Logistics 2030 – People make the difference
By Marcus Schick
I Lesezeit: 15 Minuten
22/12/2023
Logistics is a complex interplay between flows of goods and information in intelligent networks. People are and remain the key to their success and reliability. The maxim “Logistics is People Business” has many faces—in DACHSER’s overall strategy as well as in the everyday life at the family-owned company.
They’re already waiting in the warehouse. Today is “M.I.T.einander Day,” a kind of “Together with the Team Day.” Every two months, the project team at DACHSER’s Kornwestheim branch near Stuttgart brings a few pub tables and a pinboard to the branch and talks to the employees. And it does so at every operational level: sometimes in the offices, sometimes in the warehouse, sometimes in cargo handling, sometimes in the external warehouse in Vaihingen an der Enz. In the program’s German name, the “M.I.T.” stands for “Mitten im Team,” roughly “in the midst of the team.” However, it’s also the first part of the word “miteinander,” meaning “with each other.” In this way, the program’s title contains clues to its objectives.
The Kornwestheim branch is one of the larger hubs in the DACHSER network. Covering an area of 91,800 m², it comprises three building complexes plus the warehouse site. “It’s not easy for the 530 or so employees to keep track of everything that’s happening at the branch,” says project manager Lena Herion. The 27-year-old is part of the newly formed seven-person M.I.T.einander team, as is her colleague, HR manager Manuel Scimone. “With this campaign, we want to give employees from the different departments the opportunity to talk to us regularly about current projects, news, and actions at our branch and in the DACHSER network,” Scimone explains, “and we want to engage in direct dialogue with them.” And it’s working: Herion reports that participants’ initial reticence has long since turned into a very lively exchange.
In 20 minutes, everything’s out in the open—from the constantly dripping coffee machine to occupational safety, from company health care to the big picture in logistics processes with new IT possibilities. “The depth of conversation is fascinating,” Herion says happily. “There’s a takeaway for everyone, every time.” Employees who have the day off or are working remotely aren’t left out: the M.I.T.einander team creates a video especially for them covering the topics of the event. This allows everyone to ask the team questions or make suggestions afterward.
“The strength of our organization lies above all in our network of people who share a passion for logistics. And that goes for all levels: from management to trainees, from commercial employees to logistics operatives, as well as the drivers who ultimately give our performance a friendly and professional face every day,” explains DACHSER CEO Burkhard Eling. “Nothing in logistics works without people. Our employees are and will remain the key to our company’s success.” This idea is embodied by a strategic focus program at DACHSER called “Logistics is People Business,” or LiPB for short. It finds expression both in large global projects such as the introduction of an HR system and in many local initiatives like the one in Kornwestheim.
A global HR strategy
To promote the strategy and drive its take-up throughout the company, LiPB Program Management was created under the leadership of Silke Schöpp. Together with her team, she focuses on four strategic fields of action: Employee Experience, Collaboration, Learning & Development, and Corporate Culture.
“We asked ourselves what makes DACHSER an attractive employer today and what will keep it attractive tomorrow,” Schöpp says. “No one knows this better than those who experience the company in all its facets every day from the inside and who actively help shape it. We have fantastic employees all over the world who can make a valuable contribution to the entire network.” Communicating and exchanging ideas brings together perspectives from different countries and areas of the company. “It’s a win-win for everyone,” Schöpp says.
In the DACHSER podcast “NetzWert”, Silke Schöpp explains in detail the HR strategy “Logistics is People Business” and how DACHSER wants to achieve the goal of an employee-centered corporate culture by 2030. HR Manager Julia Röhl also reports on how the practical implementation is taking place in Neuss.
The fields of action, starting at the top left: Employee Experience, Collaboration, Learning & Development and Corporate Culture
Field of action: Employee Experience
The M.I.T.einander project, which originally arose from the Kornwestheim branch’s own initiative, both inspired the LiPB team and itself received a fresh injection of energy from the strategic program. It serves as an example of how LiPB can take employee experience and leverage it to improve the quality of work and thus the quality of sustainable logistics services. This involves clarifying a wide range of issues: What specific issues are affecting employees in their area of work? What information would they like from other areas of the company? How can they play a bigger role in day-to-day work? What feedback do they expect?
Herion reports that the project team gave a lot of thought to establishing communication that was specific but motivating as well. This also calls for careful timing. “We make sure our interviews don’t disrupt work processes, intrude on important appointments, or clash with peak times at the warehouse.” The hugely positive response from employees shows the M.I.T.einander team that such considerations are well received. “We connect managers and employees in the operational and commercial areas. This increases everyone’s motivation and strengthens their ties to DACHSER,” Scimone says.
Field of action: Collaboration
To achieve cohesion in the DACHSER world, LiPB takes a “collaboration across all levels” approach. One place the results can be seen is when newcomers join the company. A differentiated, respectful approach to applicants helps firm up and enhance the company’s attractiveness as an employer. “The way we live our values, especially openness and respect, is reflected particularly clearly in how we welcome new faces,” Eling says. The LiPB team has formed an international project team to drive forward the Collaboration field of action, aiming to bring the DACHSER world closer together at all levels.
Danny Messing, Team Leader Recruiting & Onboarding for Logistics Operatives, has been involved in the project from the outset. He has devoted particular effort to employee recruitment and retention in times of a worsening shortage of skilled workers. “Qualified workers are in demand, and the competition for them is fierce. Digitalization, which now features in all areas of life, has redefined the entire application and recruitment process,” Messing says of the challenge. Nowadays, everything has to happen much faster, and the exchange between applicants and the company has to be much more direct and immediate. “For this reason, we critically scrutinized the entire process and restructured what DACHSER calls the ‘candidate journey.’”
As a result, the relationship between DACHSER and new employees is now systematically built up in six steps. Messing describes the first part of the process: “It starts with the initial contact online or at job fairs, continues with the first exchange of information about the position and the requirements, and ends with the formal application and getting to know each other in person.” Ideally, the recruiting process doesn’t end once the contract is signed. “We stay in contact with the new employees to prepare them for their new phase of life and work and to clear up any doubts they may have. The newcomers can find a lot of information about their new employer on a special DACHSER platform. It includes a welcome video with Burkhard Eling, in which the DACHSER CEO introduces the company, its values, and the prospects for a bright future together.
The hiring process culminates in the onboarding phase. “Everything should be ready on the first day—from the right work clothes to a tour of the work area with a personal ‘buddy’ and getting to know the new colleagues,” Messing says. “If people feel welcome, they’ll fit into the team that much more quickly.”
To continue advancing this process throughout DACHSER, Corporate Human Resources is integrating the experiences of HR managers from all divisions in the various countries into the LiPB project under the Collaboration field of action. “We received enormous encouragement and, above all, active support from our branches in the further development of this topic. All members of the project team were able to contribute their recruitment experience,” Messing says.
The way we live our values, especially openness and respect, is reflected particularly clearly in how we welcome new faces.
Field of action: Learning & Development
DACHSER views itself as a learning organization. This is an integral part of the target picture 2030 and shapes the LiPB Learning & Development field of action. “If we are to realize our potential, it’s crucial that we constantly encourage people to acquire and share knowledge, to learn, and to strive for individual growth,” Eling says. An example from Bad Salzuflen shows how this can also be achieved during day-to-day logistics operations: The DACHSER Blue Box project, launched by the DACHSER Academy under the leadership of Christina Müller, stations a small, compact, one-person learning studio right inside the warehouses and transit terminals. In December 2022, the mobile unit was piloted in the Bad Salzuflen branch. More such shop-floor boxes followed in Hörsching in Austria, at the Überherrn Eurohub in Saarland, and in Langenhagen near Hannover. Four more have already been built, one of which is slated for the Kornwestheim branch in the near future.
“With our DACHSER Blue Box, our logistics operatives also have the opportunity to use the DACHSER learning world and continue their training in a quiet, undisturbed place in their direct working environment,” Müller says about the concept, which has won an award from a trade journal. The one-person learning booth is equipped with a computer and a 27-inch screen. This setup provides anyone interested in learning with access to Ilias, DACHSER’s in-house learning management system, as well as to Idea2net, the employee ideas platform.
“Since the box has a large window, the person inside doesn’t feel confined, but at the same time they are isolated enough from warehouse activities that they can concentrate for the whole 15 to 20 minutes of the learning units. Employee feedback about this has been good,” Müller reports following the first few trials in practice. In principle, the concept can reach every person in the warehouse—from part-time and mini-job employees to team leaders and shift supervisors.
“Each logistics operative can choose the right program for their own area of responsibility,” Müller says, summing up the user-friendly learning offer. For example, the operatives can review the instructions in peace and quiet or get answers to their questions on the topic. Current training courses, on topics like the safe handling of lithium-ion technology or accident and fire prevention, can be accessed via the website. The Ilias learning management system is available in 16 languages, so users can navigate the system in their native language. According to Müller, employees with a migration background also benefit from this: “We do translations for specific topics,” the head of the Academy explains. “One of our core strategies at the Academy is to continuously expand the language diversity of our learning content.” And it does so in a highly focused way. “For example, we considerably upped the number of French training sessions for French-speaking employees at the box in Überherrn due to the branch’s proximity to France.”
Field of action: Corporate Culture
LiPB’s fourth field of action is Corporate Culture. “At our family- owned company, value-oriented and sustainable action are the magnetic core that holds everything and everyone together worldwide. The experience of cohesion and team spirit, of trust, confidence, and responsibility in working together every day are ways we distinguish ourselves in the market, so we must maintain and further promote them together,” says DACHSER CEO Eling to explain DACHSER’s self-image.
This includes the proven knowledge that diverse teams in particular can work together more efficiently, develop better solutions, and thus break down prejudices. An example from Öhringen near Heilbronn shows that people with disabilities can enrich and advance work teams.
Marcus Seeburger loves the world of business and numbers. “I’m fascinated by the analysis of complex economic relationships and using that as a solid basis for decision-making. That’s why I sent DACHSER an unsolicited application for a position in Sales Controlling.” In logistics, controlling specialists are highly sought-after, and DACHSER is no exception. But there was something special about this application: Seeburger is deaf. When the recruiters and the Sales Controlling Manager at the Öhringen branch, Thomas Althaus, saw his application, they liked it so much that they were keen to meet the young man. Seeburger was impressed that Althaus had researched sign language on YouTube in advance and used a few signs during the interview: “This showed me that DACHSER is not only interested in hiring deaf people, but is also prepared to adapt. I knew then that I really wanted to work for the company.” The result was an internship in which Seeburger and DACHSER both tried it out together—with resounding success.
The new employee was to be accompanied by a sign language interpreter, who would be available if required, and an email was sent to the team in advance informing them of this arrangement. “There were no other special preparations,” Althaus says. The colleagues created a warm and welcoming atmosphere right from the start; together, they all quickly overcame the initial uncertainty and fear of making mistakes.
“During my onboarding phase, there was usually a sign language interpreter at my side in the mornings to interpret important meetings and conversations,” Seeburger reports. Soon he’ll have technical assistance in the form of TeleSign, a telephone interpreting service. This enables him to communicate effectively with hearing colleagues and customers on the phone, ensuring a smooth workflow. However, much of the onboarding process was adapted according to the situation. For example, over lunch Althaus and Seeburger communicated easily via WhatsApp, even without an interpreter.
With his open, friendly manner, Seeburger is seen as a real asset by the Sales Controlling team, Althaus says: “It’s a mutual learning process. The new way of communicating has helped us all to rethink work structures and processes and to see our day-to-day work from a different perspective.” For his part, Seeburger is “very comfortable at DACHSER and in my team.” When asked what would make him recommend his employer to others, he doesn’t have to think twice: “It’s because of the special corporate culture characterized by respect, teamwork, and support. The company values employees’ individual skills and ideas, regardless of any disability.” The importance of diversity and inclusion at DACHSER is also reflected in the newly created position of Inclusion Officer, which has been held by Daniel Metzdorf-Muigg at the Head Office in Kempten since June of this year. In brief, the goal of the position is to systematically drive diverse and inclusive collaboration at DACHSER.
The experience of cohesion and team spirit, of trust, confidence, and responsibility in working together every day are ways we distinguish ourselves in the market, so we must maintain and further promote them together.
Logistics by people, for people
And so concludes the circle of the four fields of action in the ”Logistics is People Business” strategic focus program. Eling believes DACHSER is right on course toward its target picture 2030 with the projects the company has launched: “Logistics is made by people, for people. Both on a grand scale and in the little things. That isn’t going to change, not even in times of digitalization and automation. People are the focus of everything DACHSER does. They keep the supply chains running and find tailored solutions for our corporate customers. That’s why appreciation of every individual is and will remain the basis for how we think and act,” the DACHSER CEO says. “And not just as a well-intentioned commitment, but by linking global and local projects at all levels and supporting the exchange of successful case studies.” It’s the many large and small steps in everyday logistics that, implemented with a great deal of heart and soul, ultimately make it possible to move forward toward a major goal.
