No. 4 2009
Generational change Back to school for new managers Page 14
Editorial Once again, we can begin to talk about organic growth in our company. This concept has been stowed away for the past many months with the financial crisis reducing any comparison with past achievements to a tedious business. Now, although the basis for comparison is a year characterised by crisis, we believe we are turning the corner and see positive organic growth once again. The period to come will continue to be marked by uncertainty – it is still too early to call off the crisis. We see positive indications but are, of course, in the midst of the company’s busiest period which should be characterised by a high level of activity. No one can say for sure whether the intense activity experienced at the moment is here to stay or whether it is just a transitional period until industry’s warehouses are restocked. We expect to come out of 2010 performing better than in 2009. Growth in turnover and acrossthe-board savings – not least reduced salary expenses – will have a positive effect on our financial accounts. Another reason why we consider the outlook to be bright is that DSV is now in a stronger position in terms of IT than many of our competitors. The development of STAR (Shipment Tracking And Reporting) has doubled the growth rates for distribution of Danish
general cargo loads (see page 4) and many other countries in the organisation should experience the same. The groundbreaking cooperation between the business side and IT has resulted in great savings on the daily operations in the automatic distribution system. The employees now focus on deviations and added sales, which gives good bottom-line results. STAR gives us a clear competitive advantage and it is no secret that it has won substantial contracts for us. Among global transport companies, DSV is the IT leader and we wish to expand this position, which will give us a strong boost in the time to come. Following the integration of Frans Maas and ABX Logistics in DSV’s network, the company is now a significant global player. We are investing many resources in building an efficient organisation within Global Accounts, i.e. transports from more than one country of origin to more than one country of destination. A new and efficient structure in the management of Global Accounts will contribute to our major international customers experiencing DSV as one single organisation focusing on developing our common business – across divisions, countries and continents. It gives us great pleasure when Mark R. Chadwick, Global Transportation Manager of GE Corporate, declares, in this edition of moves, that DSV is fully comparable with the best in the world and that our great focus on the customer’s needs will probably lead to a further expansion of our collaboration. This tells us that we are moving in the right direction and that our efforts are paying off. Yours sincerely Jens Bjørn Andersen
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Growth They set out with three men and a dream of becoming biggest and best. DSV in Serbia is now well underway – thanks to a pronounced competitive nerve.
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Bright idea It all started with an electrical incandescent bulb. Now, GE ranks among the top ten companies in the world – and is a customer in DSV’s global network.
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Terra incognita Bulgaria is still uncharted territory for large parts of DSV, but the Bulgarian company is fully abreast of the rest of the organisation.
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Automatics Chaos used to be the order of the day in the domestic distribution of general cargo in Denmark. Now, automated business procedures have doubled growth – using the same number of employees.
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Trust Perseverance. Teamwork. Cadence. Results. There are many similarities between running a business and competitive cycling.
Talent The hunt is on for future managers in DSV Denmark. Their mission: to safeguard the company’s competiveness. We met the candidates.
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with fewer employees STAR has proven its worth. While everyone is talking crisis, the number of shipments for external customers in the Danish distribution sector has risen by more than 100% – in four months!
Although it almost sounds too good to be true, Michael Dal, Danish Distribution Manager, is convinced: In June 2009, the Danish distribution of general cargo surpassed 200,000 shipments – a month. In August, the 65 salaried employees and 167 hourly paid employees had processed more shipments from external customers in the first eight months of the year than they had in all of last year. The Danish organisation is running at full speed and owes its fine market shares on the Danish general cargo market to STAR (Shipment Tracking And Reporting), an acronym for the collaboration between IT and the business unit. With PDA scanning of all shipments and bestpractice standards, a hitherto unseen concentration on the tasks at hand has been achieved. “We’re working towards an automatic distribution system where the focus is on deviations – not on our dayto-day operations. They have to run fully automatically,” says Michael Dal, Distribution Manager, who also experienced huge progress in 2006 – but back then the system was not at all geared for handling the success.
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Flattened by growth “It was utterly absurd. We had to move a pallet every time we wanted to reach another one,” he remembers about the days from May to June 2006, when the number of shipments rose by 30% in just
one month. “We experienced a growth rate that knocked us flat.” The upswing peaked and demand was enormous, and our employees were working like mad to keep up. “This gave us reason to look ahead: how could we automate our processes so we could document our results to our customers at the same time that we redirected our energy from our day-today activities to where we were having problems?” he asks, explaining that this also marked the launch of STAR, which has been introduced in 21 Road countries in the DSV network since the autumn of 2008. Exceeding the 2006 level – with fewer employees Today Denmark’s general cargo distribution exceeds the level of the busy days in 2006. At the same time, the number of employees has declined by 12%. “Usually we increase our number of employees as we grow. I want growth without having to hire more employees. The physical cargo handling must take place in the terminal; everything else has to run automatically via PDA scanners. When you scan a parcel, it must trigger an invoice and a credit note to the hauliers,” says Michael Dal about the dream scenario where the shipping agent’s role is far more sophisticated than it is now:
“We’ve taken a huge step closer to an automatic distribution system that brings all our focus to bear on deviations and being proactive vis-à-vis our customers. When the shipping agents report to work in the morning, he or she will be able to see whether any problems occurred during the night and then solve them. The time freed up as a result can be used for additional activities targeting the customers who experience an entirely different degree of energy in DSV’s employees than before, when we were struggling to keep up.” Good for business Michael Dal has 16,000 m² of crossdocking facilities at his disposal in Brøndby and will soon have another 32,500 m² in Horsens. Previously, DSV’s domestic general-cargo distribution comprised eleven centres scattered all over Denmark, and it very beneficial to gather the crossdocking activities at one place in the west part of Denmark and one in the east. Even so, that does not entirely explain the newly acquired success: “Everything just seems to have gelled. Our success is due to a unique collaboration between our business segment – including a forceful 50-person sales team – and Group IT and the local IT department. Their solutions are amazingly business oriented and now that we have STAR, we get a detailed process description that goes
Project Manager Lotta Fosser is in charge of implementing STAR in DSV’s Road network. “It’s the right path to take.”
STAR in brief The cornerstone of STAR (Shipment Tracking And Reporting) is the scanning of the cargo using mobile units when picking up the cargo at the customer’s, in the terminal and at the final delivery. It enables services like track-andtrace and situational reports as documentation for compliance with agreements concluded. At the same time, the 164-page STAR manual describes the common best-practice standards for distributing shipments throughout DSV’s road network. The roll-out of STAR in the network takes place by training one or more teams at every single location who in turn train employees in their own country and manage the implementation of the processes.
in and fine-tunes what we are incredibly good at in DSV: doing business. Many people had no idea that we also handle national cargo, typically line hauls from Europe. But the fact is that when we load cargo for import and export, it’s easy for us to include the national cargo. To customers, this means a better product and lower transport costs. That’s good for business,” says Michael Dal.
Distribution Manager Michael Dal demonstrating the PDA scanner which has made it possible to achieve vertical growth – without having to hire more employees.
Great in-house effect Project Manager Lotta Fosser is the woman responsible for the European roll-out of STAR. Twenty-one countries are more or less in tune with the best practices, just as most of them have committed themselves to the mobile unit which they select for scanning cargo outside the terminal. And she’s looking forward to the effect STAR will have on business. “I really believe in this. It’s the right path to take. We get a great in-house effect by working with the processes and today track-and-trace is a must for attracting and retaining major customers,” she says. Lotta Fosser expects many other countries to experience distribution growth, similar to the growth that has occurred in Denmark. “All the preparations are ready. Now all we have to do is order the hardware for the last few countries. Being able to document to our customers that we meet our obligations is a prerequisite for taking market shares,” she says.
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Invents new trailer and boosts collaboration The Road and Air & Sea divisions are both winners with DSV’s invention of the “container trailer”, which is capable of transporting 20-foot and 40-foot containers in one direction and functioning as an ordinary trailer on the way back. The container trailer is perfect for imbalances, i.e. when twenty parcels are shipped in one direction and only one is shipped on the way back. The imbalance means you’re left with an empty container which has to be shipped down to the harbour when it’s convenient (by a competing company) to in turn be shipped to the world’s hottest manufacturing areas overseas. That was the situation until Søren Schmidt, COO in DSV Road A/S, suggested that DSV design its own trailer for conveying the empty containers from Denmark to the large oceangoing ships departing from ports like Hamburg, and naturally, the containers should be filled up with cargo on the way… The need existed It was Head of Section Henrik Nielsen (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) who eyed the advantage of this new container right away and who was
charged with developing it. “We tried putting a 40-foot container on our existing trailers but that didn’t work. So we rebuilt the trailer slightly but it still couldn’t be done. We ended up having to design a brand-new trailer which we had our supplier make, in collaboration with Equipment. More than a year passed before the first trailer rolled off the production line,” explains Henrik Nielsen, who after much research with shipping companies, etc., was convinced that the need existed. “Many containers stand around for far too long before being put back to use. By including them in our daily production planning, we can actually create a win-win situation for both parties,” he says. Win-win And it truly was win-win when Henrik Nielsen and Jesper Olsen, Head of Section from Seafreight Export, put
their heads together. “Suddenly we had a new product on the shelf once the Road divisions could start transporting our filled overseas containers on trailers destined for Hamburg, Rotterdam and Antwerp for less than the cost of the normal feeder solution. Now we could offer our customers the option of reaching an earlier ship or gaining up to an extra week of manufacturing time before the products had to be shipped. It’s much faster to convey the container to the major ports by vehicle than having them transported on a container ship from the Port of Copenhagen,” says Jesper Olsen. Best example “Yes,” they both agree, “this is probably the best example of how divisions can collaborate. We didn’t just create a new business area of transporting empty containers on trailers. We fill them up with
It takes fifteen minutes to convert the trailer from conveying a 20-foot or 40-foot container into an ordinary curtain trailer again. 6
The container trailer is the missing link for ideal collaboration between Air & Sea and Road. Traffic Manager Henrik Nielsen demonstrating the container trailer to Jesper Olsen, Assistant Branch Manager, DSV Air & Sea A/S.
goods from home – goods that we previously passed on to our competitors – and convey it all to Germany where we convert the container trailer into an ordinary curtain trailer again, ready to convey goods back to Scandinavia.” For the whole world Even though the container trailer is an advantage on imbalanced markets in particular – and not just in interaction with overseas transport – the rest of the world is a market for this new invention to the same extent. Today, only 130 container trailers have been made and all operate out of Denmark, conveying containers out of Copenhagen, Fredericia, Aarhus and Odense. Henrik Nielsen estimates that 20 to 25 filled containers are loaded every week, while 60 to 70 empty containers are conveyed to the large ports to the south. “Once everything is gathered in Horsens from 1 October, we’ll have a splendid new product that will benefit our overall business, instead of having to send money and customers elsewhere,” says Henrik Nielsen, who is still wearing his thinking cap: “Although the container trailer solved one problem for us, it still has its limitations, such as the fact it cannot be loaded from the side as there is no room for cranes. We have to keep being creative, so maybe someday we can come up with a multipurpose trailer that can handle anything,” he says.
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r a ia g l u B
From Shipping Agent to
Executive
The guard is changing in Bulgaria. After almost twenty years, Vladimir Dimchev is resigning from his position as executive manager for DSV in Bulgaria. His successor is Yani Totev, who is on 24/7: “You must never show any signs of weakness,” he says.
Yani Totev is ready to take over in Bulgaria as the successor to Vladimir Dimchev: “I get a kick when things succeed,” he says.
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After acquiring Frans Maas in 2006, DSV gained control of Vectra ODD, one of Bulgaria’s largest and most advanced road, air and sea companies, and of Vectra’s subsidiary Corsa Logistics OOD. With a 110 employees all told, DSV Road and DSV Air & Sea Bulgaria is a logistics partner for more than 30 international brands within the clothing, food, medicinal, cosmetics, automotive and high-tech industries. The newly established temperaturecontrolled warehouse hotel at Sofia Airport was built according to the latest EU norms and features, among other things, 12,500 pallet locations, value-added services and 500 m³ of refrigerated storage for medicinal products.
Terra incognita “Bulgaria is terra incognita for 95% of the colleagues in DSV. As a result, 80% of all our shipments are generated here in Bulgaria. You have hard odds - especially in times of crisis – all you have for filling your containers is your own cargo,” says the departing Managing Director Vladimir Dimchev, adding that the outlook is even more bleak for the Air & Sea company: For them, less than 5% of all shipments are generated by the rest of the DSV organisation.
Vladimir Dimchev has been planning his departure for the past two years.
“It seems like our colleagues in DSV don’t realise that they have a competent partner in Bulgaria. We have the country’s only 3PL warehouse hotel for pharmaceuticals, we’ve been an authorised IATA Agent since 1993, and we’re just as professional as the rest of the organisation,” is the message from Sofia.
Started from scratch Bulgaria’s executive manager has been planning his departure since early 2008. Later that same year, CEO Jens Bjørn Andersen visited the country and logistics director Yani Totev was recommended as his replacement – and was approved. Before that, Todor Kostadinov had been appointed director for Warehousing and Value-Added Services – and, like his future boss, had also started at the lowest rung of the organisation. “They both possess a manager’s most important quality: they push forward and they’re accustomed to acting proactively – not just reactively,” says Vladimir Dimchev, continuing: “They moved up from the lowest level to be a divisional head thanks to their natural drive and great leadership qualities. Also, for many years they’ve been heading important areas of our business – and over the years have been responsible for many employees.” Vladimir Dimchev turns the floor over to his replacement, Yani Totev, who ended up in the sector almost by accident fifteen years ago: Adrenalin kick “I was offered the position of shipping agent (in Scorpion Shipping – ed.) by a friend and was soon addicted to the adrenalin kick the job gives me when things succeed, and it’s very dynamic” says Yani Totev, who likes the power inherent in being a manager: being able to take decisions and develop and implement new activities and services. In addition, his job is also where Yani Totev meets his friends: “Over the past decade I’ve met my best friends in DSV. We speak the same language, share the same goals and dreams for the company, and I hope that we’ll be joining forces to develop our company even more,” says Yani Totev who besides his business studies at the university has no formal education. “I’ve taken two management courses
at the Frans Maas Business School in Venlo, the Netherlands – an excellent initiative. And on several occasions I’ve also visited logistics facilities in the Netherlands and Germany to learn best practices. Otherwise I’ve only been trained in my day-to-day work where I’ve made sure not to make the same mistake twice…” Always lead Yani Totev has this to say about the advantages of being the top executive in the Bulgarian organisation: “It’s next to impossible to answer that question without using a cliché: you can make things happen and you reap what you sow – you have to take the bitter with the sweet.” Although the 40-year-old upcoming director has never considered the drawbacks, he came up with one anyway: “You have to behave like a leader all the time. You can’t afford to show signs of weakness, fear, confusion or exhaustion – because it’s impossible to be a leader only once in a while – it’s a 24/7 occupation!” Yani Totev has no specific plans to make changes in the organisation when he takes over the helm from Vladimir Dimchev. Except for the fact that the company will be changing its name at the end of the year from Vectra and Corsa Logistics to DSV Road and DSV Air & Sea respectively. “You shouldn’t make changes for the sake of change. All changes should be well thought through and involve clear financial advantages. For this reason, I’ll wait to fine-tune our future targets and the way to reach them until I’m in the driver’s seat,” he says. Yani Totev is ready to take over in Bulgaria as the successor to Vladimir Dimchev: “I get a kick when things succeed,” he says.
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From warehouse employee to director
Even in a field with no formal education, big dreams can come true. It happened to Todor Kostadinov. Remember the small shops in apartment-house garages where you could buy a sandwich, a pack of cigarettes and a Pepsi? The small family-owned garage shops were the first signs of the transition to a market economy in Sofia, Bulgaria in the 1990s. Unemployment was over 20% and to Todor Kostadinov, there was no alternative to borrowing a small sum of money from his family and starting up a modest business selling daily necessities. Flair for business Now, after international supermarket chains made their entry into Bulgaria’s capital long ago, most of the small garage shops are closed. This is also true of Todor’s coffee shop, which nevertheless gave the enterprising entrepreneur a keen flair for business and taught him to be responsible in dealing with in-stock goods – qualities that helped to make the former shopowner a successful warehouse manager for DSV in Bulgaria. Fixed wages “I was actually just trying to make some quick cash, so I could get
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my own business back on its feet,” explains Todor Kostadinov, yet he was so highly appreciated by the management that he ended up being roped in by the positive feedback. “I started to feel like I belonged to the organisation, and it was also a relief to receive a paycheque every month – something I wasn’t used to in my own business.” Todor Kostadinov, 36, started out as common stock assistant in 1998, but already the following year was appointed Deputy Warehouse Manager in the organisation’s first warehouse, founded in 1999 for storing and distributing goods for Unilever Bulgaria. The year after that, Todor Kostadinov was proud to be promoted to Warehouse Manager for the company’s logistics activities and the dream of having his own shop was overtaken by even higher ambitions. Better every day “I’m motivated by the challenges in our business which has to renew itself constantly to meet market demands. Identifying and fulfilling customer needs and providing the best service in the market
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are interesting tasks that force me to improve my ability and expertise every day – and I like that,” he says. Except for a week-long training course at DSV Solutions in the Netherlands, Todor Kostadinov has never received any classroom training in his field. Third-party logistics was unheard of in Bulgaria in 1998, so it was learning by doing, and his only ambition was to avoid making the same mistake twice. Fortunately, he says, customers were less demanding back then – or perhaps they had no idea of what they could demand. Do not accept mistakes “Today’s customers demand quality from day one and do not accept mistakes. Competition is cut-throat and if you can’t do the job, there are others who’d love to. This takes lots of know-how and the only way to learn it is by doing – year in and year out,” he says. In July 2005, Todor Kostadinov was promoted to Director of Warehousing and Value-Added services in the new advanced warehouse hotel at Sofia Airport and, as always, with his family’s consent: “You have to do it that way in order for things to succeed. My family was behind me when I became a bartender and a taxi driver, when I borrowed money to start my own business and when I landed the job as a warehouse assistant at Vectra. Now, they’re pleased that my most recent step is a success.”
Todor Kostadinov was a bartender, taxi driver and owner of a garage shop before the international supermarket chains invaded Bulgaria in the late 1990s.
News New terminal in Slovenia. No less than 35 countries in the DSV network do business with the company in Slovenia every day.
The venue will now be a brand-new 12,000 m² logistics centre in Kranj – some 20 km north of Ljubljana – with its own customs department and 16 docks. DSV in Slovenia operates out of eight offices in the country with a staff of 115 – including offices in Ljubljana Airport, Maribor and Koper. At the inauguration of the centre, Igor Jakomin, the country’s Minister of Traffic, said that the centre contributes to the ministry’s strategy of turning Slovenia into a logistics platform for Central, South and South-East Europe. More shipments per employee. Road in Denmark has teamed up with Lean to define best practices for shipments. This will now be implemented in every department in the country. The targets are the connection of at least 80% of all customers to EDI/E-service. Quote agreement level: a minimum of 60% and the target of increasing the number of shipments per employee by 25%. Finally, the invoicing timeframe target is set at less than 5 days, and things must be sufficiently orderly and tidy to generate a green smiley in the AUDIT application. At the same time, Air & Sea A/S has implemented best practices in all business areas which has laid the groundwork for handling up to twice as many shipments per employee in the future. From 50 pages to 1. The Lean screw has been tightened further at DSV Road in Finland which used to generate fifty pages of paper per transport in its export segment. Now they have reduced this to one – and may do away with paper entirely in the future. Niko Kronqvist, Traffic Coordinator in Finland Export, explains: “We’ve scrutinised all of our work processes and virtually nothing is like it used to be. It can be difficult, but it pays off eventually. The good part about it is that we’re in control during the process. I encourage everyone to take part in these efforts to the full – because only then will you maximise your LEAN benefits!”
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T ea m o f T a l e n ts
Star Wars
in the transport DSV’s Talent Teams aim to retain the most talented employees and attract qualified labour from outside the company. And DSV’s HR Manager guarantees that his aim is not entertainment when he says he’s trying to attract the stars to DSV. Recession notwithstanding: DSV’s Talent Team, where a handful of the most promising candidates are picked out for managerial training in the Danish organisation, is here to stay. Because even in dire financial straits, “talent management” remains a great future challenge. “Management is becoming increasingly complex. We mainly help accelerate the candidates’ ability to exploit their own potential. In addition, we see it as our job to make sure they possess the skills required for success in their future managerial positions. The training programme teaches the candidates to craft and utilise their networks and act on the basis of relationships,” says Thomas Thorsøe, HR Manager, refuting the claim of poor timing in the light of the global financial crisis: “We may be in a period of recession today, but labour will become scarce once the wheels start turning again, which will mean fiercer competition for the human resources, organisational skills and special talents. This will make it more important than ever to be able to retain the good talents and attract new people as well.” Star Wars in the sector According to Thorsøe, the exceedingly tough global competition mainly places great demands on the companies’ human capital and employee skills. It is a question of retaining the most talented and motivated employees and attracting the brightest minds in the business. “A Star Wars is being fought as never before. The companies that now prove to be the best at
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attracting, developing and retaining talents will make up the premier league of the future,” says Thorsøe. He continues: “We’ve already witnessed a great rise in enquiries from freight forwarders among our competitors after DSV reinforced the focus on training and developing employees. So we’ve reached part of our goal.” Not perks The Danish HR Manager does not consider the many offers of training, talent nurturing and manager development as just perks aimed at retaining employees. “Systematic talent development has nothing to do with entertainment but is our way of safeguarding the future pool of skills required to lead the company to increased competitiveness. This is what I call timely execution,” says Thomas Thorsøe. Designed by line managers The training programme relates closely to the business, for instance by involving the line managers in the description of the required skills. Besides the specialist modules, the candidates also work on authentic business cases from the work at DSV. They get 24 hours to solve a case, and the idea is for it to be topical and create value and meaning in the daily work. Examples of case themes:
T ea m o f T a l e n ts
industry The companies that now prove to be the best at attracting, developing and retaining talents will make up the premier league of the future,” says HR Manager Thomas Thorsøe. “How can we optimise the exploitation of the aggregate storage capacity through increased Nordic corporation and dialogue?” or “How can we increase sales across the divisions in DSV Denmark?” Pulling the network strings During the 24-hour case assignment, the candidates must exploit their network to come up with qualified solution proposals. The Talent Team participants also appoint a mentor from the organisation to follow them. “There’s less risk involved in making a mistake in an interaction with a manager who’s not your immediate superior,” says Thorsøe, continuing: “The programme is also about being proactive and predictive. Our goal is for the candidates to develop many of the skills they need when moving further up in their careers. Instead of wasting their talent in the company, we prepare the candidates for their future roles. Already today, they must envisage and act in accordance with the position they dream of having in the future.” Globalised project Thomas Thorsøe feels strongly about training and qualification in a period where the supply of labour is limited – and with increasingly complex structures in the daily work. The ambition is that the Talent
Talent Team is a one-year management prep course aiming at training the candidates for the first managerial levels, i.e. traffic manager, department manager and head of section. During the process, seven different skills of the Talent Team participants are tested, and the participants are expected to start in a managerial position immediately after completing training. The Talent Team candidates have all been recommended directly by their respective managers. Admission to the team involves an assessment process during which all candidates are challenged and assessed according to seven skills:
Team and the rest of the managerial training will spread throughout the organisation. “It should be a globalised project. For instance, I could imagine an exciting project in 1) Handling relation to describing the information overarching five to eight 2) Organising skills that we consider 3) Decision-making important for a country manager in DSV, and 4) Coaching/developing then start training with others a view to appointment 5) Motivating in five or six years’ time. 6) Teamwork What if one of the skills for a country manager 7) Attaining goals is at least two years’ experience of working abroad? Then it’s not too soon to get started,” argues Thomas Thorsøe. Overview of potential “Talent Management makes good sense and gives the executive management a good overview of the candidates with the greatest potential in the DSV Group. This way, we kill two birds with one stone by supplying the top management with a tool for matching qualified candidates with the future strategy and growth for the company while also retaining, developing and motivating the greatest talents in the organisation,” he says.
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T h e C a n d i dates
“I get restless easily” Not everyone selected for the Talent Team is allowed to complete the programme. An initial test of the candidates ensures that the talent is present and that the future manager is sufficiently mature.
Kasper Holmstrup was recommended for the Talent Team by his manager, but he never passed the test. On his assessment day, when the candidates are tested on seven different skills, he failed to make the team due to a lack of maturity and experience. “I was told I wasn’t old enough. But it’s not like I went down to the corner shop to buy cigarettes!” says Kasper Holmstrup, 24, freight forwarder in the Sweden Department. He’s quick with the repartee and smiles a little. Kasper Holmstrup is not dissatisfied with being rejected, however. On the contrary, he was given a careful and reasoned explanation as to why he did not make the cut this time around. “I was told I had the talent and had done well. But they were looking someone who could be a manager within one or two years, so I agree I was perhaps a bit too young,” he says.
like to become head of a department. I feel best about being able to do a lot of different things, and I don’t want to be doing the same things thirty years from now.” Fun to participate At first, it was a setback not to make the team, but now Kasper just thinks it was fun to participate and see what it was all about. And he’s hoping to be recommended again next year when a new team starts up. Meanwhile, he has been given more varied tasks in the department which has been his workplace for three years now. “I’ve started learning a lot of new things, and that’s basically what it’s about. I want to become a manager, because it makes the job even more versatile,” he says.
No regrets Kasper Holmstrup needs to be better at controlling his temper and “settle down a bit”. “My problem is that I get restless easily. Perhaps I lack a year’s maturity,” he says. But he does not regret accepting the manager’s offer of recommending him for the Talent Team: “I want to move ahead, and I would
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“It’s about learning new things.“ Freight forwarder Kasper Holmstrup is hoping to make the team next year.
Kirsten Mariegaard, Head of Department in Sea Import, had “better damn well” make something of her participation on the Talent Team. Right after she was picked as a candidate for year one on the Talent Team, she was promoted from freight forwarder to Head of Section in her department. “My studies have given me a theoretical approach to things, which means that it’s important for me to have the theoretical groundwork in place before taking on new challenges,” she says. Not in-depth “The Talent Team gives a good overall idea of many different aspects of being a manager, but it’s still a preparatory programme. I’m looking forward to continuing in the Leadership programme which more specifically deals with providing useful tools for your daily work as a manager,” she says. Manager for 12 Kirsten Mariegaard has been quick to ascend the career ladder, as she was appointed Head of Section just a few months after being promoted Head of Department. Today, she is the boss of 12 employees in her “old” department, and this requires acquisition of new skills.
”Prepared to be a
manager” “I’m looking forward to learning more about management theories and preparing for the difficult interview, for instance. Group compositions and decoding of different human types are also among the issues I anticipate learning about.”
T h e C a n d i dates
For Kirsten Mariegaard, participating on the Talent Team was a necessary preparation for her life as a manager. She is now looking forward to putting more tools in her toolbox.
Talent Team was an eye-opener Mogens Larsen was in the first class of the Talent Team. The course was an eye-opener to the then 35-year-old sales rep. “I suddenly could articulate why something worked – and why other things didn’t.“
Visibility Kirsten Mariegaard likes pressure and challenges, and the step from employee to manager has given her a lot of new energy – and new goals in the organisation: “I would like to eventually become part of a more process-oriented management with the task of implementing customers or new structures widely in the organisation and perhaps with international staff management responsibilities. That would be exciting,” she says. What type of manager would you like to be? “I want to be a visible and accessible manager who makes clear demands and expectations of my employees,” How would you prefer not to be? “I would hate to be an aloof manager. I wouldn’t want to sacrifice the closeness to my employees, who are also among my friends.”
Head of Department Kirsten Mariegaard is looking forward to equipping herself with more management tools at the Leadership programmes.
After trying his hand at a bit of everything in DSV and as logistics manager in a company in Næstved, Denmark, and then back again to DSV as a sales rep, Mogens Larsen, 35, was thirsting for development and knowledge. “After a few years, you change significantly as a person. You want to develop; otherwise you hit the wall and seek new challenges elsewhere,” says Mogens Larsen. While on the Talent Team, he was appointed Process Manager in the Finance Department with responsibility for Webcost. As Head of Department he is currently responsible for seven employees. Must communicate in different ways Mogens Larsen describes himself as “process-oriented and solutionoriented and good at perceiving things from different perspectives.” Participating on the Talent Team at the same time as starting in his new position proved a good learning experience: “I learnt how to communicate in different ways with different people, and I learnt to define what I did right when some things just work well. At the beginning of the programme, I was a sales rep and also had ample opportunity to test the new techniques when preparing customer meetings and for the
subsequent evaluation,” he says. A bit like parenting Mogens Larsen does not think highly of managers who are on the proverbial backs of their employees. “Management is about being visible and present. Being there and asking how things are – not just at work, but in general. The good manager doesn’t just measure and check – he must be a moral model, a bit like parents.
Management is about trust,” says Mogens Larsen, and tells about different types of managers. He wants to be the type who sets the goal rather than shows the way. “To me, management is largely about coaching and developing the staff so that everyone experiences that he or she is improving,” he says.
“You want to develop; otherwise you seek new challenges elsewhere,” says Mogens Larsen, Process Manager. 15
Global account focus: GE To GE, DSV is just one transport company out of many. To DSV, GE is potentially the largest customer in the world, which has contributed to the professionalising of Global Accounts.
With an annual turnover of USD 183 billion, and a production and product flow across EVERY continent, GE is truly a prize for an ambitious global transport company: “GE is one of the largest, most attractive global customers in the world, and the company can be a vital contributory factor for our technical development and professionalisation that we undergo in our organisation. It’s one thing to have a global presence, but quite another to be a global player. Global customers make global demands and this is something we have to get used to handling in our highly decentralised culture,” says René Falch Olesen, the front figure in DSV’s Global Account organisation. More than 100 logistics partners Total annual transport and logistics costs of more than USD 3.5 billion leave room for many service providers, and GE also has agreements with over a hundred logistics companies all over the world – large and small alike. “Our business is so wide ranging that we have to work together with transportation companies all over the world – we can’t gain the coverage
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we need with just a handful of global agreements. For instance, we have road transports in almost every country in the world,” says Mark R. Chadwick, Global Transportation Manager at GE. Chadwick negotiates GE’s global transport and logistics agreements. DSV did not become familiar with GE until 2006, through the purchase of Frans Maas. Additional business was generated by the acquisition of ABX Logistics in 2008, and the total account has now grown to an annual budget of more than USD 25 million. It could certainly be much bigger in the future. “Our collaboration used to be focused on the European market. Now your organisation is more globally oriented, which means there are much greater chances of you developing business with us,” says Mark R. Chadwick. New attitude Mark is especially satisfied with the strategy that DSV has worked out for Global Accounts by designating the person with executive responsibility for the three business areas of Road, Air&Sea and Solutions, as well as regional account managers on every continent.
“It’s important for us to be on the same wavelength and that we’re capable of discussing our business with dedicated employees with a high degree of market knowledge – and that DSV regards itself as a service provider,” Mark R. Chadwick adds and elaborates: “If there is anyone at GE who wants to talk about Europe, they get someone who is an expert on Europe or if Asia is involved, DSV will provide someone with expertise from there,” he says. René Falch Olesen adds: “Our philosophy now and in future is to deliver the solutions each customer asks for, instead of forcing customers into frameworks solely designed to streamline DSV. When it comes to global customers, we’re very flexible in choosing the model we set up for account management, but we always give a high priority to commitment. The lessons we’ve learned clearly show that contracts worked out on a large scale between partners will only lead to operational excellence if a strong working relationship is also set up between the implementing operational units at the customer’s and at DSV. The challenge is in striking a balance between meeting local and global requirements alike.”
DSV and GE DSV already provides some services to GE on a global scale, involving all divisions in DSV: Road in Europe is involved in tasks for GE Infrastructure (GE Energy and GE Water & Process Technologies), GE Consumer & Industrial, GE Healthcare and GE Security with more than 15,000 annual shipments to and from almost every country in the network – everything from general cargo to part loads and FTL (Full Trailer Loads). In addition, there are special transports (OOG) and refrigerated transports. Another important point to add concerns a customs brokerage service project that DSV in Italy (Saima Avandero) is managing worldwide. GE has approved a small number of carefully selected partners to handle worldwide customs brokerage. DSV/Saima coordinates the project in close contact with GE and is already certified for almost 30 countries. Moreover, in Italy DSV/SAIMA has been providing forwarding and logistics management services to GE Oil & Gas in Florence for more than 20 years. Solutions operates 15,000 m² of warehousing in Belgium (Puurs) for GE Power Control, providing kitting and repair of products among its services. There is additional warehousing in the Netherlands (Moerdijk) for GE Digital Energy with kitting of emergency power supply systems (UPS, Uninterruptible Power Supply) and 20,000 m² of fully automated warehousing for the former GE Plastics, which was sold to SABIC 18 months ago, however. Through its Montreal office, Air & Sea has worked with GE Energy within Project Cargo (OOG) for several years. The division has also just landed a major GE contract for ocean freight forwarding, and DSV in the US is currently launching a bid for GE’s global heavy airfreight.
Electricity is the cornerstone An annual turnover of USD 183 billion makes GE capable of delivering EVERYTHING from electric lightbulbs to fuel cells for nuclear power Edison’s incandescent bulb was the first in a series of plants. This also includes locomotives, groundbreaking inventions. jet engines and just every type of electric component imaginable. The company was founded by Thomas Edison and even today, electricity is the recurring theme of the conglomerate which also includes subsidiaries within the media (the US radio Edison established his electric and television network NBC), finance and hospital company in 1878 and services. Around 350,000 people work for GE, invented the incandescent which has manufacturing units on every continent. bulb the year after.
Requires in-depth knowledge GE and Mark R. Chadwick require their partners to have in-depth knowledge of GE’s multi-facetted business and that their partners are represented in the countries where GE operates. “They must be familiar with our products and shouldn’t have to ask what we do; we don’t have time for that. And they should be willing to provide solutions and services everywhere. The first step in landing a contract in areas we’ve traditionally never done business together, like China, is for the transport supplier to already be present and experienced in the local market,” says Mark R. Chadwick. Top half To Mark, DSV is not significantly different from other global transport companies. The company is in the ‘top half’ of the transport companies in terms of the quality of the overall services and the collaboration. And that’s a good point of departure for future collaboration. “DSV’s strength is that, with René Falch Olesen heading up Global Accounts, you actually have your sights on the whole world and aren’t just focused on Europe. I think that
with DSV’s new account management structure, there’s great potential for developing our collaboration,” says Mark R. Chadwick, who also has to keep an eye on the price, and it’s low at the moment: “It’s a very complex market at the moment with a great imbalance between demand and capacity. For transport companies this imbalance is driving prices down whilst costs may not necessarily follow the same trend. From a shipper’s point of view, and to stay competitive, we have to go where the price is best, because when it comes down to it, there aren’t that many different ways to send a parcel.”
“DSV is globally oriented and this increases the chance of doing more business together,” says Mark R. Chadwick, Global Transportation Manager in GE.
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The arrow
points at Europe and continued growth They have taken a mentality from competitive sports into the upper echelons of management at DSV Road in Serbia, which is managed by a former professional footballer, a table-tennis player and an angling enthusiast. “I think it’s an integral part of all three of us. Whenever we get involved in something, we’re in it to win. This was the attitude we took on the pitch or the court, so we can’t help but have the same approach to running a business,” says Igor Jovanovic, Managing Director, who was once a professional footballer until a serious injury put a stop to his career. That was 19 years ago, but a winner mentality clings to the now 38-year-old director who sees business challenges as new games to be won. Not a bad point of departure for success, and the company has also grown by leaps and bounds since it was founded just seven years ago. Long-term strategy DSV Road in Serbia was founded in Dobanovci, near Beograd, the capital. The company was founded in 2002 and was originally named E-LOG. It was fully owned by Eurosped, DSV’s partner, and the economy was moving full-speed ahead. After democratic opposition groups led by Zoran Djindjic overthrew Slobodan Milosevic in the autumn of 2000, Serbia has been rapidly progressing and growing. A well-qualified labour force, combined with relatively low wages and rising foreign investments, has generated annual GDP growth
Igor Jovanovic leads his employees.
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of more than 7%, and, with help from colleagues in Slovenia, the three founders have succeeded in establishing a company which generates annual turnover of EUR 3 million and has 26 employees. “From the outset, we’ve based our operations on the motto ‘Professionalism and Expertise’, and based our decisions and actions on a long-term strategy of becoming Serbia’s biggest, most efficient transport company,” says Igor Jovanovic, who could also have tried to get fast money in the rapidly growing economy. This is often typified by short-term business relationships, however. Based on trust “We wanted to create a serious company based on trust between us and our customers and a high degree of quality. That gives the best payoff in the long run,” says Igor Jovanovic, who together with his co-founders former table-tennis player Vojislav Strizovic, and angling enthusiast Budimir Arsic – not to mention the rest of the staff – have attracted the biggest customers in the market: Velux, Bang & Olufsen, Canon, Goodyear, Toshiba, Barentz, Intersport and many more besides. “Golden future” In 2002, DSV Road in Serbia was operating out of a warehouse terminal covering just 900 m². Since then, the facilities have grown so they now cover 6,500 m², with more than 6,000 pallet spaces, as well as 1,500 m² of thermally insulated storage space for food and medicine.
After a stormy conclusion to the last century, Serbia is clearly headed towards Europe and the EU. Growth is high – also at DSV Road, managed by people who are competitors at heart.
“We’re pleased to say that we’re now part of DSV’s world-wide organisation. This has further strengthened our business, and we feel that our customers largely associate ‘quality’ whenever they see the DSV logo,” says Vojislav Strizovic, Manager of the Customer Department, who works with quality assurance for the individual processes. Warehouse Manager Budimir Arsic adds: “We’ve experienced fantastic growth in recent years, and this gives us reason to hope that there’s a golden future in store for us: it’s harder to grow from nothing into a stable, sound company for almost 30 employees than to continue positive growth from this point of departure. We have one of the best reputations in the region, which is something that attracts new customers,” he says. Common goals with customers The crisis has not escaped the attention of Serbians. The country continues to experience GDP growth, though somewhat subdued, but DSV Road is keeping a constant watchful eye on costs. “Investments, imports and exports are declining, and we’ve had to tighten our belts and lower our rates to be more competitive. At the same time, we’re engaged in discussions with many customers regarding joint PR activities and we’ve set goals for our future collaboration – which includes discussing the prospects we see in increasing our logistics teamwork,” says Igor Jovanovic, who resembles a confident winner.
Warehouse Manager Budimir Arsic.
DSV … w Road i a n Toge s found Serbi t e h e r, th d in 2 a… of ex e thr 002 p e r i . e e The com nce in t e co-foun pany gene rans ders EUR rate an ’s 26 pe port and have 6 a 3 600 3 mill. nnual rmanen logistic years t t r s – u e . e r g t m n he u The com lar cust compa over of a ployees ny h pany tonn ome r r as m ound onli es of go transp s. ore t o n o han The e custo ds a yea rts mor ms c com e r t h a pany faci leara nd pe an 22 l thermities at i has 6,5 nces a y rforms ,000 6,00 (1,5 ally in ts dispos 00 m 2 o ear. 0 00 m f s a ulat l, as stora med 2) e w d g f e e icin w e, etc or storin arehou ll as a se . g fo od,
Vojislav Strizovic, Manager of Customer Department.
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Slow motion from Denmark to India ... behind your own wheel. 18,000 km through fourteen countries. This is what the next three months hold in store for Indian-Danish couple Michael and Susanne Peris. Driving their own car, a Nissan X-Trail with Indian plates, the couple has decided to make an old dream come true and travel quietly and peacefully around the world, experiencing the countries and the people they meet on their way. “Today, travelling is often about reaching a destination. To us, the journey is the actual goal,” says Michael Peris, who lived in Denmark for 18 years with his wife, Susanne. Never-ending paperwork The youngest of their sons joins his parents in the car to India on a journey which they have prepared for years. At first, the idea was to drive the car from India to Denmark and back, but due to instability in Pakistan the family decided to set off from Denmark. This meant that the car needed to be transported to Copenhagen first, which required months of completing customs and police paperwork, issuing a bank guarantee to the Indian Automobile Association and much more. “There was no end to the paperwork!”
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says Susanne and Michael Peris, who operate a coffee plantation, Avanthy Coffee Estate, in the Chikmagalur district in Bangalore, not far from one of DSV’s ten Indian offices. DSV on the hood This is actually only the second time a car has been shipped all the way from India to Denmark. Therefore, this gives the authorities an opportunity to be particularly thorough with the paperwork. In return, DSV agreed to sponsor the actual freight cost of the 4x4, which was delivered in a container to Copenhagen Free Port. “We’re hoping that the sponsorship will help attract focus to the relations between India and Denmark, says Martin Roos, Business Development Manager, DSV Air and Sea Pvt Ltd., Mumbai. “It’s wonderful to see my car again – and DSV’s logo on the sides and the hood actually
Adam Mårtensson, Head of Section in DSV Air & Sea A/S hands over the sponsor-decorated Nissan to Michael and Susanne Peris, with their sons, Daniel and Mark, in the back.
looks great. We can’t wait to have the final papers readied so that we can set out on our journey,” says Michael Peris. Transversing 14 countries Long days in the car’s leather seats lie ahead, and running gear will be packed along to get the legs going after completing each stage. A total of 18,000 km will be covered, and the journey will take the family through countries such as Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Kosovo, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan, where they will assess the situation before deciding to drive through the country. “We don’t want to take any unnecessary risks, so we’ll evaluate the situation when we get there. Perhaps we’ll prefer to ship the car for the last leg,” said Michael Peris before setting off from Denmark.
Turf’s up! DSV’s UK to Eire transports were running full speed ahead in the last week of July. DSV Immingham in the UK had been commissioned by County Turf Ltd to transport new living turf to Croke Park in Dublin.
It required strategic planning across three DSV divisions to move equipment, personnel and resources into position to load and transport 84 full loads of turf to Dublin in the wake of three large U2 concerts at Croke Park. The stadium turf needed to be ready for two of the largest sports events in Ireland: the finals in Gaelic football (a mix of rugby and soccer) and hurling (Irish hockey) due to be played at Croke Park. Timing is crucial The project involved close liaison with County Turf Ltd, a major provider and highly reputed supplier of stadium turf to premiership clubs and national stadiums. DSV coordinated the deployment of their haulage and fridge trailer pools using the logistics planning operations in Immingham in close interaction with DSV Dublin. Timing and routing were essential, as the turf has to be transported within a specific timeframe before it has to be rolled out. It was crucial to ensure stable temperatures during the conveyance, as the critical core heat of the turf would otherwise be affected. Precision was paramount to prevent the turf spoiling due to the organic temperature in the core and the frost burns that could occur should the turf remain at low temperatures for too long. The balance of timing and temperature was the pivotal aspect of the transport. Critical season Turf is growing in summer, so the transport would be taking place at one of its most critical stages of all. By utilising refrigerated trailers, the turf could be temperature-controlled throughout its journey. Croke Park had been essentially stripped bare of all previous turf in the preparation for the U2 concerts. An immense stage had been constructed at one end of the
Croke Park had been stripped bare of grass in preparation for the three U2 concerts, which played to capacity (bottom). With the Gaelic football and hurling finals due to be played the week after the U2 concerts, the turf needed to green up fast! stadium, and the expected full house at this very historic ground meant the entire arena was occupied by the concerts. Thirty-four loads of turf were cut, rolled, palletised and loaded on the Sunday and moved through two ports on the west coast of the UK to the port of Dublin. Both Stena Line and Sea Truck Ferries were utilised for the movements. The remaining 50 loads were cut and moved Monday through Thursday at 30-minute intervals.
onto curtain trailers and delivered into the ground at set intervals determined by the temperature of the turf and the laying speed of the crew working on the pitch. By Thursday, DSV had delivered 84 loads to a holding area in Dublin with the final few loads of turf going into Croke Park the next day.
Fixed intervals With the finals of Gaelic football and hurling being held the weekend just after the concerts, the turf had to be cut and transported from Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire, UK, to a preparation area where it was readied with precision timing. The turf was then transhipped
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Frontrunners set the pace
174 kilometres dispersed over four of the most legendary mountains of Tour de France: Croix de Fer, Col de Telegraphe, Col de Galibier and Alpe d´Huez. 5,000 metres of ascent in total. There are many similarities between the rigours of racing and working in an office. Frands Ejsing, 59 and head of section from Sea Export in Nørresundby in North Jutland, Denmark, has just celebrated his 40th anniversary at DSV – and completed one of the world’s hardest cycling races for amateurs. On this occasion, the self-professed exercise fanatic has agreed to dip down into cycling jargon and find out how words like “cadence” and “sprint” can apply at the office. And it is obvious that the qualities which generate results on a bicycle can also generate results at work. Lower blood pressure Frands Ejsing does not look like a man of almost 60. He bounds up the stairs two at a time at DSV in Horsens, Denmark – where moves met the physical exercise enthusiast and celebrator of a major anniversary – and his
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demeanour resembles that of a highlytrained athlete. “I get a great sense of well-being by exercising – I simply couldn’t do without it. It’s relaxing and lowers my blood pressure,” explains Frands Ejsing who cycles 80 or 90 kilometres three times a week and, in addition, runs 6 to 8 kilometres once a week. This equates to 10 hours a week on the roads, a figure that is on the rise. “I have to work out harder and harder because I want to keep up with the best,” he says. The hardest race in the world In recent months, he was also pumping the pedals with extra intensity to get in shape for one of the hardest amateur cycling races in the world – La Marmotte, in the French Alps. It consists of 174 kilometres dispersed over four of the most legendary mountains of Tour de France: Croix de Fer, Col de Telegraphe, Col de Galibier and Alpe d´Huez with their merciless 5,000 metres in height. Even with a “panic gear” on his bicycle, i.e. a special mountain gear with 27 teeth on the front sprockets and 34 on the rear, Frands Ejsing still had to bend to the will of gravity and dismount a few times on the final kilometres on his way up Alpe d’Huez. “It actually WAS incredibly difficult, but there were many cyclists, even the young ones, who had to take a break, so I could better accept it,” says the ambitious Head of Section
Frands Ejsing, Head of Section for DSV Air & Sea A/S, equates being a good cyclist with being a good shipping agent.
who completed the race with a good time. This brings us to one of the first similarities between cycling and shipping: Perseverance “I’m very persevering as regards my training regimen, and that’s how it’s been the last 35 years. I’m also very persevering at work. I don’t waver. I like hard work – it motivates me. We provide good, unfailing service in our department which makes for loyal customers,” says Frands Ejsing. Teamwork “Cycling is a social sport and those who are having a good day can bear the brunt of the wind for the others. That’s also they way it is at work. We have a high degree of delegation, so everyone has lots of responsibility. And we’re also very open to admitting our mistakes, we talk things over and every argument is equally important. ” Trust “The frontrunner tells the others if there’s something to watch out for – that’s how we avoid accidents. We use hand signals and shouts to tell each other when there is a hole in the road or a car approaching. Unpleasant things can also happen at work if we don’t help each other. Trust is required for a good team effort – both on a bicycle and at the office.” Cadence “Those in front set the pace – those
Is there a big difference between a cycling race and shipping work? Yes, if you’re standing at the foot of Alpe d’Huez, whose 12–13% incline over the last 13 km can bring adult men to their knees. Yet in other respects, it’s really not that big…
behind keep up. If you’re not satisfied with the cadence, you can take over the lead yourself. This happens on the road and the job alike. At our department, there are a few young, ambitious shipping agents who often take the lead by making extra visits to customers or suggesting new ideas for IT campaigns. There’s carte blanche across the board – everyone has to and must do his or her best!”
Frands Ejsing is a cycling enthusiast who earlier this year completed one of the hardest amateur cycling races in the world, La Marmotte, in the French Alps.
Results “It’s the results that count. At work, we study the number of shipments and other key figures. Sometimes we’re proud of our efforts and other times we have to admit we weren’t up to par. So we try to make some adjustments and do a better job of buying from the shipping companies. You have to know your customer and market situation – just like you have to know your own body. It’s pointless to push yourself too hard.” Sprint “It’s taxing to be the one leading the way with initiatives and innovation, because the frontrunner bears the brunt of the wind for the others. But it’s also the most fun place to be!” says Frands Ejsing, who considers handing over the yellow jersey to someone on the Talent Team at the office: “I have to spend more and more time training and it could be fun to give someone else a chance. I like the idea of gradually cutting back until I have to retire some day,” Frands Ejsing explains, and resembles someone who in many ways has many miles ahead of him.
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News Estonia conforms to AEO requirements. DSV Transport AS in Estonia obtained AEOaccreditation this summer. This makes DSV Estonia the only transport provider in the country that meets the Authorised Economic Operator requirements. Pressure on Thailand. DSV in Thailand gives much attention to its project department, and one of the results is an expansion of the business to also get a foot in the door of the country’s oil and energy companies. Most recently, DSV in Thailand moved a 90-tonne pressure tank from Alfa Laval Equinox Italy to a customer in Rayong, PTT-AR. It was sent by ship from Venice to Laem Chabang – and then 80 km by road on a 10-axled trailer. The journey took 18 days. DSV drives SAFED. DSV in the UK focuses on Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving through ongoing one-day courses for all drivers of the 200 British lorries. Studies show that fuel-consumption control programmes like the British SAFED can typically reduce fleet fuel-consumption by 5%. In the case of the UK, this translates to savings in excess of GBP 1m a year and carbon emission reductions to the tune of 2,600 tonnes, fewer accidents, cheaper insurance, etc.
VELUX’s executive management from all over the world met. The container included sundry equipment to be used by VELUX during the congress, which is held every four years. DSV manages transports for VELUX to most corners of the world.
She-devils from Harwich. Dressed up as DSV devils, the girls from Harwich’s credit department struck a blow for safety at sea. A sea rescue service charity was held at the beach in Harwich, where more than 1,000 participants fought at sea on home-made rafts. The men came from DSV’s credit and IT departments and paddled under the theme “Crude Britannia!” The gents finished a creditable third, while the ladies … were the only all-women team!
Window on the world. In connection with the VELUX world congress in Italy, DSV shipped a container from the headquarters in Hørsholm, Denmark, to the hotel in Stresa, Italy, where
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: Mads Wedderkopp, Maria Fowler. Layout: Jacob Thesander. Translation: ad Astra Translators. Printed by: Scanprint.
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