Militzer & Münch opens branch in Shenyang

Colon Sun

St. Gallen, 13 July 2022. On July 1st, the Militzer & Münch Group took into operation the ninth M&M branch office in China. With the new office in Shenyang, the logistics company now also covers the northeast of the country.

After the opening of a branch in Chongqing at the beginning of the year, the presence in Shenyang is another milestone in Militzer & Münch’s growth strategy. With this move, the company is consolidating its network of local experts: M&M now counts 100 employees in China.

Branch manager Colon Sun will head and develop the new location. A specialist for the market in Northeast China, he has been active in the international freight forwarding industry for eleven years.

“In Colon Sun, we have won an experienced expert for our new branch office,” says Andreas Löwenstein, Militzer & Münch Regional Managing Director Asia / Far East. “We are convinced that he and his will be able to further expand our local business. With our presence in the northeast of the country, we can now also offer our customers diversified, high-quality services in that area.”

 

Shenyang – center of heavy industry

Nine million people live in the metropolis of Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning Province and one of China’s most important heavy industry centers. With its proximity to the modern port city of Dalian, its links to the country’s three northeastern provinces and to the neighboring economic zones to the south and east, Shenyang is a major transportation hub.

Just in time to Shanghai

By plane from Belgium to China: M&M air sea cargo GmbH ensured an urgent transport of large ship parts with an unusual loading strategy.

A Bremen-based company, an existing Militzer & Münch customer, had manufactured two hull elements, weighing about ten tons in total, exclusively for a shipyard in Shanghai. The shipyard needed the structural elements on a certain day in order to be able to flood the dock after their assembly and to start the final shipbuilding work on time. For the tightly scheduled delivery, air freight was the only option.

“Safety first” applies in the air

In order to ensure safe transport, the team from M&M air sea cargo GmbH had the two five-meter-long, three-meter-wide and over two-meter-high components picked up by low-loader in northern Germany and transported to a company specializing in packaging.

With the components secured with lashing straps on custom-made wooden flooring, the cargo was then trucked to Liège, Belgium. From there, onward transportation was by air. The ship elements thus reached their destination (a distance of 8,963 kilometers) in just over eleven hours instead of the 35 days minimum by the significantly longer sea route. For the Militzer & Münch team, the order ended at Shanghai airport – import customs clearance and delivery to the shipyard were handled by the consignee’s freight forwarder.

“For us, this was a rather unusual shipment. Nevertheless, everything went smoothly and we were able to meet all deadlines,” says Santino-Emanuel Hormuth, Branch Manager M&M air sea cargo GmbH Frankfurt. “The team did a great job.”

Militzer & Münch ist zum modernen Unternehmen gewachsen

Katja Jooß betreut das Controlling sowie die SAP-Entwicklung in der MMcom-Niederlassung im bayerischen Hof. 2021 feierte sie ihr 25-jähriges Dienstjubiläum. Im Interview berichtet sie, wie sich die Arbeit im vergangenen Vierteljahrhundert verändert hat, und was ihr an Militzer & Münch sowie der Logistikbranche gefällt.

Frau Jooß, bitte beschreiben Sie kurz Ihren beruflichen Werdegang. Welche Funktionen haben Sie bei Militzer & Münch durchlaufen?

Ich habe zunächst eine Ausbildung zur Speditionskauffrau gemacht. Anschließend bin ich in der Verwaltung geblieben und war dann einige Zeit im Controlling tätig. Ich übernahm dann nach und nach die Verantwortung für die Entwicklung und Pflege unseres SAP-Systems. Dazu gehören die Benutzer- und Berechtigungspflege, der Anwendersupport in Deutschland und Dubai sowie Supportaufgaben im Controlling. Das ist seit über 20 Jahren ein ständiger Lern- und Entwicklungsprozess, da sich im SAP-Bereich immer wieder neue Projekte, gesetzliche Vorgaben und Herausforderungen ergeben.

Wie hat sich Militzer & Münch in den vergangenen 25 Jahren verändert?

Als ich 1996 anfing, waren Computer noch eine Seltenheit. Im ersten Ausbildungsjahr hatte ich wenig Kontakt mit einem PC. Damals wurde eher mit Akten gearbeitet. Ich war zum Beispiel dafür zuständig, die abweichenden Zeiten der Mitarbeiter, die sich mit Lochkarten im Zeiterfassungsgerät „einstempelten“, nachzupflegen. Das war ein großer Kasten mit einem Ziffernblock zur Eingabe und einem kleinen Bildschirm – heute ist das fast nicht mehr vorstellbar. Alles ist digitalisiert, und die Militzer & Münch-Landesgesellschaften und Büros sind weltweit eng vernetzt. Kunden können ihre Transporte in Echtzeit nachverfolgen. Militzer & Münch ist zu einem modernen Unternehmen gewachsen, aber trotzdem bodenständig geblieben.

Was schätzen Sie an Militzer & Münch?

Das Umfeld, die Arbeitsbedingungen, die Kollegen und die Chefs stimmen einfach. Es gibt neben den gleichbleibenden Aufgaben auch immer wieder neue Herausforderungen und Projekte. Ich kann selbstständig arbeiten, habe aber trotzdem immer die nötige Unterstützung. Militzer & Münch ist ein bodenständiges Traditionsunternehmen. Das passt zu mir.
Wir haben hier in Hof schon seit 25 Jahren Gleitzeit. Hinzu kommt die Möglichkeit, im Homeoffice zu arbeiten, für die ich sehr dankbar bin. Dadurch sind Arbeit und Familie auch während der Zeit im Lockdown gut vereinbar gewesen.

Was fasziniert Sie an der Logistik-Branche?

Ohne Logistik bewegt sich nichts auf der Welt. Es beeindruckt mich, wenn ich im Intranet unsere Sondertransporte verfolge. Wie zum Beispiel große Maschinenteile oder sogar ganze Anlagen von einem an das andere Ende der Welt bewegt werden und wie die einzelnen Militzer & Münch Gesellschaften dabei Hand in Hand arbeiten, finde ich faszinierend.

Was machen Sie in Ihrer Freizeit?

Ich bin verheiratet und habe zwei Kinder. Mein Mann und ich gehen gerne in die Natur, wandern und unternehmen viel mit den Kindern. Auch Reisen und Skifahren stehen ganz oben auf unserer Liste. Hier in Hof ist es sehr schön, wir können im Sommer im Mittelgebirge wandern und im Winter Ski fahren. Alles ist in kurzer Zeit erreichbar, es gibt einen schönen See und auch kulturell hat die Region viel zu bieten. Darüber hinaus bin ich seit vielen Jahren ehrenamtlich in der Leichtathletik tätig – früher aktiv und heute als Abteilungsleiterin, Trainerin und im Vorstand.

Future managers on a success course

How to stand out from the huge number of companies in order to attract highly qualified young people and keep them in the company for the long term? A challenge that the TransInvest Group, parent company of Militzer & Münch, meets with its Talent Management Programme.

 

The TransInvest Group has provided for the future: eleven years ago, in 2011, it launched the group-wide Talent Management Programme (TMP) to promote its own young talents. This year, 21 promising young talents are taking part in the exclusive junior staff development program, which TransInvest organizes in cooperation with the University of St. Gallen Institute of Supply Chain Management.

“We are proud to offer this training opportunity to our young talents and thus to be able to fill vacant top positions with junior managers from our own ranks”, says Alexei Kovalenko, Chief Financial Officer, TransInvest and Militzer & Münch, and speaker of the Militzer & Münch Group Management.

The majority of the participants, 13 of the hopefuls, come from different Militzer & Münch country units. In late April, during the first part of the in-service module series, they were able to get to know the Swiss headquarters in St. Gallen in addition to the campus. Alexei Kovalenko and Ralph Stadler, Head HR TransInvest Holding AG, welcomed the participants and presented the course of events. During the three-day module, the participants focused on Controlling, Supply Chain Resilience and Process Management. Christoph Hollenstein, Head of Group Controlling Militzer & Münch, gave exemplary insights into controlling at TransInvest. Guest lecturers from renowned companies and university chairs provided the corresponding scientific background and addressed current challenges such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and delays in global supply chains.

“The discourse that emerges from the input of our junior staff and the multifaceted experience of external managers is a very effective way of meeting today’s shift in values with the right answers, and maintaining innovative strength and competitiveness,” says Alexei Kovalenko.

In addition to interactive group tasks, the shared evening activities promoted cohesion, and encouraged not only strategic and business-related discussions but also personal exchanges.

The participants will complete two further modules over the course of the year, partly online and partly on site in Istanbul, and conclude their training with a group presentation. After that, the young talents will support management in various country organizations in identifying interesting opportunities and expanding business locally.

CargoLine Quality Award 2021

The M&M organizations in Bulgaria and Latvia were honored with the CargoLine Quality Award 2021 for their excellent and reliable service in the CargoLine groupage network.

The picture shows, from left, Hristo Marinov, Deputy Manager M&M Bulgaria, Managing Director M&M Bulgaria Sacho Todorov, and Managing Director Cargomax Latvia, Dmitrijs Vorniku.

Kazakhstan: New courier fleet for EMEX and FedEx

In order better to meet the e-commerce boom and the resulting growing demand for parcel services, EMEX is investing in a larger vehicle fleet in Kazakhstan. EMEX is Militzer & Münch’s courier, express, and parcel service (CEP), as well as the exclusive partner of FedEx in the strategically important country between Asia and Europe.

Over the course of the year, EMEX will more than double its fleet by adding 36 courier vehicles. The CEP service provider is going to put the new vehicles into operation step by step. Half of the new courier vehicles will be branded with the EMEX logo, the other half with the FedEx logo. EMEX is deploying part of the fleet at its headquarters in Almaty, where the vehicles will replace the previous, leased delivery vans. Two vehicles each will be used by the company’s twelve branch offices spread throughout the country.

“With our expanded fleet, we can offer our customers an even better delivery service with even shorter transit times,” says Tatyana Vorobyeva, Managing Director of EMEX. “For the first time, we will operate our own transport vehicles at all our locations in Kazakhstan. This will also allow us to increase our brand awareness and strengthen our network as a whole.”

 

FedEx: partnership extended

FedEx shipments, which EMEX handles as an exclusive partner in Kazakhstan, generate ten percent of the company’s total revenue. In December 2021, EMEX was able to extend the exclusive contract with FedEx for several years.

Overall, EMEX looks back on a very good and stable business development. The CEP service provider is benefiting in particular from the strong growth of online trade in the wake of the corona pandemic. According to the Kazakh Bureau of National Statistics, in the year 2020 alone, internet stores in Kazakhstan doubled their retail sales in the private customer segment. In course of  the past five years, EMEX was able to increase its shipment volume more than 14-fold. The Militzer & Münch courier service has increased the number of employees from 45 to 215.

Thanks to strategic investments in network and system quality, EMEX has so far coped very well with the extraordinary pandemic times, and offers its customers crucial delivery capacities as well as great flexibility. “We are pleased with everyone’s success and thank our customers for their trust,” says Tatyana Vorobyeva. “Their satisfaction spurs us on to continue delivering the highest quality of service also in the future.”

Growth beyond the borders of Kazakhstan is the next step: “Our goal is to roll out EMEX regionally as an organization and as a brand for national logistics in Central Asia, and thus to provide services for customers beyond the local market,” says Nikolaus Kohler, Regional Managing Director Middle East / Central Asia, Business Development Switzerland, M&M Militzer & Münch International Holding AG.

 

EMEX – The Militzer & Münch Courier and Express Service

  • Established: on the Kazakh market since 2004
  • Headquarters: Almaty
  • Branches: Nur-Sultan, Aktau, Atyrau, Aktobe, Karaganda, Kostanay, Kyzylorda, Pavlodar, Petropavlovsk, Oskemen, Uralsk, Shymkent
  • Agents: in 15 more cities in Kazakhstan
  • Employees: 215
  • Fleet: 60 courier vehicles, 5 trucks

Militzer & Münch opens two new subsidiaries in the Balkans

St. Gallen, 13 September 2021. The Militzer & Münch Group has opened two new country units – in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in Montenegro. With their focus on logistics services and road transports, the newly founded companies strengthen the network in the Balkan region. The Militzer & Münch country organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Montenegro started operations in late August. The companies are located in the capitals of the two countries, Sarajevo and Podgorica, and offer the full range of the Militzer & Münch services. A special focus is on organizing FTL and LTL road transports, as well as on customs clearance.

A region with potential

In both national markets, Militzer & Münch sees great potential for further growth. The national subsidiary established in 2019 in Serbia, which borders both countries, is developing better than expected. In the future, Serbia will serve as the Militzer & Münch hub for the Western Balkans. “Many customers we work with in Serbia are also active in the other markets of the region; these customers mainly come from the fashion and textiles, automotive, and chemical sectors. Therefore, the two new national companies will mainly transport goods for companies from these industries”, says Nikola Vasiljevic, Managing Director of the two new country units and Executive Director at Militzer & Münch Serbia. “We do see the opportunity to extend our cooperation with our customers to transports to neighboring countries, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.”

“With the new national units, we are connecting several national markets with a high growth potential, while at the same time strengthening our own network,” says Filip Simovic, Managing Director of Militzer & Münch Serbia. “Traffics destined for Bosnia and Herzegovina or Montenegro reach their destination via the Serbian capital Belgrade, where we recently acquired a logistics property that we had previously only rented.” In the Balkan region, Militzer & Münch operates further locations in Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania, and already offers a wide range of logistics services across the region.

24/7 spare parts supply

St. Gallen, February 22, 2021. The Militzer & Münch Group offers a time-critical spare parts supply service at its location at Hamburg Airport, available around the clock, seven days a week. Especially in case of an “Aircraft on Ground” (AOG) alarm, customers make use of the service. Recently, Militzer & Münch has extended this offer to other industries that rely on time-critical spare parts deliveries – among them the maritime industry and agricultural machinery manufacturers.

The air freight office of M&M air sea cargo GmbH, which offers this service, is located in the immediate vicinity of Hamburg Airport. At present, one of the main focuses of the 26 employees is on aircraft spare parts. “Our current end customers are various regional and local airlines in China, Taiwan and India,” says Dirk Bukowski, Regional Manager North Germany. “We have now extended this service to other industries that rely on the short-term delivery of spare parts. These include the maritime industry, manufacturers of large vehicles such as combine harvesters and forklifts, as well as wind power plants and the respective workshops.” The special Militzer & Münch service can also be used for the import and export of high-value, low-volume products such as cell phones.

On duty, non-stop
The special feature of this service: Militzer & Münch assures its customers of a reliable 24/7 service, completely independent of the logistics service provider’s other workload. Shipping and warehouse stock of the Militzer & Münch branch office in Hamburg are steered via a control tower, which acts as an interface to the customers and partners.

“Our service is already attracting a lot of interest from the marine spare parts sector and from manufacturers of utility vehicles, who rely on an immediate response and the fastest possible transport in the event of an emergency,” says Jennifer Bastkowski, Branch Manager Airfreight. “Our team can access our own warehouse directly – which has not been the norm in the industry for a long time. The warehouse is connected to our office and equipped with pallet racks and an innovative warehouse management system. It is located just two kilometers from Hamburg Airport. Thanks to all these factors, we can process urgent orders within a very short time.”

Stable despite the pandemic
During the Corona pandemic, there is an above-average number of orders for spare parts that are classified as extremely urgent and have to be dispatched immediately – often outside normal working hours or on weekends and holidays. As a result of the Corona crisis, there is a much greater amount of work involved in booking orders. “In the periods leading up to the pandemic, we transported a significant portion of our air cargo as so-called “belly loads” aboard passenger aircraft that departed at a very high frequency,” says Jennifer Bastkowski. “The restrictions on passenger air traffic due to COVID-19 have ensured that this cargo space is largely eliminated – especially on the long-haul route to China.”

Thus, the rapid dispatch of time-critical spare parts constitutes a challenge, since for shipments of this type there are currently almost only cargo flights available, which, however, operate irregularly during the pandemic. COVID-19 has thus created some hurdles that make order planning more complex: Flight connections and the rates charged for them have to be checked by the Militzer & Münch team for each individual order, and coordinated with the contacts abroad. M&M air sea cargo GmbH was able to master these challenges and stand its ground in the market, despite the Corona pandemic.

New location in Austria

St. Gallen, October 1, 2020. Starting today, the Militzer & Münch Group operates a branch office in Austria. The team at the new Vienna office is active in sales and operations, with a focus on logistics services and rail transports for the markets in Central and Eastern Europe.

With the new office at the Vienna DC Tower, the Militzer & Münch Group adds to its network another important logistics hub at the heart of Europe. “Vienna is one of the major trans-shipment hubs for goods in Central Europe”, says Nikolaus Kohler, Regional Managing Director Middle East / Central Asia, Business Development Switzerland, Militzer & Münch Holding AG. “For the time being, the office is set up as a foreign branch of M&M Militzer & Münch AG, Switzerland. Plans are to found an independent country unit in Vienna at a later date.” The team at the Austrian capital comes with lots of experience and concentrates on the Militzer & Münch core markets; these include Central Asia, the Caucasus, Russia, and the Maghreb. The objective is to especially develop East-bound rail transports.

Austria boasts a stable economy, and the Vienna region has always been a successful economic hub in the trade between West and East. The new team is led by Branch Manager Nikolay Gueorguiev. He was with Far Freight / Gebrüder Weiss, and most recently with the CJ ICM Logistics Group.