moves 3 2009 by Jacob Thesander

Nr. 2 2009

lnudr

lnudr No. 3 2009

Annette Sadolin: the first woman member of DSVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s board Page 6

Editorial

When a storm is approaching, it is a good idea to trim the sails to prevent a sudden gust of wind from overturning the whole ship. Financial storms have been raging for almost a year now, and DSV has trimmed the sails and made the ship navigable in time. When I look out across our company today, I see a well-trimmed, viable organisation which – although it has received its share of blows in the past few months that have caused us to cut back and dismiss employees – is now ready and rigged for growth, regardless of the turmoil around us. DSV has already proven that we can beat the market in times of prosperity. I’m convinced that this will also be case when we look back on a year of crisis and see who won and who lost.

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After the acquisition and integration of ABX, DSV has one of the most attractive networks in the world and this will strengthen our opportunities on the global market. The implementation of common, intelligent sales tools and IT systems and our focus on standardising work processes has efficiently brought DSV to a unique position where we uphold our local commitment and, at the same time, exploit the inherent advantages of a multinational organisation. And this trend is continuing and poses new challenges that can only be overcome through creative teamwork. Climate change is a good example. How will this affect our business in the years ahead? Will we experience declining volumes of goods in the long term? Probably not. Will we need more intelligent methods for conveying the goods to the end user? Probably. One thing is certain: the climate and our environment will be playing an increasingly greater part in our surroundings, as is also evident in a number of articles in this issue of moves. Obvious, low-tech and simple, practical solutions to our problems go hand in glove with DSV’s business model: the filling of lorries and containers

will be maximised, return loads will be required and our drivers must drive sensibly and economically. We can’t do much better than that, and if our customers are willing to contribute to these developments it will also be a win-win situation for everyone involved in these efforts. Summer is upon us here in the northern hemisphere, and one can only hope that high pressure systems will push our dark financial clouds somewhat into the horizon. Some people have already expressed that the crisis was too short! That the business community didn’t do enough spring cleaning after seven years of prosperity where self satisfaction and optimism seemed limitless. I don’t feel included in this assessment, and it takes someone from another planet to seriously wish that this crisis would continue. The past year has shown us that no one can resolve the problems alone. We are all interconnected and only a joint effort by all nations will make a difference. I hope you are enjoying your summer! Best regards, Jens Bjørn Andersen

DSV at climate summit On 2 November, the United Nations will move into Bella Center, Copenhagen, which will serve as the setting for the historical COP15 climate summit in December. DSV will be where the action is – having been designated an official transporter for the UN.

The women are coming! DSV now has its first woman member of the board. She would prefer having more women in the upper corporate echelons, but rejects the use of gender quotas.

Green transport Novozymes’ enzymes are used in thousands of products, from clothing to breakfast rolls. Over the past ten years, DSV and Novozymes have worked closely together to reduce transport emissions.

Competitors Like the 500 employees in the US organisation, Michael D. Hansen and Carsten Trolle are competitors to the hilt. This helps to generate the best financial results in the group.

Age is no obstacle On the contrary. With an average age of around 65, the Project Department’s port captains are the venerated elders of the company. This job requires them to apply all the lessons they have learned during a normal working life.

Make a difference They don’t just sell clogs to two million Americans every year. The Danish-American owners of Dansko have decided to make a difference in their local community: by giving wideranging assistance to those in need and by keeping a watchful eye on nature.

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DSV to play major part at the UN Climate Summit It could become the most important event in the world when heads of state, ministers for the environment and thousands of public officials descend on Copenhagen for two weeks in December. Denmark will be hosting COP15, better known as the climate summit, with the objective of concluding an ambitious, global climate agreement for the period after 2012. And reaching an agreement is urgent, according to the UN’s IPCC, (International Panel on Climate Change), which is made up of no less than 3,700 of the world’s leading climate experts, who are in unusual agreement. A historical agreement must and will be reached in Copenhagen, and DSV will be part of it – at least between the lines. DSV has had storage space and its own offices at Bella Center for the past thirty years. Because DSV has been a trade-fair forwarding agent for Bella Center, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs commissioned DSV to manage transports relating to the holding of the climate summit. Starting on 2 November The UN will be moving into Bella Center already on 2 November where the area around the newly created urban district of Ørestad will be abuzz with activity, ranging from specially trained anti-terror experts to soft doggy paws charged with guaranteeing that the summit can be held without disconcerting disturbances. And starting already then, DSV will be working on a daily basis at the buildings, which will be turned into a duty-free area for the occasion. “The United Nations probably generates more documents than any other organisation in the world, and there will be three levels of security during the summit,” explains Henrik Glendorf, Logistics Manager in DSV Solutions A/S. Together with Mads Bilenberg and trainee Morten Glendorf (Henrik’s brother), they will be managing DSV’s activities in and around Bella Center.

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UN territory “Special labels made for the days leading up to and during the summit will exempt shipments from customs clearance. During this period, Bella Center will not be part of Denmark – it will be a territory of the UN,” he explains. It will be DSV’s job to handle the volume of incoming documents and have them distributed to the summit’s participants. “We provide storage space and personnel for handling and logging shipments. An additional distribution centre will be set up in Bella Center for which the UN will be ultimately responsible, while DSV will staff the centre to bring out the documents,” says Henrik Glendorf, who still does not know the scope of the task. Plenty of assignments “We requisitioned a specification from Poznan, Poland (site of the previous climate summit in December 2008), to get a general idea about the tasks involved. But we’re stilling waiting for clarification,” says Henrik Glendorf who can look forward to plenty of assignments leading up to the summit: the transporting of interpretation equipment from Switzerland to Bella Center; logistics relating to the setting up and dismantling of sundry AV equipment; and the establishment of storage areas and a distribution centre. DSV Trade Fair Forwarding “The climate summit gives us an opportunity to prove to the whole world that we’re experts in trade-fair forwarding tasks,” says Henrik Glendorf, who just launched a new business area: DSV Trade Fair Forwarding. This new entity delivers full-service transport solutions from door to trade-fair stand and back again for

businesses wishing to exhibit at trade fairs in other countries and for stand construction companies. “We have the expertise it takes for getting everything relating to trade-fair transport to fall into place. It’s crucial that the transports arrive on time – and at the right place. We maintain contact with the local trade-fair forwarding agents, provide advice about completing documents and perform customs clearance,” says Henrik Glendorf, emphasising that DSV Trade Fair Forwarding will utilise DSV’s existing network and that DSV Trade Fair Forwarding challenges colleagues to keep this new department in mind when contacting both new and existing customers. “This will give the customer a single point of contact to deal with, which is a substantial improvement over the current situation,” he says. Single Point of Entry Up to now, DSV has not gathered its expertise relating to trade-fair shipping in any one department. The assignments have turned up rather haphazardly in various parts of the organisation – or forwarding agents have referred customers to outright trade-fair shipping agents. “The point is that now we’re a team actually devoted to this area and who know what’s at stake for our customers, which in some instances have invested millions in trade-fair participation in a foreign country. Everything simply has to go without a hitch and there should only be a

As an official supplier to Bella Center, DSV has been designated as a transporter in connection with the climate summit this December. This provides permanent employment – and heightens the profile of a new business area: DSV Trade Fair Forwarding.

Henrik Glendorf has worked for DSV at Bella Center for seven years: “Precision is essential for trade-fair transports.” Mads Bilenberg is visible in the background.

single point of entry, because then our customers will want to come back!” he says. 25 to 40 events annually At Bella Center, DSV is the only transporter represented with an office, its own storage space (500 m²) and associated forklifts. In busy periods, up to twenty employees work for DSV at the locality. The customer is not Bella Center but the exhibiting and standconstruction companies working at Bella Center’s 25 to 40 large scale events annually. The office trio spends the rest of their time on invoicing and sales work. “We’re in daily contact with the companies that exhibit out here and we offer our services from the company’s door to internal handling at Bella Center and back again, including the storage of empty packaging during the trade fair. As an in-house supplier, we’re more familiar with the conditions out here than other transporters which enables us to give our customers the best experience,” says Henrik Glendorf.

Climate summit The climate summit will last for two weeks, 7–18 December 2009. It will be held in Bella Center, Copenhagen, Denmark. The official name of the climate summit in Copenhagen is COP15. COP is an acronym for Conference of Parties. Denmark is the host country. This means, among other things, that Denmark must attempt to draw up a draft agreement on which everyone can agree – and be a mediator among the parties during the negotiations. The overarching goal is to enter into an ambitious, global climate agreement for the period after 2012.

DSV Trade Fair Forwarding Offers tailored transport solutions to and from trade fairs abroad: from door – to trade fair – to door. Manages all contacts with the local trade fair forwarding agent, including the coordination of loading and unloading, and the storing of empty packaging during the trade fair. Provides advice on filling in documents and on customs clearance. One dedicated contact at DSV. DSV Trade Fair Forwarding is located in DSV’s Bella Center premises.m o v e s 5

Being a ROLE MODEL is her duty Annette Sadolin, DSV’s new member of the board, has had a “privileged career”. That’s why she feels that it is her duty to be interviewed: so she can encourage other women to seek executive positions.

It’s actually not for the sake of women that Annette Sadolin would prefer to see far more women in management and on the boards of listed companies. It’s for the companies’ own sake – and because she would prefer that they are seeking these executive positions voluntarily, rather than because they are being forced to do so: “Companies need a larger pool of talent and diversity that result from having different people with different competencies in the upper echelons. If we don’t figure out how to do this ourselves, a new government will step in and pass legislation stipulating quotas, just like they’ve done in countries like Norway and Spain, and I’m against that. This also entails a risk of getting lessqualified candidates for these positions,” says Annette Sadolin, DSV’s newly elected board member and also the first woman board member ever. Role model “Never underestimate the role-model effect of being a woman manager or board member – because having a woman on the board will have a knockon effect. It’s also one of the reasons I’m willing to be interviewed. In my opinion, having a privileged career obliges you to highlight your role,” says Annette Sadolin, who has a law degree and 25 years of business experience. Until 2004, she was an executive in a number of General Electric companies and was based abroad, primarily in London and Germany, but also in the US, where she was a member of many internal GE boards. Annette Sadolin has used her typical 200 days of travelling a year to buy up

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and incorporate companies in Europe and the Far East and has also set up offices in the same locations. “GE is very focused on advancing women’s careers within the company. Because of GE’s internal, special training programmes and networks for women in management positions, the company is an inspiring workplace in which to forge a career, and GE reaps huge benefits from maintaining this focus on training and management tools. It promotes the potential of all employees, regardless of gender,” she says, adding: “But there are many ways of accomplishing this.” Basis for improvements With 48 women on the boards of listed Danish companies, constituting 5.6% of the board membership, there is room for improvement. Seeing that Annette Sadolin is a member of seven other boards, she is busily representing her gender, and as a professional board member she didn’t waste any time accepting when chairman of the board Kurt Larsen phoned her to offer her a seat on DSV’s board. “I’d met Kurt Larsen before and expressed that I thought DSV was an interesting, dynamic company and that I would be interested if a replacement were ever needed for the board. I’m referring to the results achieved and that DSV is motivated by an entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen,” says Annette Sadolin, who predicts that women, because of their greater numbers in tertiary study programmes and their above-average marks, will be far more visible in board rooms. But they still need a gentle push

before they dare to take the leap and get all the way to the top,” she says. “They might accept being an assistant director, but turn down being CEO or assistant CEO because that would take its toll and it’s also hard to make these top positions mesh with family life. But the more women assistant directors there are – and there will be, too – the easier the next step will be.” “Convince me!” As a board member of a listed company, you are responsible for complying with the regulations in force. This includes the Danish Companies Act and corporate governance recommendations. Also, board members must cultivate shareholder interests and ensure that value is created in the company. “We have to choose the best director and ask critical questions about the decisions being made: “I always say ‘Convince me!’ and demand that they don’t stop until I’m convinced. You have to be the management’s sparring partner and take your board responsibilities seriously – including being responsible for strategic development,” says Annette Sadolin, who also attaches great importance to the control aspect and risk management. “Preventing costs from rushing out the back door is a prerequisite for creating value,” she says. Treating people decently During her 25 years of managerial experience at GE, a US multinational, Annette Sadolin has made both popular and unpopular decisions. It wasn’t always smooth sailing either, but

all acquisitions and the subsequent integration of companies have been carried out with respect for the cultural differences and great consideration shown to the employees involved. “You can’t just be ruthless when you cut back. You have to behave properly and remember to motivate your employees during the process. It takes great integrity. You have to be thick-skinned and cut to the quick, move offices, take all sorts of unpopular measures, but you have to stay within the limits of the law and be highly ethical. Otherwise you could never forge a career at GE, where I come from. You have to comply with written and unwritten rules, treat people properly and help people whose assistance is no longer needed at your workplace to move on.” Respects entrepreneurs Which business manager do you admire the most? “I wouldn’t say I admire any particular business manager, but I do respect many of them. I can’t help mentioning Jack Welch, my previous chief executive at GE, because he had a clear vision and strategy and the ability to motivate his employees so they felt delighted to get up in the morning and go to work for 12 hours! But there are many other good executives, and many of them are relatively unknown. Business executives at the biggest companies are in the spotlight, but I still am very respectful of entrepreneurs who’ve created their own company and who know their limitations and sell when an infusion of external capital and expertise is needed. Many of the companies DSV has acquired over the years probably had fantastic

Annette Sadolin

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News Annette Sadolin, 62. Member of the board for Topdanmark A/S, DSV A/S, DSB, Ratos AB, Lindab AB, Dansk Standard (vice chairwoman), Østre Gasværk Theatre (chairwoman), Skodsborg Kurhotel og Spa, Ny Carlsberg Glyptoteket. Until 2004, she was a member of the board of management in GE Frankona Munich, managing director in Employers Re Copenhagen and a member of the board for various GE companies in Europe, Asia and the US. She received her law degree in Copenhagen and supplemented with law studies at Columbia Law School, USA.

executives, and DSV is also a good story to tell in this context.” Revitalising with art Even if Annette has always had long workdays and sometimes travelled more than 200 days a year, she has never failed to set aside time for revitalising her workday. When the men at the office went to football matches to be revitalised, Annette would attend art exhibitions. “I’ve always made sure to have time for art fairs in Berlin and London and kept up with the latest artists emerging on the international scene. It’s been my way of re-energising myself,” says Annette Sadolin, who has also made a few good finds over the years. “I bought some paintings by Olafur Eliasson ten or twelve years ago, before he became famous. It was amusing to buy some works by Olafur before he had exhibited at Tate Modern and before he made his renowned waterfalls in New York. There’s no way of telling what will be great art and be worth lots of money – it’s a question of supply and demand, and not necessarily about whether the paintings are good. If an artist is in demand by major museums and/or the best art collectors, things happen quickly. The fact is, the more time you spend on art, the better your eye becomes,” Annette Sadolin says, adding that she is a big fan of Per Kirkeby and younger artists “with an edge, like John Kørner.” Metal fatigue without input If there’s no art exhibit nearby, Annette Sadolin can also feel revitalised by watching a good play. Through her

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husband, Pelle Sadolin, who has been a member of various theatre boards over many years, she has seen most of the important works in Denmark’s theatre world. Today, Annette Sadolin is chairwoman of the board for Østre Gasværk Theatre. “I believe that it is important for a business executive to seek inspiration elsewhere. You develop metal fatigue if you fail to get input. You’re more creative and alert if you’re using both sides of the brain,” she says, adding, “But your employees are also a potential source of inspiration. I’ve often been inspired by young employees who present new, interesting ideas during our sparring sessions about upcoming decisions.” The goal is to develop Why don’t you lean back after a long, successful career and enjoy your retirement? “Relaxing has never been a goal in itself to me. My goal is to be part of developing and actively participating in the business world and the world of art. Concurrent with this, I’m also involved in charitable efforts through ‘Women for Influence’ (which helps women in Zimbabwe). I’ve learned that the more you have to do, the faster you do it. I like being involved, busy and taking on challenges – but I’m also able to relax when I’m on holiday, enjoying the sea and the scenery. Because of my current board memberships, my daily work is very flexible and I have a nice long summer and Christmas holidays. And that was something I didn’t have at GE,” says Annette Sadolin.

LEAN is a hit in Scandinavia LEAN is part of daily routines in not only Denmark, but also Sweden, Norway and Finland. In Finland, efforts are being made to set specific goals for freeing up time for increasing sales efforts and reducing the use of paper. About 20% of the employees in Norway have completed a LEAN process – and the target is to make cost-cutting measures worth EUR 620,000 a year. Sweden, with 20 specially trained LEAN agents, has launched five projects for cost-cutting measures that are expected to reach EUR 920,000 this year. Acquisition failed DSV’s acquisition of controlling interest in the shipping company DFDS A/S has failed, due to an initial rejection of the transaction by the European competition authorities. The parties do not believe that the agreed transaction raises any competition concerns but have, based on the competition authorities’ conclusion, decided not to go through with a prolonged phase 2-process. The parties have consequently agreed to cancel the agreement on joint ownership. The competition authorities based their rejection on DFDS A/S’ monopoly in the ports of Gothenburg and Birmingham, which the authorities believe would give DSV a competitive advantage. DSV was intended to own 56 percent of the shares of DFDS A/S together with JL-Fondet. DSV airborne For the next five years, DSV in Spain will be in charge of cargo in Spain’s new privately owned airport in Ciudad Real, Aeropuerto Central CR. The airport opened for passenger transport last year, with daily cargo flights to and from the Canaries to follow this summer. DSV’s logo appears on the cargo plane – further cargo routes are expected opened soon.

Hybrid bus from Belfast to Las Vegas

In a glimpse into the future of passenger transport, you will soon be able to ride a unique bus in Las Vegas. The futuristic hybrid saves 30–40 percent on fuel.

Looking like something from tomorrow, the hybrid bus is crammed with brand-new technology which gives fuel savings of 30-40 percent compared to other buses. The StreetCar RTV (Rapid Transit Vehicle) is the full name of an ecofriendly hybrid bus designed initially for the US market by Wrightbus, one of the UK’s largest coach and bus builders. It has a hybridelectric driveline pulled by a much smaller engine than seen before. The engine is not directly coupled to the drive axle mechanically, which allows the engine to run at a steady speed. In combination with a larger battery, this approach is more suited to the low speed stop-and-go nature of city bus operation. Test driving has indicated significant reductions in fuel consumption, in the neighbourhood of 30-40%, compared to a non-hybrid Euro 4 diesel. Unique challenges Years ago – as the then Campbell Freight – DSV Air & Sea, Northern Ireland, handled exports to the USA for Wrightbus. Because of this experience, DSV was shortlisted among three bidders for the contract to ship 50 vehicles (with an option for a further 50) earlier this year. “The requirement of having to deliver the complete package on a DDP (delivery duty paid) basis up to the client’s door in Las Vegas

presented some unique challenges” says Marshall Boyd, Sales Director, DSV Belfast. “Not least of which was finding a specialist haulier in the US capable of transporting these vehicles from Port Hueneme, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada. This is where Tina Larsen and her team at the LA office came to the rescue.” One a week ”I’m convinced that if Tina hadn’t been able to negotiate competitive ground transportation rates, the outcome might have been different.” After a slow start due to a few minor technical hitches common to a vehicle so complex, DSV is now shipping virtually one StreetCar per week, the first of which will soon be seen on the streets of Las Vegas. “Wrightbus has always been at the forefront of bus design and continues to flourish despite the tough economic times. DSV is proud to be associated with them. We hope that DSV in Belfast can continue to be of service as Wrightbus expands its overseas markets for this unique and specialised vehicle,” says Marshall Boyd, DSV Belfast.

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Professionel

o G c eek E Novozymes is in the elite of environmentally aware Danish companies and Peter Hansen is in charge of Novozymes’ green transports. This self-declared “geek” has been one of the company’s environmental pioneers over the past decade. Now he is on the lookout for common standards.

Peter Hansen, Novozymes’ transport buyer, is seeking common standards for calculating environmental data: “This would be a huge step forward for the environment!” he says.

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Whenever Novozymes has to choose its transport supplier, Peter Hansen looks at the volume of carbon emissions per kilo of goods transported. If, for instance, DSV’s carbon emissions are 0.17 kg, while a different supplier has emissions of 0.20 kg, DSV gets the inside track at Novozymes. “The best carbon performance is usually an indicator of the best prices, too,” says Hansen who is in charge of the transport of all Novozyme’s exports and some of the domestic traffic. Increasing complexity More than a decade has passed since Novozymes, together with DSV (the then DFDS Transport), established outright environmental reporting by quantifying the environmental impact of the transports. “Trying to reduce carbon emissions is quite an interesting and stimulating venture, because it gets increasingly complex with knock-on effects, and it’s been like this from the very beginning,” he says, adding: “This is usually a win-win situation for both the customer and the transport supplier, because the most efficient way to reduce carbon emissions is by maximising the filling of the vehicles and, in so doing, conveying more kilos of goods for the same volume of emissions,” he explains. Supplier’s responsibility Today, DSV is Novozymes’ preferred supplier in ten or eleven countries and the preferred supplier for sea cargo from the company’s manufacturing countries, which, besides Denmark, include the US, Brazil, India and China. After having discussed environmental standards, euro norms and green accounting trends with DSV over the past decade, Novozymes recently prepared new reporting requirements where the responsibility for reducing carbon emissions is by and large entrusted with the suppliers. “Setting goals for reducing carbon emissions from transports is a large, complicated process, because our volumes, our sales, should also rise as well, and we can’t predict the future. On the other hand, we can make realistic demands of our transport suppliers by requiring them to become more efficient. It becomes easier for them to influence the volume of emissions per kilo of goods driven because they can determine the lorries’ filling ratio, which is the overriding factor. They also have the option of filling

up their vehicles with goods from other customers,” says Peter Hansen, who stops short of making rigid demands that transport suppliers reduce their emissions by a fixed annual amount: “Many transport companies’ vehicles are running half-empty during the current crisis, which is compromising their filling ratio and, thus, the carbon emissions per kilo of goods conveyed,” he observes.

shipping agents in the task by getting them to encourage customers to think about how they pack their goods so the goods can be more efficiently stacked in the vehicles. This, too, would be a win-win situation for everyone involved,” says Peter Hansen, mentioning in the same breath DSV’s possibility of convincing hauliers to switch to Euro 5 motors as soon as possible.

Affects the customers What can Novozymes do? “We can try to urge our customers to change their ordering patterns so we only have to send a full container every two weeks instead of a half-full container every week. We also try to get our customers to order volumes that are equivalent to stackable pallets,” says Peter Hansen, before leaving the meeting room to get seven plastic cups. He lines up six of them in two rows of three and places the seventh on top. “See! Now there’s no room for another pallet on top of them, because a single container is lying there taking up all the space.” Similarly, Peter Hansen has convinced sales reps to urge customers to order larger volumes of enzymes for bulk transport throughout Europe. In recent years, this has raised the average to two tonnes per transport, equivalent to a 10% improvement. This means the tenth lorry never has to leave the garage. Finally, Novozymes can order a higher concentration of enzymes, which in turn leads to smaller volumes to transport.

Common standards “And I’m also a great admirer of ‘DSV ECO’, where Swedish customers can choose a ‘green’ transport which takes up to five days, but which has a higher filling ratio in return. We actually ‘invented’ the principle in 1998, by offering a red pick-up for goods that had to be transported here and now and a green pick-up that could wait until the vehicle was full. This reduces the environmental impact and lowers transport costs, giving customers a bigger incentive to choose the green option,” says Peter Hansen, who looks forward to common standards and calculating environmental data from transport. “Common standards would allow us to make direct comparisons of the various suppliers’ services. We also want to be part of disseminating the principles to other companies because this would be a huge step forward for the environment,” says Novozymes’ eco-geek.

Low-tech practical approach “Frequently this low-tech practical approach is what generates results in our green accounts. For instance, we just asked DSV to pick up goods from here in Bagsværd in only one vehicle, instead of as in the past when seven or eight different vehicles would arrive to pick up smaller shipments for each country. Now, DSV gathers and distributes the goods at its Brøndby warehouse, which reduces the traffic at our terminal.” What can DSV do to improve? “DSV is deeply committed to environmental issues, and I have a splendid working relationship with DSV’s environmental manager, Thomas Susé. But DSV could benefit from involving the

Novozymes Novozymes is the world leader in bioinnovation. With more than 700 products in 130 countries, Novozymes improves the results of the enzyme industry – and its vision is to safeguard the world’s resources by means of “sustainable solutions to the market needs of tomorrow.” The enzymes are aimed at 40 different industries and are used in thousands of products, from clothing to food. Five per cent of total emissions At present, transport is responsible for around 5% of Novozymes’ total carbon emissions, but this percentage will rise as Novozymes gradually converts its processes to green energy, such as receiving power from a newly constructed wind farm, Horns Rev II, in the North Sea. m o v e s 11

“We want what’s best for the company” Competition doesn’t get any bigger than that seen between employees and branch managers in the USA. Neither do the results. Top executives Carsten Trolle and Michael Dyhre Hansen still find joy in their work after 25 years with DSV.

“Basically, the crisis is a healthy process. You turn every stone – something that you rarely have time for when you’re going full speed ahead,” says Carsten Trolle, newly appointed President for DSV Air & Sea Inc. Carsten Trolle meets moves together with Michael Dyhre Hansen, Executive Vice President. Both are celebrating their 25th anniversary in DSV. Michael has spent all 25 years abroad, and Carsten has been in the USA for 18 of his. Fewer job changes It is hard to avoid discussing the crisis when you sit down with two members of the top brass in the USA and the Global Executive Board. Even though DSV Air & Sea in the USA is the company in the division that takes pole position in terms of income – crisis notwithstanding – the worst financial crisis ever has also left its mark in the US where most offices have had to lay off staff. According to Carsten Trolle this is not the worst that could happen. “The crisis – which I hope has peaked by now – forces you to identify the employees who are the best and those that don’t make the grade. People don’t change jobs in times of crisis. This enables us to keep the most proficient employees while letting go the less skilled as a natural consequence,” he argues. Want the best When the US company is the top-performer in the group, it is worth taking a closer look at what they do right. “It’s practically a religion to us,” says Carsten Trolle with a laugh, while Michael D. Hansen adds: “It’s an open-figure system, and we run comparisons on everything. We are very competitive and want to perform better all

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Michael Dyhre Hansen 51. Married to Bente. Together they have Nicole (15). Trained freight forwarder in 1978. From 1978–1984 in Germany (Dortmund) and the Middle East (Bagdad, Iraq, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia). In 1984, Michael headed DSV’s new Chicago office. In 1989, he set up an office in Atlanta, Georgia, where Michael has been living and working the past 20 years. In addition to the Atlanta office, Michael is responsible for developing and operating ten more offices in south-east USA with a total staff of 170. Carsten Elmdal Trolle 43. Married to Pia Trolle, three children: Isabella (12), Annika (10) and Camilla (6). Trained freight forwarder in 1986. From 1986-1991: Freight forwarder in different branches. From 1991 freight forwarder at the New Jersey office. Branch Manager, New Jersey, in 1993. Vice President since 2002. Since 2006, President for DSV in Canada and appointed President, DSV Air & Sea Inc., USA, on 1 April 2009. DSV Air & Sea Inc. currently has 20 offices with more than 500 staff in the USA.

the time. We feel that our team is among the very best. We swiftly adjust our KPIs and are sales-oriented. And we also have a close relationship with the branch managers in every office. We talk with them every day, help each other out and share good ideas,” he says. Door always open At the level just above branch manager, ideas and daily sparring flow just as easily. Jørgen Møller, Niels Larsen (in LA), Carsten Trolle, Michael D. Hansen and Søren Pedersen, Vice President of Finance, have been working together for decades, and not a day goes by without discussing three or four new ideas and how to realise them. “We’re almost Jørgen Møller clones,” agree Carsten and Michael, only to partially withdraw this exclamation: “We each have our own management styles, but our entrepreneurship and openness are the same. Our door is always open, and everyone is welcome to ask questions. This is one of our forces – to have a hands-on approach at all times,” says Carsten Trolle. Leading the way “This is as close you can get to running your own company, and we care for it as if it were our own,” continues Trolle. As President and top executive, he still visits customers: “We need to lead the way for our sales staff,” he says: “We need to show them how to cut the cake.” Michael D. Hansen elaborates: “Only the contact with all employees, customers and suppliers can equip us with the tools for making sensible decisions. We don’t visit customers just to have coffee with them, but to see them and land some

orders and get a feeling of what’s going on in the market,” he says.

Michael D. Hansen (front) and Carsten Trolle celebrate 25 years at DSV as Executive Vice President and President, respectively. And they have their hands in the “toolbox” every day.

Diving into the toolbox In 1984, Michael Dyhre Hansen was appointed head of the Chicago office. Next up was Atlanta five years later, where he is now responsible for ten offices. “All this was created by my employees and I. I’ve never been promoted, I just built everything up as I went along,” explains Michael Dyhre Hansen. He loves the freedom of working in small, local companies and focusing on local presence and personal service – while also having access to good rates as a result of the expansive network. Carsten Trolle adds: “We would have trouble working in Denmark where people are given small, defined areas to work with, as is required in large corporations. Over here, we have the toolbox out every day, and you need to be a jack-of-alltrades,” he says, mentioning as an example barbecuing steaks to the employees at parties. Though this is actually a rare phenomenon. “Americans distinguish between personal time and work. They would rather go home to their families than party with colleagues. A Christmas party could easily be held on a Wednesday night and end early,” Michael D. Hansen explains. Loyalty and unity Over and over again, loyalty and unity within and across the offices are highlighted as the prime reasons for good performance in the USA. “We see very limited employee turnover here. Many branch managers have 25 years’ seniority, and young people are also offered a chance of a career. This appeals to jobseekers in the USA,” says Michael D. Hansen and emphasises that the US offices did not succeed without making a huge effort: “We work 12 hours a day and have done so for 25 years,” he says. “And there’s actually nothing we would rather do!” Carsten and Michael smile at these words but mean every one of them – “this is our hobby” – and they are convinced that their results are generated by a joy of working, from top to bottom. “We need the best players in the field and on the bench. If we fail in that, we are no longer the best. Skilled employees is the quintessential concern.”

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DSV’s doyens

Ove, Karl Johan and Thor. It sounds like the members of a primary school “Slingshot Gang” in the late ’40s. They probably were, too, but besides that, the three ripe-for-retirement gentlemen are port captains for the Project Department, where their age and experience are required.

“Write that I retired because of restructuring!” “But that means you were fired…??” “Right you are. Well, then tell it like it was: that I was offered a job in an Egyptian company that didn’t pan out, and when I returned, they’d hired someone else.” Ove Altschuler doesn’t seem particularly interested in embellishing his past or his departure from Aarhus Stevedore Kompagni, even though he worked at the Port of Aarhus for 32 years. The reason becomes clear by the end of the interview: He is so busy today that his future seems more important that his past, despite the fact that after the interview he invites me out to lunch to celebrate his 67th birthday. No easy pushovers In an era where everyone’s talking about “grey gold”, but no one seems genuinely interested in hiring people over the age of 45, it’s refreshing to spend an afternoon among enthusiastic people who take pleasure in their work and wear windbreakers, bifocals and at least one hearing aid. moves met up with Ove Altschuler and Karl Johan Madsen in the Project Department in Aarhus. Ove Altschuler has been a Port Captain in DSV for seven years, whereas Karl Johan Madsen just started four months ago: “I’m reasonably wet behind the ears,” says Madsen, who will turn 65 this Christmas. “It takes a few years of experience to become a Port Captain,” interjects Henrijette Hansen from the Project Department. “And that means they’re no easy pushovers. It’s important to be very experienced and have lots of background information, and that makes age an advantage in this job,” she says and is seconded by Ove Altschuler. “Our words have more weight when we say, ‘That’s enough of that!’ if someone tries to choose the line of least resistance. They’d just steamroll a 20-year-old in the same situation.” Keep working as long as it’s fun Karl Johan “put out to sea” as a qualified navigator, but came ashore

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in 1978. First as a stevedore (in charge of loading and unloading) and later as a port captain for Nordana Line in Houston. Yet he has also worked as a terminal manager, director, coordinator and, most recently, a port captain in Esbjerg. Karl Johan took early retirement in 2007, but was on the lookout for a half-day job. “I want to keep working as long as it’s fun. Of course, it can’t be fun all the time, but you have to take the bitter with the sweet,” he says. And Ove Altschuler adds: “That’s right. Because afterwards you can always look back and be amused by it. The stories never get less fun afterwards at any rate!” Learning from each other After working for 32 years as a stevedore in the Port of Aarhus, Ove dreamed of seeing how loading and unloading was done elsewhere. And he was positively surprised: “I’ve gained a much broader perspective. I really believed that the men on the waterfront in Aarhus were the only people in the world who could figure out how to load and unload properly, but everyone has their own method, and we’ve a lot to learn from each other,” he says. With more than a hundred days of travelling a year, Ove Altschuler has criss-crossed the world over the past seven years, visiting most countries on every continent except South America. “I haven’t actually been there yet, but the other day my grandchild said, ‘Grandpa, have you been to any poor countries recently?’ So I told her that I had just been in India to deliver a cement factory, but she couldn’t believe the stories I told her about the poverty I saw there. It was hard for her to imagine that people lived like that!” says Ove Altschuler, who also tells how his family is proud of the “old man”. It gets lonely sometimes “I’m often absent from family get-togethers, but there’s something to be said for still being in the game. Some of my friends can tell me how fast the grass is growing, but I’d rather be out there experiencing the world. I love tasting exotic food, and I go to museums and the

DSV’s port captains are the customer’s representative when ships and aircraft have to be loaded with expensive and voluminous objects. Karl Johan Madsen (left) and Ove Altschuler are two of the three Port Captains, who attend all significant and comprehensive loading and unloading projects all over the world.

theatre or to football matches in England,” he says, adding: “But it gets lonely sometimes. I once spent two and a half months in Australia, where there were some long weekends when my colleagues would go home to their families and I went back to my hotel. Sometimes I would say ‘Hello, there!’ to myself in the mirror just to see if I could still talk!” Creativity is a necessity Ove Altschuler definitely can, as he describes his trips to the Philippines where he went out to visit the unloading of 15 wind turbines that were to be set up on a scenic beach (“never would have been allowed here in Denmark…”), about transporting emergency relief to earthquake victims in Bam, Iran, about his “speciality” (military transports to crisis areas all over the world), and about managing exclusive logistics such as when the Rolling Stones want to travel around the world each flying his own jet fighter. And he also explains the – fortunately – necessary ingredient in his work of ensuring that the customer’s goods arrive undamaged to their destination: creativity. Young people are humble “When we were about to return from Bam, we had to take lots of different things with us, including a 4x4. But there were no cranes or ramps or any other equipment that we could use to drive the heavy vehicle up onto the bed of the lorry. So I had a deep hole dug that we

backed the lorry down into, which enabled us to drive the off-roader right up on the bed of the lorry. I was rather proud of that solution,” says Ove who doesn’t feel threatened by the younger generation. “I think it’s wonderful having young people at the office; they’re nice and pleasant but also humble. They listen, which is good, and it’s also good for them to get out and see what we’re doing around the world, so they can see for themselves that what the old man says is right! This makes it possible to talk about things in the right spirit afterwards,” he says. “Yes, they gain insight, too,” adds Karl Johan. As long as his health holds out Ove and Karl Johan are holders of the Project Department’s newest employment contracts, and neither of them will say when they want to stop. “As long as our health is up to it,” they say in agreement. “I’ve worked in 45-degree heat in India and frozen in 20-degree temperatures in Iran, and I’m still crawling up and down the ladders on ships. And once I forgot to get a replacement when I was seconded to the Lindø Shipyards, so I had a hotel room I didn’t use for three days!” says Ove Altschuler, who, like Karl Johan Madsen, is an avid user of computers, mobile phones and text-messaging. “You have to in our line of work,” says Karl Johan. “I may not be a whizz at it, but I can do everything I have to,” adds Ove Altschuler.

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Clogs and a healthy dose of social responsibility Meet Peter Kjellerup: a Danish clog dealer who has made his mark in the US – with colossal energy and astonishing social enthusiasm.

Peter Kjellerup’s entrepreneurial gene is probably a little above average. After the by now 63-year-old Kjellerup received his education as riding master in Germany in the late ’70s, this Danish horse enthusiast longed to travel across the sea to the US. Back then, horse training was almost unknown in the US, but the favourable dollar exchange rate meant there was lots of money to be made by selling both Danish horses and Danish-made riding equipment to Americans to satiate their increasing fondness for horses. One day, Kjellerup also packed a pair of clogs in his bags on the return trip from one of many trips to Denmark, because the clogs were well-suited for working with horses where much of the day is spent standing and walking. The benefits of clogs were discovered by his family, friends and employees at Kjellerup’s horse farm in Pennsylvania which meant his bags were increasingly heavier on subsequent return trips after Peter and his American wife, Amanda, had been to

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Denmark to visit their family. “We sold clogs from the boot of our old Volvo whenever we attended horse shows and they went like hotcakes. We eventually had to have them shipped over and we chose DSV to do this,” Peter Kjellerup remembers, from Dansko’s newly built Pennsylvania headquarters. Environmental awareness This is not a run-of-the-mill headquarters, however. Everything has been made with the greatest consideration for the environment which enables the building to proudly to bear “Gold LEED Certification” (Leadership in Energy, Environment Development). Vegetation on the roof and green areas in the car park mean that there is no drainage of water from the area. All materials are environmentally certified and it actually took the Kjellerups three years to build the company’s new headquarters. “Coming from Denmark and having an

agricultural education means you know how to care for nature. We have a duty to consider our descendants and the best way of doing this is by leaving the world in better shape than when we received it,” says Peter Kjellerup. From horses to shoes The Dane succeeds in whatever he puts his mind to. Equestrian sports skyrocketed in the USA in the ’80s and ’90s, and Peter Kjellerup and his horse farm, his breeding of sports horses and, as a representative of Danish, and later Dutch warmbloods, he was right where things were happening. Horses were transported in great numbers – via DSV – from Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, and even if the clogs hadn’t been as popular as they turned out to be in this big network, the farm would have been more than enough to keep Peter, Amanda and their steadily growing numbers of employees busy. But Peter Kjellerup is not a man who lets projects gather dust on a

basement shelf. He implements his ideas and, concurrent with the horse farm, the family decided to put the clogs on the general market in the early ’90s. Today, Dansko sells almost two million clogs a year, and, by virtue of their social and environmental enthusiasm, the Dane and his American wife are important members of their local community. Like one big family “Today, Dansko has around 200 employees. Many of them are related to each other – that’s the way it is over here. We employ married couples, children, uncles and sisters, so the social needs are very clear. “The children have nowhere to go after school, so we set up a childcare scheme. Older family members may need a food scheme. Many people are needy, and to us it only seems natural to lend a hand. In our opinion, we are responsible for the people who work for us – this could be because we’re used to working with animals where you naturally shoulder the responsibility for their well being. Today our employees are like members of our family,” explains Peter Kjellerup, who also puts his money where his mouth is. Social engagement By setting up Dansko Foundation, which receives five percent of the turnover generated by the associated shoe shop and online sales, Peter and Amanda are involved in a wide variety of activities for socially vulnerable people in the local community. Add to this a number of annual auctions, or fundraisers, which raise money for charity and help the less fortunate. And speaking of charity: All employees of Dansko are encouraged to donate their time to non-profit relief organisations – their working time, mind you – and not only that but Dansko makes a matching donation of the salary to these good causes. “Over here there’s no safety net under people like in Denmark. But the needs are the same,” explains Peter Kjellerup as the cause for their deep social involvement.

zone between cattle and water. At the same time, the couple established – and runs – a recycling station for electronic waste, batteries, bottles, paper, etc., received from the entire community. “The state is a little reluctant to do anything in this area. The task is actually taken care of by the private sector and we want our area to be attractive, uncontaminated and unpolluted. The more trees we plant along the banks, the cleaner and healthier the watercourses are,” he says, continuing: There was a need “In the ’80s and ’90s, no one talked about nature. But with my background, I could see that something had to be done about things. Over here no one even ploughs the land! It’s only fertilised and sprayed. We’ll eventually have no clean water left and we will have killed off all the wildlife around us if we don’t change our way of life. At present, there is fortunately a better understanding of green, sustainable lifestyles,” says Peter Kjellerup. 20-year collaboration Today the horse farm has been sold in favour of Dansko’s new headquarters which also houses a shop selling mainly second-quality shoes. Next door is the distribution centre that receives daily deliveries from DSV’s transports. The collaboration between the two companies goes back more than twenty years, and it seems as if Peter Kjellerup’s deep-felt sense of responsibility has also crept into this supplier relationship. “Over the years, DSV has made it possible for us to realise all of this by transporting the clogs here from Europe,” he says.

Nature conservation Nor is the assistance from the DanishAmerican couple limited to social work for the less fortunate members of the community. This year, Peter and Amanda bought 40 hectares of land which they turned into a wildlife preserve, and every year Dansko plants between 800 and 1,000 trees along streams and watercourses to establish a buffer

Amanda and Peter Kjellerup: she’s American and he has roots in Denmark. Together they have created a successful company which they share with their community.

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Safety Smoke billows through the halls, the injured are evacuated, water pumps and hydrants are running and the sirens are sounding all around. But don’t worry: The safety situation at DSV’s new hazardous goods warehouse in Slovakia is under full control! Flammable liquids, acids, alkalis and oxidants are stored alongside other dangerous goods at DSV’s brand-new, ultramodern 2,200m² warehouse for hazardous goods in Senec, near Bratislava, Slovakia. Storage and handling of flammable and corrosive materials entail great risks. “We need to pay attention to the words: Danger! Warning! Caution! Hazard! These are words that we see and hear every day, and we take them seriously because the danger is very real indeed. Not only to us, but also to others, the environment, the buildings and goods of our customers. And the last thing we want, is insurance people and dissatisfied customers on our back,” says Ivana Štasná, Logistics Manager, DSV Slovakia. Flammable materials On 27 May 2009, the safety measures in the new warehouse got their “baptism of fire” – in the form of a highly authentic fire drill: smoke was everywhere, injured staff was evacuated, water pumps and hydrants were running and sirens were sounding all around. With “scared” employees outside, two warehouse workers with burns were trapped in the smoke-filled building. “Fortunately, there were no casualties. Two warehouse workers were taken to hospital and are doing fine now. The fire was brought under control thanks to the ultramodern

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safety equipment at our warehouse,” concludes Juraj Števko, Project Manager Logistics and mentions some of the safety installations like smoke, gas and spark detectors, automatic fire alarms, fixed foam sprinkler systems at each rack level, special ventilation systems, epoxy floors and separate chambers with below-ground safety tanks to collect spills and fire doors that shut automatically. Meets all requirements “We would like to thank all the firemen for their excellent and professional work that would definitely have saved our two colleagues and our hazardous goods warehouse. Fortunately, it was just an exercise to document that all the safety measures work as intended,” says Martina Polácková, Managing Director. “We are ‘SEVESO II’ certified and fulfil all the legal requirements, which makes us a reliable hazardous goods service provider in Central and Eastern Europe. Training and drills like this assure that our company delivers the highest possible quality and protection. Not only our employees and the environment benefit, but also our customers and their goods,” she concludes. Doubling in size The new hazardous goods warehouse offers all logistics services, such as storage, pick & pack, ADR distribution, cross-docking, further processing, labelling, etc. So far, customers like Shell, Total, Arnaud, Clariant and Bayrol have moved into the fireproof and acid-proof warehouse, which shall soon double in size: “Expansion plans are underway to provide us with extra 5,200 m² for storage of hazardous goods, with epoxy flooring, foam sprinkler systems and safety tanks,” says Juraj Števko. The aggregate logistics facilities, including automotive assembly, shall then cover more than 16,000 m², with DSV Slovakia looking to expand even more in the future.

all around

Top. Firemen standing behind the management of DSV Slovakia. (Left to right): Martina Polácková, Managing Director, Ivana Štasná, Logistics Manager (seated), and Juraj Števko, Project Manager Logistics and head of safety at DSV Slovakia.

Bottom. Two warehouse workers with burns were trapped in the smoke-filled building. Fortunately, it was just an exercise…

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New

sales programme beats the market

Germany’s Air & Sea

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The German Sales Stimulation Programme (SSP) was developed to increase the frequency and efficiency of sales calls over the phone and at the customers’ by optimising the entire sales process. Back in 2007, the former ABX management decided to completely reorganise ABX’s sales organisation so that sales staff are not only responsible for closing deals, but also for understanding market needs and trends. “To us, a strong and successful sales unit is an important milestone of success. We realised we had get out of the office and see our customers more often, not only to win new accounts but also to be near our customers to understand their needs and be close to the market to understand its trends,” explains Tobias Schmidt, Managing Director, DSV Air & Sea GmbH.

division is gearing up for organic growth through an optimised sales process. Sales reps are now set to hit the road to meet even more customers.

“After the first phase it was obvious that quite a lot of work had to be done. We discovered an imbalance of sales staff in the office and in the field, and often our sales teams lacked the required focus. But this was simply a function of the organisational structure, and our sales reps got sidetracked by operational tasks far too often,” says Dirk Bukowski, General Manager, DSV Air & Sea GmbH.

The right approach After making an impact assessment, the three teams developed a comprehensive and universal sales guide covering all important sales activity areas. Most important, the sales process was clearly defined, which entailed a decisive role for indoor sales staff. “They ensured that their colleagues in the field could stay where they Transverse view of customer relationships belong: out at the customer’s,” explains Dirk Bukowski. The two existing German CRM systems are currently At the same time, the operational tasks were redelegated being merged to collate all knowledge about the from office staff to operational staff. The next stage customers single The will Please link back toon theapage youplatform. downloaded thissystems from, or just linkshortly to parkablogs.blogspot.com was to introduce nationwide, uniform segmentation be replaced by Salesforce.com. based on customer potential. In this connection, office “SSP interacts brilliantly with the possibilities offered by sales staff assumed responsibility for smaller customers. Salesforce.com, and a common sales tool provides us By systematically collecting address information and with a unique opportunity of getting a bird’s eye view of introducing a unique pipeline tool covering all business customer relations across national borders and ensuring areas, it became possible for sales staff to take a more that knowledge sharing and quality is in place from the structured approach to cold calling. As the last stage, a very first contact with a customer,” explains Peter Fog monitoring and reporting structure was implemented to Petersen, Sales Director, DSV Road A/S. achieve a high degree of transparency. The project groups introduced a sales dashboard with 4 KPIs to follow up Facts on the table Please link back toat thethe page you downloaded this from, or on each sales rep and allow for feedback weekly During the early phase of the project, three dedicated meetings. teams scrutinised key areas of sales activities. The three teams made the entire sales organisation their “hunting Everyone on board ground” with assistance from all branches in analysing key “SSP proved a great hit with all employees,” explains sales activities. They focused on cornerstones such as the Tobias Schmidt. “We wanted to get everyone on sales process, time management, customer segmentation, board and win over our sales people through our pipeline management as well as monitoring and reporting hands-on approach.” Actually, a follow-up opinion poll systems.

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General Manager Dirk Bukowski, DSV Air & Sea GmbH, is pleased with the new customer growth of more than 40%. “SSP was a great hit with all employees,” explains Tobias Schmidt, Managing Director, DSV Air & Sea GmbH.

showed that all cornerstones of the programme, such as the sales process, segmentation, time management, pipeline management, cold calling and even reporting achieved top ratings, each with an astonishing 4.5 points out of a possible 5. People were especially impressed with the programme’s huge impact on their daily work and how it was tailored to their needs. In Munich, Sales Manager David Siegel comments: “I was afraid that the entire exercise might be too theoretical, but fortunately that was not the case. I am delighted that we reorganised the sales process by means of a practical focus.” Ines Sieg, sales rep at the Bremen office, adds: “I now have a manual that will make my work even more efficient.” However, the full programme reaches beyond sales. In order to ensure proper customer implementation, the operations branch is involved from the very moment the customer accepts the offer.

Firmly embedded SSP is currently firmly embedded in DSV’s daily sales activities. “A national sales management unit has been set up to coordinate the various stakeholders within the sales organisation, and the local sales reps are supported by dedicated product and route development managers. Product managers are currently pushing vertical products, e.g. automotive, parts for the aviation industry, textiles and industrial products. An independent sales unit for trade route development has been launched to maximise the use of DSV’s vast network and serve as the first point of contact for DSV sales reps abroad. SSP is only as strong as the people who perform it, and we’re pleased to see that all our local managers give SSP all the support required,” explains Tobias Schmidt, seconded by Dirk Bukowski. He is convinced that the positive trend will last: “Our CRM management tool contains sufficient address information to keep us busy throughout 2009.”

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Greater presence Dirk Bukowski concludes: “We’ve achieved a much better market presence and noted new customer growth in excess of 40%, which is better than the general market trend in 2008.” The number of sales visits per week also went up significantly. “Through process optimisation and focused back-up and preparation by the sales staff at the office, the sales force was able to squeeze in an additional five visits per week within one year after roll-out,” Dirk Bukowski adds. DSV’s sales staff even achieved an increase of five visits per week within less than half a year after the acquisition of ABX and the introduction of SSP. Later, the cold-calling success ratio almost doubled and produced the first tangible results. Today, the sales staff at the office have a success rate of 24% of all calls made in terms of fixing appointments and sending out offers and promotional material.

DSV Air & Sea in Germany After the acquisition of ABX LOGISTICS, DSV Air & Sea is represented in Germany with more than 800 employees at 19 branches. A consolidated turnover of EUR 380 million makes DSV Air & Sea one of the strongest transport and logistics enterprises in Germany.

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“Best PERFORMANCE ever” At his first general meeting as CEO for DSV, Jens Bjørn Andersen was proud to present the company’s best financial results ever. Proud, because the results occurred in the shadow of the financial crisis that completely deflated Q4. Still, the first three quarters of the year held sufficient quality to funnel the overall performance to record highs. And even though the Road division remains the company’s greatest activity with more than half of the overall turnover, the acquisitions in recent years have shifted the internal balance. “Many consider us diesel freaks who are hooked on trucks. We are, but now it is Air & Sea that generates most money for the company. And they’re doing a great job!” said Jens Bjørn Andersen, mentioning growth rates in the USA and Denmark in particular. Satisfied with ABX The Air & Sea division’s outstanding results are partly attributable to the recent amalgamation of DSV and ABX which has enhanced the global network, helping to put DSV among the top five European transport and logistics operators. In his opening speech, Kurt K. Larsen, chairman of the board, indicated that the purchase might not have taken place if the management and board had anticipated the crisis. But he has no regrets: ”Despite the financial crisis that began to spread shortly afterwards, it was the right thing to do. Perhaps we wouldn’t have done it if we had had a crystal ball to foretell the future, but fortunately we didn’t,” he said. The same attitude was expressed by Torben Sand, portfolio manager at ATP, a major shareholder, who took the platform to thank the management and the board for a good year: ”The timing was less than optimal, but

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there is ample strategic potential. We are very pleased with the ABX acquisition, and we also praise the management for its timely and correct reaction to the economic slowdown.” Capital increase Torben Sand finished his contribution by approving DSV’s newly completed capital increase which was effected by issuing 19 million new shares and selling 6.3 million treasury shares. This move strengthened the shareholders’ equity – thus reducing the need to raise loans – by some EUR 188 million. All shares were sold on the same day they were put up for sale. “It was a measure that we very much applaud,” he said, addressed to Jens Lund, DSV’s CFO, who architected the construction. “We were worried about how the banks would react. No one had any idea how they would react to a further slowdown on the capital markets, and therefore we wanted to reduce the interest burden and strengthen our capital structure,” said Jens Lund, CFO. New board member From the platform, words of praise also came from Anne Marie Skov, Danish Shareholders Association, who expressed her gratitude for a good year and emphasised the purchase of ABX in particular, which was well received by the Association. The management was also commended for the swift reaction to the financial crisis, and finally, Anne Marie Skov applauded the election of a female board member, Annette Sadolin. This view was obviously shared by many attendees, including shareholder Poul Bøgh, who also took the platform to thank the board for this initiative. Kurt K. Larsen concluded by acknowledging the praise and stressing that Annette Sadolin

was chosen because of her obvious professional skills, rather than her sex. Kurt K. Larsen also took the opportunity to thank retiring board member Hans Peter Drisdal Hansen for his great and loyal work over the past ten years. Environment on the agenda As a so-called asset light company, DSV only owns a few lorries out of the total fleet – and no ships or airplanes. This makes it a cumbersome affair to map the extent of the company’s total emissions of carbon and other harmful substances. Nevertheless, the company has commissioned such a mapping: “We take our responsibility very seriously,” Jens Bjørn Andersen promised the shareholders. “We are in the process of mapping the pollution for which we are responsible. Then we will decide on realistic targets for reducing emissions of CO2 and other substances,” he said, emphasising the efforts of the Swedish organisation to encourage customers to choose “DSV ECO,” which makes transports cheaper for customers if they give DSV up to five days to plan the optimal route for reducing pollution. “Following the Swedish test period, we are considering to broaden the concept to encompass other branches of the organisation,” he said. At the same time, Jens Bjørn Andersen stressed that the development of DSV’s CO2 calculator is an efficient tool for calculating the environmental load and ensuring the most environmental-friendly planning of transports. The CEO concluded by documenting that by using more modern lorry engines, DSV has already reduced carbon emissions from index 100 in 2004 to index 92.4 in 2008. “But we can do even better than that, and the environment is high on DSV’s agenda,” he assured the shareholders.

33 million votes were represented at this year’s general meeting attended by 450 shareholders who wanted to meet the management and the board and hear about how DSV fared in the past year. And we fared well!

Top left: Marga Due-Hansen and Ejnar Due-Hansen have been DSV shareholders for ten years and feel confident that the share price will once again reach the high levels of the past. Top right: DSV shareholders Karsten Thorsted and Stig Jørgensen rejoicing over a share price leap of 8–10 percent on the day of the general meeting. Bottom left: Hans Peter Drisdal Hansen was thanked for his great and loyal work in his ten years on the board of DSV. Bottom right: Their concentration was intense as Jens Bjørn Andersen and Kurt K. Larsen fielded questions from reporters before the general meeting. m o v e s

News Chicago’s going green! DSV Chicago is officially a “green” office and now serves as an example of how companies in Chicago can become more environmentally responsible. Since our integration with ABX, the office staff has been trained in ecofriendly behaviour. The aim is to have a clean and green conscience – while keeping an eye on costs. The means for achieving this are recycling paper (printing on both sides), using recycled office supplies, using low-energy and solar energy-powered office equipment, electronic invoicing, electronic processing of procedures that previously required large amounts of paper and printing, and collecting electronic, paper and packaging waste to be recycled. “Many customers view a green profile as decisive for their choice of transporter,” says Lorena Mazariegos, Assistant Branch Manager, DSV Air & Sea, Chicago. Factory from DK to Mexico… A production line of 750 m³ was moved from Danfoss in Denmark to Mexico. DSV measured, packed and transported the production line by sea (via Hamburg) as oversize cargo and by air (via Billund). In Billund, a Boeing 747200 was waiting to convey the 450 m³ pump and valve factory to Monterrey, Mexico. The factory in Apodaca, Mexico, was ready for operation about one month after being taken down on the Danish island of Als. The factory will primarily produce valves for air conditioners on the North American market. …and one more DSV/Saima Avandero collaborated with DSV Air & Sea in Chicago to transport a hightech carwash factory from Icom SpA in Italy to GM in Flint, Michigan. The first shipment comprised 12 huge wooden crates, 4 m high, 4 m wide and 12 m long, which required the organisation of special roadtransport permission in conjunction with the departure by ship from La Spezia to Norfolk, USA. New terminal in Kaliningrad DSV Kaliningrad has established a new class-A warehouse of 10,000 m², only thirty minutes from the Russian-Polish border. Covering 20 hectares, the location will serve as a logistics centre for DSV. The storage facility is divided into two sections: 7,200 m² for storage

using automated picking and packing and a 3,100 m² terminal for day-to-day traffic. The capacity is 100 trailers a day, while 200 trailers can be stored in the terminal area, where a vehicle service centre and vehicle wash are also located. In addition, DSV Kaliningrad has built office space (2,100 m²) associated with the warehouse, and the offices are expected to have an occupancy ratio of 90% in 2009. The terminal is Kaliningrad’s only multinational logistics centre and is located on Datskij Proezd (Danish Street)!

Hans Vermeer (left) and Danny de Bie gritting their teeth during the Heineken Regatta. DSV sailing in the Caribbean Three Dutch DSV executives agreed to meet on the Dutch island of Sint Maarten in the north-east Caribbean Sea to compete in the same boat in the Heineken Regatta. The tropical island should have been an ideal location for a relaxing voyage but quite unusually, the first days of the regatta was affected by stormy weather and heavy tropical downpours. DSV didn’t get into the winning spirit until the third day, but there were no medals to be had for Kees de Mooij, Danny de Bie and Hans Vermeer, who have vowed to try again next year! Ideas for moves Please contact us if you have a remarkable story or an idea for an interesting employee profile, customer case, etc. Write to moves@dsv.com

Publisher: DSV A/S. Editor: Mads Wedderkopp. Send content suggestions to moves@dsv.com, tel.: +45 24606369 Distribution enquiries: Staff: Global Marketing, info@dsv.com Other recipients: Helle K. Hansen, helle.k.hansen@dsv.com Photos: Suste Bonnén, Mads Wedderkopp. Layout: Jacob Thesander. Translation: ad Astra Translators. Printed by: Scanprint.

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