tbilisi – the pivotal hub in the Caucasus When Gebrüder Weiss established its initial branch in Tbilisi five years ago, it was the first European logistics company operating on the New Silk Road. China had only just launched its gigantic Belt and Road infrastructure project. Estimates suggest that it now touches the lives of over 60 percent of the world’s population. The company has maintained its status as a pioneer in the region, not least thanks to the encouraging upturn in the Georgian economy. In 2018 it posted growth of over five percent – driven partly by higher export prices and increased tourism revenues.

At the opening ceremony of the logistics terminal in Tbilisi (from left): Thomas Moser, Director and Regional Manager Black Sea/CIS, Maia Tskitishvili, Georgia’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure, Wolfram Senger-Weiss, CEO, and Alexander Kharlamov, Country Manager Georgia.

Ready for loading: a truck outside the new terminal in Tbilisi.

Since entering the market in 2013, Gebrüder Weiss’ overall shipment volume has also risen annually – by a year-on-year 20 percent. As a consequence, capacity at its Tbilisi branch located close to the airport has now been exhausted. Through 2018 a total of 15.5 million euros had been invested in upgrading the site, with 2.5 million euros most recently being devoted to expanding the logistics terminal. Today Gebrüder Weiss can call on 120 employees in the Georgian capital. Their expertise ranges from logistics know-how to familiarity with Caucasian law, customs processes and the local culture. Between 10 and 15 times a week, Gebrüder Weiss taps this infrastructure to transport freight from Europe to Georgia, and from there on to Armenia and Azerbaijan. The goods are collected from across Europe – chiefly from Austria, Italy, France, Germany and the Benelux countries – and then consolidated for shipping in Vienna (Austria), Frankfurt (Germany) and Treviso (Italy). In the medium term, the company is planning to continue the expansion of its regional logistics services and open additional offices in central Asia.

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“The central Asian countries along the former Silk Road offer great potential for development – not least because of China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative.’ Attractive opportunities for investment and growth are expected for European companies. For several years we have been investing in our own locations in the region, and we will continue to grow our engagement in the future.” WOLFRAM SENGER-WEISS, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

Motohiro Okada (Freitag) presents a bag made from a Gebrüder Weiss tarpaulin.

Eastward bound Custom solution in Japan

GOOD TO KNOW

In 2018 the European Union concluded its biggest free trade agreement to date – with Japan. The goal of the accord is to generate growth and create new jobs by re ducing tariffs and other trade barriers.

In Europe bags made from truck tarpaulins – every single one unique and manufactured by the Swiss company Freitag – have long been cult items. The brand is also gaining a foothold in Japan, making the expertise of an international logistics partner a must. In the first step, Gebrüder Weiss ensures that the trendy bags from Switzerland are delivered on time to the central warehouse in Zama, not far from Yokohama. And in the second, local orange partners deliver the products quickly and flexibly to all the points of sale in Japan. The bags are available at some 50 stores across the Land of the Rising Sun, as well as at the two flagship stores in Tokyo and one in Osaka. Gebrüder Weiss makes sure that the local logistics hub manages the Air & Sea freight and logistics solutions efficiently, because intelligent logistics can gain customers a competitive edge. Anyone visiting one of the flagship stores will see that the display is always in a single color. One week everything is suffused in red; the following only green bags are featured. The reasoning is simple: companies need a distinctive presentation format if they are to stand out from the dozens of other lifestyle brands in Tokyo’s Shibuya shopping district.

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Safely shipped from A to B Standardized transport security concept The officers at TAPA , the federation of transport insurers, recorded some 4,000 thefts of freight in 2018 – across 35 different countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. However, given the patchy availability of data, this only represents a small percentage of the real problem. According to the federation’s estimates, the value of goods stolen in Europe alone reached billions of euros. The increasing incidence of freight thefts has been occupying security experts at Gebrüder Weiss for some time. Transport security is particularly important in supply chain management for high-value segment customers. Within the framework of a dedicated internal project, Gebrüder Weiss answered with a clear and consistent Transport Security Standard (TSS) . Mandatory for all transport services within the group’s sphere of operations and currently being implemented for selected customers, this standard can be extended or enhanced according to need. The definition of the TSS was based on TAPA’ s rules and regulations as well as industry security requirements. Technical solutions are being prioritized to ensure that goods arrive safely at their destinations. One example is the continuous, live monitoring of transport services implementing GPS technology. An additional option used for one customer entailed a flexibly activated “door open” alarm, while trials are currently underway with a Theftex solution. This differs from regular tarpaulins in that it is resistant to cutting and features its own alarm system.

Safety first: an array of security features protects the trucks and their loads.

A calling card for logistics solutions Singapore boom

2018 was the Year of the Dog in the Chinese calendar. And, according to this sign of the Zodiac, hard work and dependability are rewarded most in this year. The Gebrüder Weiss team in Singapore can look back at a rewarding twelve months. Notwithstanding a highly competitive market, its array of tailored solutions impressed local partners a nd customers alike – including a well-known fashion retailer, for which Gebrüder Weiss is primarily responsible for consumables and salesfloor supplies. Its tried and trusted formula – quality plus service tailored to customer requirements – ultimately opened the door to the intra-Asian market. Today, managed by a central team at Gebrüder Weiss Singapore, the company regularly transports LCL and courier shipments along with air freight from Shanghai to Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. In addition to ensuring safe, on-time arrival, the team is also responsible for communications with suppliers, warehouse staff, partners and customers in the region. Given this structure, even short-term orders with tight deadlines are possible; nor does it pose a problem to handle even more stringent requirements – as in the security zone at Singapore Airport. The outlook is promising: At the start of 2019 Gebrüder Weiss Singapore added a number of new customers to its intra-Asia business pipeline. And in 2019, the Year of the Dog is following by the Year of the Pig – one reputed to bring both happiness and prosperity.

GOOD TO KNOW

Singapore is one of the world’s most impor tant goods handling locations – and the smartest of all the smart cities. In June, McKinsey & Company published a table listing the planet’s smartest cities. Singapore ranked top, not least because of the citystate’s outstanding digital infrastructure.

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MULTI-CUSTOMER WAREHOUSE (aka Multi-user warehouse)

As the name implies, multi-customer warehouses serve multiple parties simultaneously. Here Gebrüder Weiss offers a sophisticated logistics solution: an advanced system that adheres to global standards and is particularly well-suited to small and medium-sized companies. Gebrüder Weiss operates its multi-customer warehouses at key strategic locations. All of the process operations are precisely organized and coordinated to dovetail with the needs of the individual customers.

Superlatives in the Yangtze River Delta Shanghaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s container port

The Port of Shanghai has grown steadily since opening in 1842.

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“E-commerce is the future. The industry offers enormous economic opportu nities that we want to exploit for our customers.” YONGQUAN CHEN, COUNTRY MANAGER CHINA

China’s most important industrial center can still boast the country’s largest port: in 2018, Shanghai continues to spearhead global container transhipment with 42.01 million TEUs , followed by Singapore at 36.6 million TEUs . Ships are loaded and unloaded at ten different terminals with the deep-water port of Yangshan, located in Hangzhou Bay south of Shanghai, playing a leading role. It is connected to the mainland by the Donghai Bridge that spans some 32 kilometers. The Phase IV port expansion includes the world’s first fully automated terminal. It celebrated the anniversary of its opening in December 2018. The two-kilometer long wharf sports seven berths; more than 130 driverless vehicles navigate their way around the new complex. Since 2010, China has been the world’s second largest economy after the United States; in terms of purchasing power, it has been the world’s strongest since 2014. The country’s nominal gross domestic product per capita rose again in 2018 to its forecast level of 10,088 US dollars (2017: 8,643 US dollars). Compared to 2008, China’s per capita GPD has more than doubled. Although its 2018 growth was slightly was slightly slower than in previous years, it is still high. This is partly due to the booming e-commerce sector. On average, every person in China placed 36 orders in 2018. In view of this trend, a year ago Gebrüder Weiss China partnered with DPD Austria to launch a range of e-commerce services, in which packages are dispatched from China to Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and, most recently, Poland. Customers benefit from the logistics expert’s network in China, which extends to over 500 staff. The company’s customs expertise in Europe gives it a further edge over its competitors.

GOOD TO KNOW

2013

2014 2015

2016 2017

2018

Containers handled at the port of Shanghai from 2013 through 2018 (in TEU millions) Source: Statista

On “Singles’ Day” in November 2018, the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba posted a new sales record. The world’s biggest online sale saw consumers spend 30.7 billion dollars in just 24 hours.

“One of our core goals is to tap intelligent logistics solutions to create sustainable supply chains. By deploying an e-truck in the greater Vienna area, we are looking to extend our experience and expertise so that we can maintain CO2 neutrality for our customers on the last mile as well. We will only succeed in meeting the needs of tomorrow’s generations if we can develop resource-saving solutions and alternative concepts today.” JÜRGEN BAUER, MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

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Green light Sustainable ideas for tomorrow

Pilot phase for e-truck In the greater Vienna area, an alternative to conventional trucks is being tested as a means of transport: As a founding member of t he Austrian Council for Sustainable Logistics (CNL) , Gebrüder Weiss has been testing one of the first fully electric trucks made by MAN in its day-to-day logistics operations since the end of 2018. The ultimate aim is the electrification of municipal traffic; zero emissions and minimum noise pollution are key factors in the urban environment. The learnings from the pilot phase will subsequently feed into the vehicles’ ongoing development.

Harnessing solar energy As a general rule, logistics warehouses have sizable roof surfaces. And the forklifts used inside the plants have large batteries that need frequent charging. The Gebrüder Weiss branch in Wels, Austria, decided to put one and one together and install a photovoltaic system. Its output is optimally distributed. First the forklift batteries are recharged and then the remaining energy is used to produce hot water or, depending on the season, heat or cool the building. And if any power is left, it is then fed into the public electricity grid.

“One thing I learned during my apprenticeship is that costs aren’t

Orange Combi Cargo Running daily between Vienna and western Austria, the Orange Combi Cargo (OCC) block train has enabled the company to relocate 150,000 loads from the road to the railway within a single decade. That translates into a CO 2 reduction of about 9,000 metric tons a year. Further examples of successful rail connections include the Lake Constance shuttle to Hamburg and the Rotterdam line, both of which originate at the Wolfurt container terminal and depart northwards several times a week. → A bustling junction p. 34

the only thing that counts. So does the environment.” GUNARS-DAVIS KARLSONS, A PPRENTICE, AIR & SEA W OLFURT

CO2

CO2 reductions from e-trucks

Annual CO2 reductions at

Winding up

Compared to a conventionally powered truck, an e-truck is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by some 17 metric tons a year.

Gebrüder Weiss in metric tons

in 2018, the company’s wind farm in Northern Germany produced some 32 gigawatts of electricity, of which 50 percent (16 gigawatts) was allocated to Gebrüder Weiss. This is equivalent to the average annual power consumption of 3,800 Austrian households.

OCC: 9,000 Climate-neutral logistics plant in Wörgl: 90 Biogas semitrailer: 27 Gebrüder Weiss wind farm: 12,000

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Career opportunities abroad An expat on assignment in Hong Kong

Last year some 15 expats in the Air & Sea, Logistics and IT segments were working around the globe for Gebrüder Weiss – including Michael Staudacher. The Austrian had always wanted to spend time abroad and therefore did not hesitate to accept a post in Hong Kong. The biggest challenges, he felt, were the foreign language, mentality and culture. At the Hong Kong site, the Air & Sea employee spent less time than usual in operations. Instead he served as an intermediary between Europe and Hong Kong and between Europe and southern China, exercising representational and sales functions. The native of Vorarlberg enjoyed many memorable moments with the local staff and also found time to acquaint himself with their culture. “I’d recommend working overseas and venturing beyond your normal comfort zone to everyone,” says Michael Staudacher. He feels that it broadens people’s horizons immensely while offering a completely different perspective on certain things. He added that expats also had the opportunity to acquire new knowledge and above all learn a language.

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Beschnitt bitte

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PALLET

In the fields of technology and business, a pallet is defined as a platform base for transporting and stacking goods by forklift. Decades after its introduction, it remains basically unchanged: the standardized Euro-pallet is both functional and, at prices ranging between 7 and 50 euros, inexpensive. Nine blocks of wood, eleven boards and exactly 78 nails of a specific type – that’s all it takes. Together with the forklift, they’re a perfect duo: the Euro-pallet can be lifted from any side. The logo of the technical authority EPAL is displayed on all four sides as verification of its authenticity. EPAL also licenses repair shops: worldwide, some 1,000 companies mend damaged boards, replace rotting blocks and tighten loose joints in line with a prescribed nailing pattern.

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Logistics terminals expanded Investments in Zagreb, Stuttgart and Carinthia

Groundbreaking ceremony in Croatia (left to right): Damir Cavor (IT Services Zagreb), Barbara BujaÄ?iÄ&#x2021; (Country Manager Croatia), Dario Zurovec (Mayor of Sveta Nedelja), Thomas Schauer (Regional Manager South-East), Roland Raith (Business Development South Region), Martin Reinprecht (Head of Facility Service East).

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Zagreb Launched as a small forwarding operation in 2000, Gebrüder Weiss Croatia now offers a full-service logistics package. Well-known companies from the high-tech, automotive, consumer goods and chemical sectors number among its customers. About 17 million euros are currently being invested in the construction of a modern logistics terminal in Sveta Nedelja to the west of Zagreb. Due for completion by the end of 2019, the new location will supersede the existing branch. Some 18,000 square meters of logistics space will then be available. The expansion reflects a management-driven response to the sharp increase in international and domestic goods traffic. The booming e-commerce market has also proven a significant growth engine, generating a steadily rising demand for warehouse logistics and home delivery services.

“The economic climate in Croatia is good, and the outlook stable. Gebrüder Weiss too is feeling the benefits of the boom. Order intake has reached the point where we are planning a new logistics terminal. Our customers and partners will reap the rewards from that as well: there will be a greater warehousing capacity and processes can be completed faster. Our employ-

GOOD TO KNOW

ees welcome the investment too, because it

In many sport expert’s view, Croatia arrived at the 2018 Soccer World Cup with its strongest squad ever. The team reached the final and, while it ultimately lost to France, the players were celebrated as heroes at home.

will further boost our brand and business. In my view the home delivery sector has real potential: more and more people are buying goods online.” BARBARA BUJAČIĆ, COUNTRY MANAGER C ROATIA

The branch in Maria Saal/Carinthia has expanded over the years, with the new logistics terminal opening its doors at the start of 2019.

Only just in operation, but the extension to the existing logistics hall near Esslingen/Stuttgart is already filling up.

Stuttgart After only five months of construction, the Gebrüder Weiss team in Wernau near Esslingen / Stuttgart had their new logistics facility up and running. It is effectively an extension to the existing 6,000 square meters building. Within just two months, turnaround times and processes had both improved significantly. Business in Wernau is flourishing: thanks to orders placed by new customers, the 1,100 storage spaces have been filled from day one. Carinthia Given the ongoing success of the location near Klagenfurt, a fourth expansion phase was launched in 2018 – creating a new 2,500 square meters logistics area, 700 square meters of office space and more than 8,000 square meters of paved space outdoors. Over 8,000 square meters of handling and storage space make Maria Saal a state-of-the art terminal. More than 100 employees and some 200 vehicles are available every day to service the region’s economic area.

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Measurement in motion Digital 3D freight calculation

Gauging freight is an important element of any logistics equation. If its volume is merely estimated, it will not be possible to calculate the precise costs and exploit a truck’s maximum capacity. Yet static measurement takes time – time that is often not factored into complex supply chain processes. Digitalization is the answer. The Viennese start-up Cargometer has introduced the first equipment that can digitally measure cargo on a passing forklift. To this end, two 3D scanners are attached to the loading gate; these automatically feed the volume and weight into the customer’s own system. Over a period of several months, Gebrüder Weiss conducted extensive trials of the system throughout its logistics terminal outside Vienna. With success: the technology speeds up loading and unloading processes, automatically computing transport costs in the process. Moreover, the trucks’ capacities are better utilized and emissions are significantly reduced. During the next few months the system will also be rolled out at a range of company locations in eastern Europe. → Green light p. 67

Two 3D scanners at the loading gate measure freight electronically as the forklift passes by.

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“In 1872 Ferdinand Weiss was not only the company’s managing director. He was also the mayor of Fussach. Deeply rooted in the Lake Constance municipality, he nevertheless chose to move the company’s head offices and his home from Fussach to Bregenz. His decision was sparked by the opening of a railway line between Bregenz and Bludenz. Digitalization is the railway of today. That doesn’t mean embracing every technical innovation. Instead we need to work out which advances are really relevant to us. This means a host of opportunities for Gebrüder Weiss, and we have to identify and seize them to increase the efficiency of our customers’ supply chains.” HEINZ SENGER-WEISS, MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

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PROCESS STANDARDS

Alongside warehouse standards, these benchmarks facilitate the uniform, efficient performance of recurring activities. The process standards at GebrĂźder Weiss are voucherless and compliant with software-based management systems. Voucherless processing In its warehouses, GebrĂźder Weiss pursues a policy of voucherless processing. The order pickers utilize mobile systems to record movements of all goods and materials. This reduces the incidence of errors, accelerates processes and saves a great deal of paper. Systems guide the goods The Warehouse Management System forms the heart of every logistics terminal. It takes over the efficient planning of all warehousing activities while coordinating between the stocks and the physical level. This translates into shorter transit times, transparent processes and a minimal error rate.

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In the heart of the Balkans Sofia fast becoming a southern European hub

Bulgaria’s geographical location clearly encourages cross-country transport. Linking Central Europe with the Middle East, the country is traversed not only by a number of pan-European traffic corridors, but also by the Danube River. Moreover, Bulgaria has sea access. As a result, it has a relatively well-developed transportation network that encompasses the Bulgarian state-run railway, some 20,000 kilometers of paved roads, four international airports, two major maritime ports and several smaller ports both inland and along its coast. The capital Sofia enjoys pride of place in the middle of the Balkan peninsula, where it offers Gebrüder Weiss customers good transport connections to all the target markets. One party that profits from this location is a global player in electric tools which has established a Regional Distribution Center (RDC) here. From this hub, products are not only dispatched to domestic destinations but to Romania, Greece, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Romanian,

“In recent years we have accomplished a great deal and driven major changes. A small shipping company has blossomed into a full-service logistics provider. Yet one thing has remained the same: our goal of providing service excellence that really satisfies our customers – every single day.” MARIETA GRIGOROVA , COUNTRY MANAGER BULGARIA

GOOD TO KNOW

Bulgaria numbers among the most important suppliers of rose oil worldwide. The essential oil features in fragrances such as the famous Chanel No. 5.

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In good spirits come rain or shine: the Gebrüder Weiss Bulgaria team.

Bulgarian and Greek customers can choose from a palette of 3,500 items and receive their orders within just 24 to 48 hours. For the non-EU countries of Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Albania, Gebrüder Weiss handles the transport right through to the final recipient, including all the import and export customs clearance processes. When it comes to reliability, automotive manufacturers and suppliers have also come to value the know-how and competence offered by Gebrüder Weiss Bulgaria. In addition to top Belgian, Turkish and Japanese suppliers, many German companies have also set up bases here. Major players in the fields of high-tech, consumer goods and engineering have now augmented the established cus tomer base. Gebrüder Weiss can now look back on a quarter-century of success in the Bulgarian market. At three locations, 126 employees provide local and global transport and logistics solutions on an area of more than 13,000 square meters. The outlook for the next 25 years is promising.

Passed with distinction Prizes for Gebrüder Weiss projects

1. “Top Performer” in the Project Cargo Network (PCN) For the second time, the company’s Project Logistics & Break Bulk department was selected as one of the Project Cargo Network’s top performers at a ceremony in November 2018. The network conducts an annual survey in which its members, experienced freight forwarders from over 100 countries, rate each other’s operations. The Gebrüder Weiss department received the highest grade in 83 percent of responses: “We’re particularly proud of this distinction because it’s a practice-oriented evaluation of our work,” says Franco Ravazzolo, Head of Project Logistics & Break Bulk.

2. Generation smart Stefan Scharf from Gebrüder Weiss Vienna placed third in the Junior Freight Forwarder competition run by Austria’s Federation of Freight Forwarding and Logistics (“Zentralverband Spedition und Logistik”). The young logistics manager impressed the judges with his concept for “digitalizing process and document management for small to medium-sized transport companies with their own fleets.” Awarded for the eighth time in 2018, the competition aims to foster and highlight the achievements of emerging freight forwarders.

Wolfram Senger-Weiss (right) congratulates Stefan Scharf (second from right) and the other winners at Austria's Junior Freight Forwarder competition.

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150 LOCATIONS 30 COUNTRIES

60 2017

Gebrüder Weiss 2017 in numbers Logistics World

1,546

MILLION EUROS

NET SALES

470 MILLION EUROS GROSS PROFITABILITY

# 12.7

58,000

Turkmenistan Kazakhstan Silk Road

BY LAND TRANSPORT

Since 1997 Astana has been the capital of

3 4

Kazakhstan.

7,000 The Silk Road starts 24 in Germany

Astana

SOME

Memmingen

EMPLOYEES SPEAK

LANGUAGES.

117,000 BY SEA

Germany

Kazakhstan

Poland 6

Belarus

Uzbekistan

Trade is flourishing between Western Europe and the countries along the old and new Silk Road. Petroleum, textiles and clothing number among the key European imports, while the main exports are machinery, car components and electronics. In 1990, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Gebrüder Weiss initiated activities in Eastern Europe, and has since extended its network eastward along the Silk Road. Today the Gebrüder Weiss East plus team provides services to customers exporting to the CIS countries, the Middle East and Iran. But where does the ancient trading route begin today? In Oman’s capital Muscat? At the border between Europe and Asia in Istanbul? Or maybe even in the Allgäu region of Southern Germany? There, the traditional laboratory equipment manufacturer Waldner maintains its head offices. And since 2016, Gebrüder Weiss has been shipping laboratory equipment for this long-standing regional company overland as far as Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

DPD AUSTRIA DELIVERED SOME

46.5 MILLION PARCELS.

Sixty stories in a single container: the 2017 Yearbook.

Last year, for example, the Gebrüder Weiss branch in Memmingen delivered 26 loads for Waldner to the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat – traveling overland via Poland, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. A further 56 loads were dispatched along the route as far as Astana in Kazakhstan.t• Depending on the weather, the journey takes between 14 and 17 days. The length of the route, dealings with the authorities, and the linguistic and cultural differences make this type of service extremely challenging. “Our experience with multimodal transport in countries like Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia stands us in good stead,” says Dieter Buchinger, Manager of Gebrüder Weiss East plus. The new groupage freight tour from Memmingen to Moscow benefits from this expertise as well. Launched at the end of 2017, it adds another string to the bow of the company’s locations in Switzerland, Austria and Southern Germany.

“Gebrüder Weiss offers a single contact point for all of our transport requirements. That includes communicating with all of the parties involved, something that can become very complicated in places like Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.” FLORIAN WILD, DISPATCH MANAGER AT WALDNER LABOREINRICHTUNGEN

60 2017

Waldner pleased with the orange network and Silk Road experience

WE ARE WHERE YOU ARE.

STANDARD CONTAINERS (TEU)

475 GR GEWICHT MAX. ZEICHEN 106.713 BILDER GES. 87 GRAFIKEN GES. 30 112 SEITEN THEMEN 60

METRIC TONS OF AIR FREIGHT

Land Transport Germany

MILLION CONSIGNMENTS

Russia

Turkmenistan

•People from every part of the planet visited Astana in 2017. From June to September the Kazakh capital hosted EXPO 2017, marking the

first time the World Fair had been held in central Asia. The event also commemorated the 150th anniversary of the second EXPO in Paris, which established the framework for all future World Fairs. Dubai will be staging the next EXPO in 2020.

3. Winning marketing projects 60/2017 – The Gebrüder Weiss Yearbook garnered two major accolades in 2018, the International Creative Media Award Gold in the category Corporate Media and the renowned Red Dot Award for Communication Design. Both competitions recognize outstanding international campaigns, concepts and publications from a specific year. The Atlas Special Aspirations published in the fall of 2018 won the 2019 Best of Content Marketing Award in the category “B2B Magazines” and captured a Grand Prix for outstanding publications.

HOFFNUNGEN: KASACHSTAN

The ATLAS Aspirations presents stories from all the countries in which the company maintains a presence.

Kasachstan Almaty

B ereit für den Aufschwung Kasachstans Tor zur Neuen Seidenstraße

SONDERAUSGABE 2018

EXPORT-SCHWERPUNKTE TOP 3

Erdöl Nichteisenmetalle Eisen und Stahl

LANDESSPRACHE

Kasachisch, Russisch

IMPORT-SCHWERPUNKTE TOP 3

DURCHSCHNITTSALTER

Maschinen Nahrungsmittel Eisen und Stahl

30,6 Jahre DURCHSCHNITTSTEMPERATUR

6,40 °C LANDFLÄCHE

272.490 km2 STRASSEN- UND SCHIENENNETZ

97.418 km / 14.767 km AUSSENHANDELSQUOTE

61,80 %

NATIONALFEIERTAG

Unabhängigkeitserklärung 1991: 16. Dezember TYPISCHES GERICHT AN EINER RASTSTÄTTE

Samsa – traditionell im Tandoor-Ofen gebackene Teigtaschen, meist mit Pferde- oder Hammelfleisch gefüllt BUCH ODER FILM ZUR REISEVORBEREITUNG

Mukhtar Auezov: »Abai Zholy«* GEFÜHLTER EXPORTSCHLAGER

Hartweizen

Auf der Seidenstraße kamen einst Stoffe, Porzellan und exotische Gewürze aus China nach Europa. Moscheen und Medressen in Zentralasien zeugen noch heute vom Glanz einer Zeit, da der Handel zwischen Orient und Okzident ganzen Regionen zu Wohlstand verhalf. Diesen Mythos will China wiederbeleben – mit der »Neuen Seidenstraße« und Investitionen von mehr als einer Billion Euro. Ende 2013 brachte Chinas Staatschef Xi Jinping das gigantische Infrastrukturprogramm auf den Weg, die »Belt and Road Initiative« (BRI ). Längst sprengt die BRI die Pfade seines mittelalterlichen Vorbilds, denn China investiert weltweit in den Ausbau von Transportwegen. Auch der Kasache Zhenis Turkiya will von dem Mammutprojekt profitieren. Er ist Investor und Bauherr eines Hotelund Shoppingkomplexes in Khorgos, auf dem Gelände des sogenannten Internationalen Zentrums für Grenzzusammenarbeit ICBC . »Wir sind hier eine der ersten Investoren aus Kasachstan und es gibt sicher viele Risiken«, sagt Turkiya. »Aber es bieten sich auch unheimlich viele Möglichkeiten.« Khorgos ist Kasachstans Tor zu Neuen Seidenstraße, rund 1.500 Kilometer südöstlich der kasachischen Hauptstadt Astana. Das ICBC ist ein 800 Hektar großes Territorium rund um den kasachisch-chinesischen Grenzübergang – die Basis für gemeinsame Wirtschaftsprojekte beider Länder, mit visafreiem Regime in beide Richtungen und Steuervergünstigungen. Turkiyas Hotel soll 180 Zimmer haben und Geschäftsleute wie Touristen gleichermaßen anziehen. Auch Casinos, eine Rennbahn, Wellness-Tempel und Schönheitskliniken sind geplant. Noch ist davon kaum etwas zu sehen. Während in den vergangenen Jahren auf chinesischer Seite in Khorgos eine komplett neue Stadt entstand, sieht man diesseits der kasachischen Grenze bislang noch eine riesige Baustelle. Turkiya will das Hotel dennoch 2018 fertig bauen. »Kasachstan ist oft zögerlich, Genehmigungen zu erteilen«, sagt er. »Das verstehe ich nicht, denn wir haben ein Riesenpotenzial, auch eigene Produkte nach China zu verkaufen.«

20 Kilometer weiter funktioniert die Logistik auf der Neuen Seidenstraße schon recht gut. Der »Dry Port Khorgos« ist ein Umschlagplatz, an dem Container wegen unterschiedlicher Spurbreiten von chinesischen Zügen auf kasachische Züge umgeladen werden. Bisher dauerte es 45 bis 50 Tage, um chinesische Güter auf dem Seeweg nach Europa zu senden. Auf dem Landweg über Kasachstan ist die Transportzeit halb so lang. Auch wenn die Kosten dafür bis zu zehnmal so hoch sind, lohnt sich das für viele Kunden. Naziyam Ibragimova ist PR -Managerin beim Dry Port Khorgos und führt regelmäßig Besucher über das Gelände mit den markanten gelben Containerbrücken. Die 25-Jährige ist überzeugt, dass Khorgos der ganzen Region hier im äußersten Südosten Kasachstans zu einem Aufschwung verhelfen wird. Ibragimova stammt aus der Region, lebte jedoch mehrere Jahre in Almaty. »Ich selber hätte das nie gedacht, aber ich bin aus der Stadt zurückgekehrt, weil ich hier ein besseres Arbeitsangebot hatte«, sagt sie. Ihr Arbeitgeber hat ihr eine Wohnung in Nurkent besorgt, einer Satellitenstadt wenige Kilometer entfernt, die nur für Angestellte des Dry Ports gebaut wurde. Bisher leben hier 1.200 Einwohner, Bludenz, Feldkirch, Graz, Hall / Tirol, Innsbruck, Kalsdorf, geplant ist die Stadt jedoch für 100.000 Menschen. Trotz der Kennelbach, Lauterach, Leoben, Leobendorf, Leopoldsdorf, etwas trostlosen Umgebung – direkt hinter Ibragimovas PlatLinz-Hörsching, Maria Lanzendorf, Maria Saal, Pöchlarn, tenbau beginnt die Steppe – freut sich die junge Frau, hier Salzburg, Sulz, Wels, Wien, Wien-Schwechat, Wolfurt, Wörgl zu sein. »Wir wohnen mietfrei und haben alles, was wir brauchen, Kindergarten, Schule, Geschäfte.« Zwischen dem Dry Port und Nurkent fährt täglich ein Shuttle-Bus – auch der ist kostenlos. Über eine Rückkehr in die Stadt denkt Ibragimova nicht nach. Und auch Investor Turkiya ist bereit, auf Hotelgäste zu warten, falls nötig. Selbst wenn die Träume Kasachstans auf einen schnellen Boom der Region um Khorgos nicht ganz so rasch umgesetzt werden, wie anfangs geplant – das Tor zur Neuen Seidenstraße steht offen.

HOFFNUNGEN: ÖSTERREICH

Österreich

Schön und gut 20 Fragen an Stefan Sagmeister über Schönheit und Funktion, Österreich und Amerika

text und interview: Andreas Uebele

rund 295 km

GW-STANDORTE / MITARBEITERINNEN UND MITARBEITER

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HOFFNUNGEN

Naziyam Ibragimova fühlt sich in Khorgos schon ganz wohl.

text: Edda Schlager rund 1.655 km

DIE WELT BEWEGT: DAS MAGAZIN VON GEBRÜDER WEISS

Ein Tipp von GW -Mitarbeiterin Ailyana Aletova

GW-STANDORTE /

EXPORT-SCHWERPUNKTE TOP 3

MITARBEITERINNEN UND MITARBEITER

Maschinen und Fahrzeuge bearbeitete Waren chemische Erzeugnisse

38/3.046 LANDESSPRACHE

Deutsch und regional: Slowenisch, Kroatisch, Ungarisch DURCHSCHNITTSALTER

IMPORT-SCHWERPUNKTE TOP 3

Maschinen und Fahrzeuge bearbeitete Waren sonstige Fertigwaren

44 Jahre NATIONALFEIERTAG DURCHSCHNITTSTEMPERATUR

6,35 °C LANDFLÄCHE

83.882 km2 STRASSEN- UND SCHIENENNETZ

133.597 km / 4 .937 km AUSSENHANDELSQUOTE

100,60 %

Verabschiedung des Neutralitätsgesetzes 1955: 26. Oktober TYPISCHES GERICHT AN EINER RASTSTÄTTE

Leberkässemmel – eine Scheibe von einer Art Brühwurst in Käselaibform im Brötchen BUCH ODER FILM ZUR REISEVORBEREITUNG

Robert Seethaler: »Der Trafikant« GEFÜHLTER EXPORTSCHLAGER

Mozartkugeln, Mannerschnitten

Was hat Logistik mit dem österreichischen Pavillon auf der Architektur-Biennale in Venedig zu tun? So einiges. Das Verstauen von Gütern und die Zustellung zum vereinbarten Zeitpunkt sind ein ästhetischer Akt: Man kann Pakete, Kisten oder andere Objekte einfach irgendwie in den vorhandenen Stauraum stopfen – oder sinnvoll packen, dicht und platzsparend. Die Ordnung, die so entsteht, ist praktisch, weil der Raum optimal genutzt ist und nichts verrutscht oder beschädigt wird. Außerdem sieht sie besser aus als eine chaotische Beladung und erfreut die Empfängerin oder den Empfänger, wenn alles heil und pünktlich angekommen ist. Und das ist die Brücke zum besagten Pavillon, im Jahr 2018 gesponsert von Gebrüder Weiss. Der österreichische Pavillon auf dem Gelände der Biennale in Venedig wurde erbaut von Josef Hoffmann, einem der wichtigsten Vertreter der österreichischen Architektur des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts. Sie ist, wenn man so will, eine Architektur des ästhetischen Funktionalismus: Die Gebäude sind schön – und gleichzeitig funktionieren sie sehr präzise. Dieses Prinzip wird in einer temporären Installation im österreichischen Pavillon fortgesetzt. Ein großes, rosafarbenes Gleichzeichen, das in den Boden eingeschnitten ist, verbindet dort zwei Räume, in denen typografische Filme an die Decke projiziert werden, der eine zu Schönheit (Beauty), der andere zu Funktion (Function). Schönheit ist gleich Funktion, so die Aussage des amerikanischen Designbüros Sagmeister & Walsh, das diese Installation gestaltet hat. Gründer des Büros ist der Bregenzer Stefan Sagmeister. Das Nachdenken über das Zusammenspiel von Schönheit und Funktion hat eine lange Tradition. Der Satz »Form follows function« von Louis Sullivan beschreibt, dass Schönheit, oder genauer: eine schöne Form, dann entsteht, wenn sie aus der Funktion entwickelt wurde. Diese Aussage verdichtete der Architekt Adolf Loos zu »Ornament und Verbrechen« und meinte damit, dass Zutaten, die nicht der Funktion dienen, schlichtweg hässlich seien. – Wir wünschen uns ein schönes Haus und wollen es auch bequem bewohnen können. Aber ist Schönheit denn tatsächlich untrennbar mit Funktion verbunden? 20 Fragen an Stefan Sagmeister.

1. Du vertrittst Österreich dieses Jahr auf der Biennale, lebst aber seit 27 Jahren im Ausland. Was ist österreichisch an dir? Ich habe alle meine wirklich prägenden Jahre in Österreich verbracht, bis 18 in Vorarlberg und dann bis 23 in Wien. Obwohl ich New York als meine Heimat bezeichnen würde, fühle ich mich als Österreicher – und nicht als Amerikaner. Ich bin mit einer Green Card hier und bin nie Staatsbürger geworden. Die kurze Antwort auf »Was ist österreichisch an dir?«: alles. 2. Schönheit = Funktionalität ist das Thema eurer Arbeit. Kannst du mir Alltagsbeispiele nennen? Wir sind in unserem Studio durch Erfahrung darauf gekommen, dass die resultierende Arbeit umso besser funktioniert, je mehr wir die Form ernst nehmen und viel Liebe in die Schönheit stecken. Das lässt sich an zahlreichen Beispielen nachvollziehen: All die funktionalen 70er-Jahre-Wohnblöcke, die in den 90ern schon wieder gesprengt werden mussten, weil niemand mehr darinnen wohnen wollte – die hätten viel besser funktioniert, wenn Schönheit während der Planungsphase ein Teil des Ziels gewesen wäre. 3. Wo fehlt dir Schönheit? Überall. Im Alltag. Online. Überall. 4. Gibt es Schönheit ohne Funktionalität? Aber ja, und wie! Massenweise! Der größte Teil aller Kunst hat keine oder nur geringe Funktionalität, sie ist. Sie muss nichts tun, nichts können. Der französische Philosoph Theophile Gautier glaubte sogar, dass Funktionalität die Schönheit verhindert. Er meinte, dass nur etwas, das nicht funktioniert, schön sein kann. Das funktionalste Zimmer im Haus? Das Klo. 5. Oder Funktionalität ohne Schönheit? Ja, die gibt es auch. Eine Autobahnabfahrt funktioniert wunderbar – die ideale Kurvatur, um eine Schnellstraße zu verlassen. Aber schön ist die nicht. Die meisten Menschen sind sich darüber einig, dass Autobahnabfahrten nicht schön sind, darum verbringt niemand den Urlaub dort und es gibt keine Hotels unter Autobahnabfahrten. Aber das könnte sich ändern, wenn eine solche Abfahrt mit Liebe und Sorgfalt gestaltet werden würde.

Principles in practice Winners of the Orange Championship Awards announced

The winners (from left): Dieter Buchinger, J ürgen Bauer, Helmut Schöpf and Harald Kostial, congratulated by Wolfram Senger-Weiss.

Once again the Orange Championship Awards have been presented in-house for inspiring projects that epitomize the company’s four core values – independence, sustainability, service excellence and commitment – and put them into practice in an exemplary way.

Independence New Air & Sea partner network Successful establishment of new partnerships in countries without Gebrüder Weiss locations. Sustainability myOrangeCollege (myOC) – Learning as a driving force Creation of an online learning platform for the entire company , on which employees can network across national boundaries and access more flexible training opportunities independently of time and place. → Flexible learning p. 89

Service Excellence GW East plus Combines – Ashgabat Multimodal transport of 210 combine harvesters from Germany to Turkmenistan along the former Silk Road. → Agricultural machines for Turkmenistan, ships for the desert p. 50

Commitment Peak season management for a global player in the high-tech industry. Successful transport of high-volume shipments despite shortage of freight capacity, plus seamless, 24/7 operational supervision, even between Christmas and New Year.

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From apprentice to regional director Roland Gander bids farewell

Like several other employees, Roland Gander is a true orange veteran. Or at least he was until the end of the year. In December, after 46 years of service, he finished his last day of work at the company – marking the end of a storybook career. It all began on September 1, 1972, when Roland Gander started his apprenticeship in the Vorarlberg town of Dornbirn. With hard work and an astute mind, he worked his way up through the company over the years, finally becoming Regional Manager West. During peak periods, the Dornbirn native had responsibility for over 1,500 employees. Admittedly, there were a few troughs and valleys during the 46 years that he worked for Gebrüder Weiss, not least in 2008 and 2009. The Lehmann Brothers investment bank sparked a financial crisis, and the global economy all but ground to a halt. It was above all the highly-motivated staff who helped the company cushion the blow and survive the chaos largely unscathed, Gander recalls. Looking back, he adds, things were generally good. Roland Gander passed on his desk to Hannes Mayr, which whom he had worked very closely over the previous 18 months. Mayr spent twelve years at the helm of Gebrüder Weiss Tyrol in his home region. Since January 1, 2019, he has been guiding the company’s fortunes as Regional Manager West.

Heidi Senger-Weiss and Roland Gander at the retirement ceremony.

WAREHOUSE STANDARDS

Warehouse standards are uniform standards applied to infrastructure, workplace de scriptions and other central aspects of warehouse logistics. It is only natural that the Gebrüder Weiss pledge of quality also extends to logistics terminals and transhipment points.

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Organization and cleanliness

The working areas, goods, transport routes, warehouse fittings, tools and vehicles must all be well-maintained and clean. Employees sweep and mop the floors daily. Very strict hygiene regulations are in place for some customers, particularly those in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

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Climatic conditions

Each type of merchandise is handled in accordance with its own needs: warehousing paper entails different requirements than storing bicycles, not to mention foodstuffs. What is more, geographical factors also play a role. The Gebrüder Weiss logistics terminal in Dubai, for example, is kept at a constant 26°C all year round.

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Safety

To ensure that both employees and goods are protected from accidents in warehouses, all working instructions need to be followed to the letter. Paths for vehicles and pedestrians are clearly marked, the infrastructure is designed for safety and any dangers are prominently signposted.

“People, their motivation, their strength, their effort and their behavior when dealing with others, all has a cultural impact. And that impacts the business as a whole. The people at Gebrüder Weiss are the key to our success.” PETER KLOIBER, MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

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Flexible learning myOC fully rolled out

Lifelong learning is fast becoming the key to success in today’s world. And Gebrüder Weiss has created an added incentive: for the past year employees have had access to its digital learning platform myOrangeCollege (myOC) – which is now available at all of the company’s locations. Thanks to a mixture of on-site and online training, personnel can now ensure they are up to speed. In addition to teaching the fundamentals – including general information on the organization, its rules and regulations, and its structure – the aim is to provide practical, realistic training modules that help both newcomers and experienced staff seeking to advance their careers. More than 60 seminars are available, covering topics as diverse as management, sales, motivation, communication, technology and foreign languages, and these are complemented by web-based training sessions. Participants are encouraged to submit requests for further topics at any time. → Dedicated drivers p. 41 → Principles in practice p. 84

The launch has been a success:

people enjoy using myOC. In 2018 employees completed 2,830 on-site training modules and a further 7,500 online. myOC offers teaching materials in 15 languages – which employees from every corner of the world are free to use.

Welcome to the orange network Gebrüder Weiss Nuremburg integrated The two-year transition period is over and DTC has now become Gebrüder Weiss. The three locations in Nuremburg, Lossburg and Lüdenscheid have been integrated into the orange network and all of the staff have been retained – a process that was successful but not always smooth. DTC and Gebrüder Weiss were originally two companies with very different corporate cultures and conventions: a relatively small freight forwarder became an integral part of a corporate group with a more complex organization. That being said, the workforce is coping well. And their existing customers are benefitting too: they can now access an extended range of services, not to mention to the globally high quality standards of the Gebrüder Weiss network. With a handling area of 11,500 square meters and 19,200 square meters of logistics space, the Nuremburg site is the ideal hub for transport services between Germany, Austria and central and southeastern Europe. Freight transported from Bulgaria, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Hungary is already being routed via, and optimized at, the location.

“I started my apprenticeship as a freight forwarding agent at DTC in 1982. After so many years it obviously isn’t easy to digest the fact that your original employer no longer exists. Part of me feels sad, but the world moves on and it was time for a change. Selling the company to Gebrüder Weiss was a great solution that I strongly supported. At the moment the employees are having to adjust to all kinds of different things. But they seem generally content with work because staff fluctuation is no higher than in the past.” PETER HEINIMANN, HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES, AT DTC / GEBRÜDER WEISS FOR 36 YEARS

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Kickstarting apprenticeships International info day for young people

“In my view, the training at Gebrüder Weiss is excellent. The company offers a whole range of courses and we’re always kept up-to-date. Most of all I like the apprentices’ camp that

Fall 2018 saw the first international info event for budding apprentices. Its theme was “Kickstart your apprenticeship – find out how we tick,” and numerous potential apprentices took the opportunity to look behind the scenes. Ten training locations opened to visitors at the same time: Vienna, Wels, Salzburg, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, Graz, Maria Saal, Esslingen, Passau and Memmingen. Visitors not only found out more about the company; they also received full briefings on the apprenticeships offered. The program for the day featured presentations, films, warehouse tours, office visits, and games illustrating the worlds of freight forwarding and logistics. The company’s Human Resource Development and Department of Brand Strategy and Communications produced stimulating advance advertising materials for the event. These included a video for s ocial media and movie theaters, a radio commercial, and illuminated displays positioned at heavily-frequented locations.

trainees from Austria, Germany and Switzerland get to attend. Like our vocational schools, it gives us great opportunities to meet colleagues from other parts of the network. I’m really impressed by the friendly atmosphere at Gebrüder Weiss, the human touch.” MELANIE DEUX, T RAINEE FREIGHT FORWARDING LOGISTICS MANAGER, VIENNA

Gebrüder Weiss currently offers six apprenticeships: freight forwarding agent, freight forwarding logistics manager, plant logistics agent, office administrator, IT technician, and truck driver.

Clickability Online communication

Social media are becoming increasingly important communication platforms for companies and brands alike. Videos are emerging as the most compelling form of content. Represented on all the leading channels, Gebrüder Weiss can already boast a large fan base. In April 2019, for instance, over 30,000 users were following the logistics company on Facebook, with almost 10,000 followers on LinkedIn. Anyone not wishing to scour the individual channels can find the company’s posts on the Social Wall integrated into its homepage at gw-world.com.

Would you too like to be kept in the loop about Gebrüder Weiss? With the GW App you will have all the latest news at your fingertips. The free app is available from the Apple and Google stores.

For its employees, Gebrüder Weiss has now expanded the company app to included local versions that feature internal and local posts on topics like new hires, events and even traffic updates, as for example in Romania or Tyrol/Austria.

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Gebrüder Weiss 25. Januar 2018 ∙ Blick ins Archiv: Kastenwagen, mit Kabine für die Kollegen … im Anhänger. // Let’s take a look at our historical archive: Van-truck with cabon in the trailer for colleagues.

Last year users took a particular interest in this post showing an early company truck.

Gebrüder Weiss 6. Juli 2017 ∙ Our colleagues from the USA proudly present: // GW truck on the move – the American way Unsere Kollegen aus den USA präsentieren den GW-Lkw – auf die amerikanische Art. Gebrüder Weiss 4. September 2018 ∙ Die weltweit größte GW-Niederlasung befindet sich bei Wien und seit kurzem unter neuer Leitung. Was es damit auf sich hat, erfahren Neugierige hier: https://bit.lyi2oES226 // Under new management: the biggest GW branch in the world. What’s it all about, get to know here https://bit.lyi2oES226

The posts on the first orange truck in the USA and the new management in Vienna also proved popular.

82 VALUE-ADDED SERVICES

Value-added services are those which extend beyond the core portfolio. In addition to warehousing, customers can book additional services to accommodate their specific requirements. For instance, products can be assembled as sets to prepare them better for selling. Gebrüder Weiss also offers its customers quality reviews, for example in product returns management or merchandise inspection – if necessary, all the way through to meticulously checking components with magnifying glasses.

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Cycloholics & The Mad Greyhounds Cycling sponsorship

Tour of Austria For many years Gebrüder Weiss has been partnering the sport of cycling. To mark the anniversary of the Tour of Austria – which was staged for the 70th time last year – the top riders’ shirts and shorts were resplendent in new colors. Sponsored by Gebrüder Weiss, the best Austrian entrant Hermann Pernsteiner was outfitted completely in orange, having secured this claim to fame when he finished the final stage. The pro from Team Bahrain Merida finished second in the overall classification, just 18 seconds behind the winner – Ben Hermans of Belgium. The cyclists’ performances were not alone in impressing fans; the logistical statistics from the tour did likewise. Materials weighing approximately 200 metric tons were moved daily by a dozen trucks during the event. Some 2,500 meters of fencing and 25 kilometers of banners were transported and then erected, installed and removed at each of the eight stages. “The Tour of Austria is the country’s biggest traveling circus. I’m delighted that we have found support in Gebrüder Weiss, the kind of strong logistics partner we need in this area,” says Tour Director Franz Steinberger.

Left: Hermann P ernsteiner (center) sprinting for the lead. Right: After the finish, he celebrated his position as the highest-placed Austrian.

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The Race Across America

is regarded as one of the toughest in the world. And it has spawned a similar race recently on this side of the Atlantic: the Race Across Europe, which follows a 4,721-kilometer course through six countries. The world’s longest bike race is the Red Bull Trans-Siberian Extreme, in which competitors cycle over 9,000 kilometers from the starting line in Moscow to its finish in Vladivostok on the Pacific coast.

Cycle race across the USA For many, the Race Across America (RAAM) is the world’s craziest bike race. The course runs from the West Coast to the Atlantic – on highways, through baking-hot Monument Valley and over snaking Rocky Mountain passes. The aim is to complete the roughly 5,000-kilometer course, which includes climbs totaling over 50,000 meters, within a time limit of just a few days. In the 70+ age category, four seniors sponsored by Gebrüder Weiss drew raves last year. With an average age of 72, they were the oldest European team ever to enter the competition. Labeling themselves The Mad Greyhounds, the team consisted of the three Austrian extreme sportsmen Herbert Lackner (78), Gottfried Hinterholzer (67) and Pepi Bichl (72), plus Lothar Färber (70) from Germany and a 14-person support squad. The quartet set off on June 16 from Oceanside, California, and took seven days, seven hours and 49 minutes to reach the East Coast, emerging victorious in the event’s over-70s class.

The Mad Greyhounds and their team during the Race Across America.

Orange wherever you look International sponsorship

Passion, team spirit and precisely coordinated movement are pivotal points for a logistics company. Which explains why perimeter boards used by the Dornbirn Bulldogs ice hockey team have been orange for so many years. GebrĂźder Weiss sponsors the club, which has been competing in Austriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Erste Bank Eishockey League since 2012. Employees from the Vorarlberg region are not alone in following the team. Their colleagues from southern Germany and eastern Switzerland also cheer on the Bulldogs at home games.

The Dornbirn Bulldogs playing at home against the team from Linz.

Left: Gebrüder Weiss has recently established digital presences in soccer stadiums – as seen here in the encounter between the Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool; right: at a volleyball game in the Czech city of Kladno.

In 2018 the perimeter fencing at Europe’s soccer stadiums also featured the corporate color – helping to spread the company’s name and image abroad. At select matches in Spain’s LaLiga and England’s Premier League, the colors have featured prominently in digital advertising. The penetration was terrific: Premier League games are broadcast in no fewer than 195 countries around the world. The brand is also represented in other sports. At the Judo Grand Slam in Düsseldorf recently, more than 600 men and women competed for gold, silver and bronze against the backdrop of the company’s logo. In the Czech Republic Gebrüder Weiss is sponsoring the suc cessful men’s volleyball team from Kladno. Two large banners are suspended in the city’s sports hall, not far from Prague and the head offices of the company’s Czech organization. Some of the games are broadcast live on television. Some 26,000 Czech fans followed the most recent matchup against Liberec.

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Partnerships for people Gebrüder Weiss supports aid projects

Educational materials for crisis regions Gebrüder Weiss commenced sponsoring UNICEF Austria in 2016. The orange logistics expert supported the “School-in-a-Box” project in 2018, in which boxes containing teaching materials are dispatched to regions in need. Each contains enough material for 40 children: exercise books, schoolbags, pens and pencils – plus a solar radio or an inflatable globe. Gebrüder Weiss provided the kickstart funding for the first 100 boxes and in 2018 transported the boxes for promotional use in Austria. Furniture for Romania Back in 2012, Father Georg Sporschill established the organization “Elijah” in Romania to provide help to Roma families living locally. When used hotel furniture had to be transported from Bregenz (Austria) to Sibiu (Romania), the staff from the Gebrüder Weiss relocation team needed no encouragement. They helped load 40 beds and 32 nightstands, which arrived safely two days later at Eliljah’s central warehouse.

Transporting furniture for a good cause.

7,100 Employees of the Year People at Gebrüder Weiss A logistics company moves goods and solves logistics problems. To ensure that these tasks progress as smoothly as possible, Gebrüder Weiss can count on its roughly 7,100 employees around the world – from warehouse staff and branch managers through to top executives. As an employer, the company places issues like training and career opportunities, workplace safety, apprenticeships, human resource management and teambuilding at the very top of its personnel priorities. A survey of 5,720 employees across 19 countries validates this strategy: around 90 percent of staff feel proud to work at Gebrüder Weiss and recommend the company as an employer to others.*

How do staff members rate Gebrüder Weiss as an employer?

My apprenticeship at GW is interesting and varied.

I am happy to recommend GW as a good employer.

Apprentices

I’m proud to work at GW.

Blue-collar workers

87 %

79 %

89 %

81 %

88 %

81 %

My job with GW is secure.

85 %

88 %

I am fully supported in my apprenticeship by my training instructor.

White-collar workers * The evaluation of the 2017/2018 employee survey was conducted by an external consultancy.

Motivated to do well, apprentices in Esslingen begin the training year.

For its personnel, Gebrüder Weiss stands for ...

quick profit maximization

34 %

66 %

18 %

82 %

Service Excellence

51 %

49 %

73 %

27 %

high level of commitment

53 %

47 %

75 %

25 %

large corporation

65 %

35 %

44 %

56 %

team work and team spirit

78 %

22 %

79 %

21 %

friends, family

28%

72 %

26 %

74 %

100 %

80 %

60 %

Blue-collar workers

40 %

20 %

White-collar workers

sustainable company growth

standard operations

work to rule

family company

working alone/ individualism

colleagues, career

20 %

40 %

60 %

80 %

100 %

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A distinguished farewell Wolfgang Niessner hands over the reins

Following some 15 years as Chief Executive Officer, Wolfgang Niessner retired as planned at the end of 2018. In October he received the prestigious Hermes.Wirtschafts.Preis (“Hermes.Business.Prize”) for 2018 as “Entrepreneur of the Year” – a fitting climax to his career at Gebrüder Weiss. On a personal level, Wolfgang Niessner views his time at the company as a rewarding experience: “I had the privilege of working with innumerable interesting people. I came to better assess my own strengths and weaknesses. And I learned the importance of values such as loyalty and commitment. People placed an incredible amount of trust in me – and I hope that I never disappointed them.” Looking back we can safely conclude that this trust was justified. Under Wolfgang Niessner’s stewardship, Gebrüder Weiss grew in numerous ways. A medium-sized enterprise with some 3,500 employees at the start of his tenure, it evolved into a corporate group with clear organi zational structures and over 7,100 employees. At the same time, the orange network has been consistently expanded eastwards – towards eastern Europe, the Balkans and beyond. Forty-eight new sites have been added in his era, including several in America and Asia – a proud achievement. Yet he is loath to impose his ideas on his successors: “Wolfram Senger-Weiss and Jürgen Bauer are very competent people who are highly regarded by insiders and outsiders alike. They both know the company and its operations like the backs of their hands. Moreover, every period has its specific challenges and every manager his or her own style. The formulas of the past will not necessarily solve the problems of the future.” We all wish Wolfgang Niessner the very best for his retirement and sincerely hope that he serves the company on its Supervisory Board for many years to come.

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The future never comes and we cannot know what it holds. However, automated processes and technical aids such as exoskeletons and self-learning applications will further simplify employees’ day-to-day tasks. But rather than replacing humans, they will assist them in their work.

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Subsidiaries, Brands, Joint Ventures Under the umbrella of Gebrüder Weiss Holding AG, which is based in Lauterach, Austria, the company offers a range of highly specialized industry solutions and subsidiaries – alongside its core competences of land transport, Air & Sea freight and logistics services. This bundling of services allows to respond quickly and flexibly to customers’ needs.

TSSU Tiroler Straße-Schiene- Umschlagsgesellschaft Intermodale Schiene-StraßeVerkehre www.tssu.at

DPD Austria | Parcel Service

www.dpd.at

dicall Communication, call-center solutions, market research www.dicall.at tectraxx | Services for hi-tech companies www.tectraxx.com

SLG | Removals expert

www.slg.at FASHIONET

Textile logistics packages www.fashionet.com

WOAC Weiss Ocean & Air Cargo

Sea and air freight, logistics services www.woac.de EuroExpress Express delivery services spanning 24 European countries www.euroexpress.at Gebrüder Weiss Rail Cargo | Rail Logistics

x|vise Logistics consulting and e-commerce specialist www.xvise.com

Automotive Logistics

Gebrüder Weiss | Automotive logistics Joint venture serving China’s automotive industry and its suppliers

With heartfelt thanks to all those contributors who made this annual report happen.

Gebrüder Weiss GmbH Corporate Brand Strategy & Communications Bundesstraße 110, A – 6923 Lauterach PROJECT LEAD GW Frank Haas PROJECT MANAGEMENT GW Merlin Herrmann IDEA AND CONCEPT Gebrüder Weiss. Corporate Brand Strategy & Communications

and Groothuis. Gesellschaft der Ideen und Passionen mbH, Hamburg, www.groothuis.de EDITORS Judith Gebhardt-Dörler, Merlin Herrmann, Sonja Schlingensiepen,

Imke Borchers, Miriam Holzapfel TRANSLATIONS FOR THE ENGLISH EDITION Gilbert & Bartlett GbR, Hamburg LAYOUT Miriam Kunisch, Sandra Gerstenfeldt PRODUCERS Raimund Fink, Carolin Beck, Steffen Meier PROOFREADING Tessa Scott LITHOGRAPHY Alexander Langenhagen, Edelweiss Publishing, Hamburg PRINTING AND BINDING BULU – Buchdruckerei Lustenau GmbH

IMAGERY AND COPYRIGHT HOLDERS

Gebrüder Weiss archive, except: p. 2, 7, 34/35, 57, 66, 77; 88 : Lukas Hämmerle; p. 13: shutterstock/VanderWolf Images; p.17, 31: ViennaShots; p. 22, 89: Pius Pichler; p. 26/27: Dominik Obertreis; p. 33 below right and below left, p. 36 below: Frederick Sams; p. 36/37 center: gettyImages/shironosov; p. 37 below, p.78/79, 87 above: Marcel A. Mayer; p. 39: Christian Haasz; p. 40: DPDgroup; p. 41, 90, 103: Sonja Schlingensiepen; p. 42, 43 below: Marius Tonghioiu; p. 44/45: Marcel Hagen; p. 46: GettyImages/mf-guddyx; p. 50: Royal IHC; p. 51: CLAAS; p. 52: Veer/GettyImages; p. 52/53 center: GettyImages/Fancy/Veer/Corbis; p. 53: Weissengruber & Partner; p. 62/63: Lena Lux; p. 64, 106: Frank Haas; p. 67: MAN; p. 69: iStockphoto/ leungchopan; p. 70: GettyImages/Veer; p. 71: GettyImages/cmfotoworks; p. 72: Martina Cvek; p. 75: primokopter.at / Gottfried Prise; p. 76: Johann Ployer; p. 82 above: Project Cargo Network; p. 82 below: ÖVZ/Jörg Uckermann; p.84: Alexandra Serra; p. 85: Patricia Keckeis; p. 86/87 center: Westacht; p. 91 above: Merlin Herrmann; p. 94: Miriam Holzapfel; p. 95: Susanne Krum; p.96/97: Expa Pictures; p.98/99, 100: The Mad Greyhounds; p. 101: Thomas Keller; p. 102 above right: Honza Pech; p. 109: GettyImages/metamorworks