One network, many benefits
VTL sets course for the future: A strategic alliance between the grouped cargo co-operations ILN, S.T.a.R. and VTL has been in place since early 2015. The partners are now going a step further. They intend to establish a joint production company. The three grouped cargo systems thus far operated separately to one another are now to be combined in Netzwerk AG (working title). “All partners will benefit from this,” VTL Managing Director Andreas Jäschke is convinced. The goal is to use the joint network to secure coverage in Germany in the long term.
In addition, the participants also see the centralised, optimised control of the flow of goods as leading to increases in both performance and productivity. Further benefits are improved main legs, smaller delivery areas and faster flow of information. “This is an advantage for every single partner,” the VTL Managing Director emphasises. Ultimately, Netzwerk AG will also become more interesting for other European companies and networks. “This will result in increasing volumes in Germany,” Jäschke points out.
The new network is to be prepared and realised by the end of next year. The plan is to merge the existing structures of the three partners whilst utilising the existing resources. All production processes will then be undertaken by Netzwerk AG, from the beginning of 2019 the partners of the three grouped cargo co-operations will all be able to resort to a single, joint network. Until then, there is much work to do. The first stage will see the examination of the possible legal form. Jäschke expects that each of the three co-operations will have a one-third stake in the operation. The merger of the three grouped cargo co-operations will then be prepared by various working groups, he added. The new network itself will comprise 250 national and 80 European sites.