A system built for scaling heights
By Alexander Heintze I 8 minute read I Header Photo: TK Home Solutions N.V.
03/01/2025
They make life easier: stairlifts keep people mobile, even if they’re not too steady on their feet. TK Elevator specializes in these sophisticated technical solutions for the home. And DACHSER brings them to customers all over the world.
With its constant ups and downs, it’s a bit like the history of humankind: we’re talking of course about the staircase. First documented around 10,000 BCE as a design element to connect levels of differing heights in a building, stairs are now undisputedly an omnipresent part of our lives. However, they can become an insurmountable obstacle for anyone who wants to grow old in their own home, but is no longer able to walk well or is dependent on a walking aid or wheelchair. Demographics in aging industrialized societies are exacerbating this challenge from year to year. According to a UN report on the world population, the proportion of people in Asia who are over the age of 64 will more than double by 2050. In the European Union, almost one-third of the population will be over 65 years old in 2100, compared to 21 percent in 2022.
“TKE is expanding worldwide, and we aim to be the global market leader with our products. Well-established logistics processes are part of this.”
High-tech down to the smallest detail
Stairlifts promise more convenience, mobility, and safety in old age. They are no longer the outdated products featured in magazine ads aimed at older target groups; today, internationally renowned design studios have a hand in developing them. In addition, stairlifts are incorporating more and more technology—from augmented reality that depicts how the lift will fit onto the staircase before installation, to robot and space technology that makes it easier to operate and get on and off the lift.
One of the largest manufacturers of these aids is TK Elevator (TKE), based in Düsseldorf, Germany. Formerly a subsidiary of the thyssenkrupp steel group, it has been an independent company since August 2020 and is one of the world’s leading elevator companies. Its product portfolio includes stair and platform lifts for wheelchairs, elevators for smaller residential buildings, escalators, air passenger boarding bridges, and solutions for skyscrapers, as well as associated services such as maintenance and servicing.
While such products make life easier and more accessible for many people, they present manufacturers and logistics planners with an enormous challenge. Since staircases range anywhere from straight, narrow, and steep to very tight and curved, seat lifts and their necessary guide rails must meet custom requirements for each location. That’s why many of the stairlifts that leave TKE’s facilities in the Netherlands are also high-tech, one-of-a-kind models. A challenge both for the manufacturer and for DACHSER as its global logistics service provider.
DACHSER collects individual components from suppliers all over the world, consolidates them, and, where necessary, brings them to a preassembly point. From there, the parts go to the logistics provider’s distribution centers, where the final shipments for the factories are picked and delivered. DACHSER then collects the finished lifts from the factory several times a day.
TK Elevator (TKE) is a global leader in vertical transportation and urban mobility. With over 50,000 employees worldwide serving TKE customers in more than 100 countries, the company achieved sales of around EUR 9 billion in the 2022/2023 financial year.
A logistics concept for global markets
Since 2021, DACHSER has been responsible for transporting TKE’s lifts and rails, primarily to the company’s main markets in the US and Canada. First, the lifts travel from TKE’s factory to DACHSER’s Waddinxveen branch and are stored in the warehouse. From there, the logistics provider can coordinate air freight via Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and sea freight from Rotterdam, depending on the customer’s order. For example, full container loads are regularly shipped to the US and Canada. In urgent cases, some of the systems are also sent as air freight. In Spain, TKE’s third-largest market, DACHSER also looks after the lift manufacturer’s entire B2B business, which as of this year has also included road transport.
“When we were considering DACHSER, what mattered to us was the company’s global network and the fact that it offers road, air, and sea transport,” says Alexander Heinrich, who is responsible for global logistics at TKE. This fits in with the manufacturer’s strategy: “We’re expanding around the world and aim to be the global market leader with our products. Well-established logistics processes are part of this.”
In addition to the global logistics network, TKE was impressed by DACHSER’s speed of delivery. “Many of our end customers come to the hospital after an emergency, and they then need our product as quickly as possible so that they can continue living at home,” Heinrich explains. TKE’s aim is to keep the time between a lift being ordered and installed to an absolute minimum—a requirement that DACHSER is perfectly equipped to meet. “Our global presence and product diversity enable us to react flexibly and ensure that installation can take place on time, even at short notice,” says Andreas Saleske, Department Head Product & Price Management and TKE’s main contact at DACHSER.
“Our global presence and product diversity enable us to react flexibly and ensure that installation can take place on time, even at short notice.”
Smooth flow of information
Such flexibility can be achieved only when information and data are exchanged smoothly along the entire production and supply chain. Linking the manufacturer’s and logistics provider’s IT systems is fundamental to this. DACHSER receives information from TKE about what’s being produced and delivered and can provide the corresponding storage space. The shipments are compiled and dispatched on call. Once they’ve crossed the Atlantic, they’re stored in the DACHSER warehouse in Atlanta, from where they’re distributed to local retailers.
“Our strategy is very much geared toward digitalization and automation in order to increase efficiency and reduce costs,” Heinrich says. The two companies are currently working on linking their ERP and transportation management systems so that these can communicate with each other in real time. “Our goal is to have a fully electronic process from production through to the end customer,” Heinrich explains. DACHSER pursues a decidedly similar strategy in these areas, “which is why we fit together so well.”
Both companies maintain an SME-like structure, which also makes them a good fit. “Our older customers in particular have more of a need to talk during delivery,” says Heinrich with a grin. Most of the retailers and installers are small and medium-sized as well, so they, too, are used to personal contact. For Saleske, this is nothing new and not a problem. “Despite all the digitalization, we at DACHSER always make sure that we never neglect human interaction,” he says, describing the culture of the family-owned business. “Our customers have their own personal contact on-site rather than having to deal with anonymous call centers.” That’s something that Heinrich appreciates as well: “Of course things go wrong from time to time; when they do, it’s good to have someone on hand to take care of it.”
Innovative packaging solutions
This direct contact also ensures the necessary flexibility, says Saleske. TKE offers a wide variety of products and is constantly developing them further, so DACHSER always has to be ready to respond. For example, by developing a new type of packaging for shipping high-quality TKE products by air. Previously, the lift parts were strapped to a pallet for shipping and wrapped in film. This could occasionally lead to damage or lost parts during transportation and handling of the pallets. Together with TKE, DACHSER developed a particularly sturdy type of cardboard packaging that, like the rails and stairlifts, can be highly customized. This innovation reduced damage and the cost of repairs to almost zero. Instead of wrapping the parts in a lot of disposable film to protect them, DACHSER now uses recyclable cardboard boxes, which are cut to size so that no empty space remains inside. “This saves on space and freight costs, and improves sustainability in transportation,” Saleske says.
Here, the aim is to accommodate the different dimensions and numbers of parts in packaging with a standard size wherever possible. “Basically, we want standard packaging for highly individual pieces,” says Saleske. He sees no contradiction there: “DACHSER is as diverse as its customers.”
