NETWORKERS - dachser.sk

NETWORK: CORPORATE HISTORY
world. The secret of success lies in leveraging
the knowledge of experts in the respective
countries to quickly understand the local
markets and integrate them into the existing
network. Integration soon becomes the magic
word – not by taking the sledgehammer
approach, but by building stable, trust-based
relationships among staff, with customers
and across the core business segments. This
leads to the company establishing branches
in Switzerland in 1963, and in the Netherlands
and the UK in 1975. Dachser has been
active in Hong Kong since 1976; since 2003,
the logistics provider has become an internationally
renowned brand
in China and Taiwan
and currently operates 15
branches in the Greater
China region.
Striking out in new directions
has been a constant
throughout the company’s
history. After the fall of
the Iron Curtain not only
triggers growth in Germany,
but also brings about
European expansion to the
countries between the Baltic
and the Black Sea, it soon becomes clear that
the extension of the roadmap will follow. It
lies in the nature of the business that the walls
in the minds of logistics providers fall sooner
than elsewhere. Dachser is therefore the
first logistics provider to set up new branches
all over eastern Germany and open its
22 DACHSER magazine
own national companies in Russia, Poland,
Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and
Romania. Across the entire region, the
Kempten-based company expands its services
through joint ventures or partnerships.
New branches also spring up in western
Europe, for example in France and Portugal,
to the North in Denmark, Sweden and
Norway, as well as in North Africa and on
the other side of the world in India,
Bangladesh and Thailand.
Culture of inner strength
In the course of the past 80 years, the company
has gained an invaluable wealth of
experience. This will continue to stand the
logistics provider in good stead when it
comes to developing future locations in key
markets or collaborating fairly and reliably
with its partners. The basis for this are
common strategies, values and an intensive
exchange of information, experience and
resources. Business historian Paul Erker
believes Dachser fosters a “culture of strength
and self-reliance that has given the company
the confidence to risk taking decisions and
routes which have sometimes been diametrically
opposed to the received wisdom and
Air and sea freight bring continents
and markets closer together
mainstream trends in the industry.” Dachser
takes its time over this, sometimes a long
time. This is one reason why Dachser is considered
a master of integration by many in the
world of logistics.
People forge connections
On a journey round the world, is it not only
decisive in logistics to be structurally, technologically
and qualitatively abreast of the
times. Even more important are passion and
curiosity that go beyond national borders,
as well as openness and respect for other
cultures. This is also about people and contacts.
The Lis, Meiers, Smiths, Duponts,
Gonzales’, Chens, Rodrigues’ and Nováks –
in other words all those people who around
the world keep the network running and continue
to build on it – have for the past 80
years helped Dachser to further develop its
services around the globe. Travel educates:
“Intelligent Logistics” as Dachser’s claim
states. The story continues. M. Neft
To discover more milestones in
F Dachser’s corporate development, visit
www.dachser.com/history