Lauriane Boyer joined Militzer & Münch France eleven years ago. As Air & Sea Director for Militzer & Münch France, she is constantly tackling new challenges in the sea and air freight industry. We asked her how the company copes with the challenges, what opportunities are opening for the industry, and what makes Militzer & Münch a good employer in times such as these.

 

How is the sea freight business in France doing at the moment?

The French sea freight market cannot escape global problems. We too are seeing a decline in global volumes, particularly on the Asia-Europe trade lane, due to consumer restraint and inflation. I also expect the current attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea to have a major impact on our industry in the coming weeks and months. We at Militzer & Münch however expect positive business development in the sea freight sector, albeit in a difficult business environment. Competition is tough, but this difficult environment also holds opportunities for our company.

 

What are the main goods Militzer & Münch France (Air & Sea)  transports?

The Militzer & Münch France teams mainly transport general cargo and dry freight, such as mechanical equipment, electrical goods, textiles, and various materials for local production. On a spot basis, we mainly transport pharmaceutical products, hazardous goods or dry foodstuffs. This is also where I see growth potential for the future.

Militzer & Münch France currently counts some 1,000 customers. Most of them are medium-sized companies, which allows us to spread our business risk. Our most important customers come from the humanitarian sector, from label and adhesive film production and from the freight forwarding industry.

 

What were the most important milestones for Militzer & Münch France (Air & Sea)?

For almost ten years, we at Militzer & Münch France have been pursuing an investment plan. Over the past few years, we have implemented a number of measures to strengthen our global organization as well as sales and marketing, to expand our team and, above all, to improve our results. We put a lot of effort into promoting the Air & Sea product internally so as to make sure everyone within the Militzer & Münch France organization is familiar with it and to convince our existing and potential customers to place their orders with us. We can be proud of this achievement, which will help us to continue growing in the future.

 

What plans does Militzer & Münch France have for the future?

In the context of Militzer & Münch France’s diversification strategy, we expect Air & Sea to become one of our main products in the coming years. This is why we are building our Air & Sea development plan around several themes. They include the development of intra-group partnerships between Militzer & Münch and TransInvest to strengthen our own network, as well as the acquisition of agents in countries where the Militzer & Münch Group is not yet active. We are also planning to develop pure Air & Sea consolidation products (Air & Sea LCL). The Southwest Europe & Maghreb region is to be promoted with combined solutions between the Maghreb and the rest of the world via France, and our sales activities in France are to be strengthened. All these measures will help us navigate through these challenging times.

 

Are there any important projects in the pipeline for Militzer & Münch France?

There will be numerous challenges for our company in the area of digitalization and data management. To give an example, we need to embrace artificial intelligence as an opportunity and a serious tool that will help us to improve and speed up our decision-making processes.

 

What is your career background and what are your tasks at Militzer & Münch?

I have 15 years of experience in our industry. I started my career as a customs agent at a renowned company in France that focused exclusively on air and sea transportation. I later became a forwarding agent and team leader there. The start of my career coincided with the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, and I quickly learned that I had to constantly adapt and reinvent myself in this profession.

In April 2024, I will celebrate my 11th anniversary at Militzer & Münch France, and I can say that I have never been bored. Today, as Air & Sea Director, I am responsible for the organization and development of our product. I work from our office in Pusignan, Lyon, and head my own team there. I regularly visit all our offices in France so that I am always where the action is. Militzer & Münch France Air & Sea employs 30 colleagues in eight offices. We operate from ten customs airports and six ports in France. I also regularly support our subsidiaries ACTE International and ITPL with Air & Sea issues.

 

What do you like about your job? What makes Militzer & Münch a good employer?

In our industry, we are all driven by passion. This motivates us in our daily work, which is all about solving problems and mastering unexpected situations. What I like best is that there are always surprises. Routine is just not my thing! I enjoy spending time with our teams. I truly value the trustful and transparent cooperation with committed managers. At Militzer & Münch, teamwork and flexibility are very important, and we cultivate a real pioneering and family spirit. We promote innovation, and decisions are made in a fast and direct manner.

Most of our competitors are paralyzed by their large and cumbersome organizations. With us, this is not the case. Militzer & Münch’s global structure is dynamic and offers lots of opportunities for career development and mobility. When I participated in our Talent Management Programme, I noticed that this attitude is shared by many within the Group. No matter which country we come from, we all have the same values. This makes Militzer & Münch a successful company – and a great employer.

 

 

Hristo Marinov, 46, started at Militzer & Münch in Bulgaria in 1996. Today, he is Deputy CEO of M&M Militzer & Münch BG Co. Ltd. and knows the company and the Bulgarian logistics market like the back of his hand. In this interview, he tells us how he made it from courier to the top of the company, what distinguishes Militzer & Münch in Bulgaria, and how the company is preparing for the future.

  

Mr. Marinov, you have been with Militzer & Münch for 27 years. What was your start in the company like?

I joined Militzer & Münch in 1996, right after graduating from school. As a courier, I took documents from our warehouse to the customs office. At that time, they were at different locations. But I only had this job for five months, because then I did my one-year military service. After that, I went straight back to Militzer & Münch, and I’ve been happy to stay until today.

 

From then on, it was a steep career path for you. What were the most important stations?

Parallel to my re-entry at Militzer & Münch, I started studying at university. First, I did my bachelor’s degree in accounting, then my master’s degree in international economics. At the same time, I worked in the warehouse at Militzer & Münch. At that time, a large supermarket chain opened its first stores in Bulgaria, and we stored the entire non-food product range for them. In that project, I was more or less the team leader. So, I knew how logistics worked in practice – and that was not always the way it was taught in theory at university.

Later, I switched to our road department. It was divided into three segments at the time, and I became head of the groupage export department. Later, we split the road department by country rather than by service, and I was in charge of Central Europe with Germany and Scandinavia. Again a few years later, we decided to combine all the Road segments into a joint Road Transport Division. I took over responsibility for this division and became Deputy CEO.

 

What are your main tasks at the moment?

Today, among other things, I am responsible for many operational areas of our business, for example for our automotive customers. I also oversee the IT department here in Bulgaria and take care of our partner network – especially CargoLine. As an official partner of the LTL cooperation, we carry out groupage transports with all 72 companies in the network as well as the main hub in Germany.

Although we are a small partner in the network, we offer very high quality services. Thus, over the past few years, we were awarded the CargoLine Quality Award three times in a row for our excellent and reliable service. These are achievements of which our entire team is very proud and which spur us on to continue giving our best to our customers every day.

 

What’s the secret of Militzer & Münch Bulgaria’s success?

I think there are a number of factors that have a very positive impact. On the one hand, we are very well-established in terms of performance, and offer the entire range of logistics solutions from a single source: road and rail transports, contract logistics, as well as airfreight via our subsidiary M&M Air Cargo Service BG Co. Ltd. On the other hand, we have a very experienced and stable team, which, together with our air cargo company, counts about 150 employees. They are our company’s greatest asset. Many of them have been serving our customers for 15, 20 or more years. This testifies to our very good working atmosphere and to a management that genuinely cares about its employees. And last but not least, we are ready to break new ground, find innovative solutions and grow together with our customers.

 

What does that look like in concrete terms, can you give us an example?

In recent years, for instance, we have significantly expanded our portfolio in the area of 3PL logistics solutions in collaboration with a major automotive customer, and are increasingly offering value-added services. We acquired the tier 1 supplier from Germany with a large plant in Bulgaria as a customer two years ago. We operate an integrated bonded warehouse for imported goods from China for this company. We receive and store the goods, pick them, take care of customs management, and deliver them to their destination. The level of service and quality is extremely high, and the KPIs are constantly being developed. Which makes the project very demanding, but also very interesting. Because the know-how we acquire here we can also use in other projects.

 

What are Militzer & Münch Bulgaria’s plans for the future?

As I said, we want to further expand our value-added services. Having recently put a completely new cross-dock terminal into operation, we are planning to modernize our existing terminal in Sofia for this purpose. Our CEO Sacho Todorov is driving the project together with me. We are planning state-of-the-art equipment, including a narrow-aisle storage system, to make the most efficient use of the available space. We will probably start modernization work before the end of the year.

 

You have many tasks and carry a lot of responsibility. What do you do in your free time to compensate?

I naturally spend a lot of time with my family. My wife, who by the way I met at Militzer & Münch, our two boys and I do a lot of sports. Together, we go in for outdoor activities, such as mountain biking. I also discovered CrossFit for myself.

Workouts are constantly varied and incorporate weightlifting, gymnastics, running and more. It improves my strength, stamina, and mobility skills.

 

Thank you very much for the interview, Mr. Marinov!

There is probably no other sector that imposes such high demands on the handling of goods as the pharmaceutical sector. Drugs and other medical products are particularly sensitive; even the smallest temperature fluctuation can impair their effectiveness and shelf life. The highest levels of quality, hygiene and safety are therefore crucial when handling pharmaceutical products – and logistics service providers who want to operate in the pharmaceutical sector have to prove that they meet the required EU standards as part of their GDP (Good Distribution Practices) certification.

Militzer & Münch Germany committed to achieving GDP certification in 2021 – with success: Last year, the country organization attained the certificate, with Charlotte Dürr, Group Project Manager Pharmaceuticals at Militzer & Münch, the leading force. We talked to her about the importance of the certification for the logistics provider, what opportunities it opens up, and about her personal passion for and further plans in the field of pharmaceutical logistics.

Ms. Dürr, the GDP certification is an important milestone for Militzer & Münch Germany. Would you please describe what this means for the national subsidiary and also for you personally?

First of all, one has to state that the certification process is very demanding and extensive. The hardest part was to create a basic framework of documentation and standards that covers all areas of the EU GDP directive. In addition, our carriers need to be thoroughly checked and assessed for their quality and compliance with the guidelines on their part.

With our quality system, we can ensure the responsible and competent handling of the sensitive goods – be it from Munich to Nairobi or from Berlin to Ulaanbaatar. This helps us now to continuously certify further locations of the group, as with the successful GDP certification of Militzer & Münch Germany, we have also aroused interest in other country units. As a result, we have a great working group of local GDP managers, sales experts, and quality managers. In Poland, we successfully passed the certification audit in March; in Georgia, we are currently planning the first audit.

Many country organizations already have experience in the various product categories and see great growth potential, especially in Southeastern Europe and Central Asia. The healthcare sector is of great importance for the entire Militzer & Münch Group, and developing this product opens up a whole range of new opportunities for us.

 

What exactly are the new opportunities for Militzer & Münch Germany that result from the certification?

Worldwide, the healthcare market is booming, and Germany is one of the market leaders. As a GDP-certified logistics service provider, we can now participate in this sector to a wholly different extent, open up new markets, and address a larger clientele.

The first sales initiatives we launched after successful certification showed quick results: We received many requests for quotations both for full truck loads by road, including numerous shipments to Central Asia and as far as Mongolia, and by sea and air to various destinations in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, as well as for imports from America. Within the Militzer & Münch Group, M&M air sea cargo GmbH is responsible for GDP compliant transports by air and sea freight, as well as by rail.

Moreover, we can support the medical supply of many war and crisis areas while maintaining quality standards. There is also great interest in refrigerated transports by rail. Here, we benefit above all from an increased interest in reducing emissions.

 

Can you give us some examples of projects that Militzer & Münch Germany is already handling in the pharmaceutical sector?

At this time, we are handling transports of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment to Africa, Asia, and Europe, as well as shipments within Europe. In addition, we have imports of raw materials, accessories and medical cannabis. The high level of customer demand indicates that certification was exactly the right step to take. We are convinced that it will enable us to significantly expand our activities in the field of pharmaceutical logistics, and we are looking forward to intensifying our cooperation with other Militzer & Münch country units in cross-border transports of pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

 

With your dedication and commitment, you have been instrumental in driving the pharma project forward. Where does your enthusiasm for this area in particular come from?

After my qualification as a forwarding specialist and subsequent studies in International Transport Management and Marketing, I started at Militzer & Münch in 2018, initially as Sales Coordinator, but then took over product responsibility for Aviation Logistics. With the onset of the pandemic, I was looking for a new task and started to develop the Pharma Logistics division – a decision I have not regretted to this day! The products with their specific requirements and transport conditions are certainly a challenge, but the market is absolutely viable, and working in this field is a journey of discovery for me every day, due to the wide variety of products and customers. And by the way, I have probably always had a penchant for special products: in my bachelor thesis, I devised a strategic market analysis for the transport of horses by air.

 

What are your plans for the future?

We want to further expand our pharmaceutical logistics network so we can offer our customers worldwide the best possible service and products. Where this is not feasible via our own Militzer & Münch network, we cooperate with local partners who, of course, have to meet our requirements and also the GDP standards. The search for such partners, which is not easy in every country, is currently one of our most important tasks.

We want to further expand our pharmaceutical logistics network so we can offer our customers worldwide the best possible service and products. Where this is not feasible via our own Militzer & Münch network, we cooperate with local partners who, of course, have to meet our requirements and GDP standards as well. The search for such partners, which is not easy in every country, is currently one of our most important tasks.

We generally see great potential in pharmaceutical shipments to Central Asia, as well as to Southeastern Europe and Africa. In Central Asia and Southeastern Europe, we are already operating our own organization in almost every country. And in East and West Africa, for example, we have just successfully found reliable partners. For our activities in the region, I benefit from participating in the Militzer & Münch Talent Development Programme in 2022: As an international team, we had the opportunity to analyze new markets – and with Africa, the focus was on a market that is now emerging as one of our core markets for pharmaceutical transports.

 

 

Thank you very much für your time!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

As the Christmas holidays are drawing near, we wish you joyful, restful days among family and friends.
We would like to take the occasion to express our thanks to you for the good cooperation in 2022.
For the challenges of the upcoming year, we wish you good luck, success, health and personal contentment.

Dushanbe. First prize for M&M Tajikistan: the team under Managing Director (MD) Aziz Sharipov won the official competition for best exporter of the year 2021 in the logistics segment. The competition is held every year by the Government’s Export Agency; the award ceremony for the country’s best exporting companies took place at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Dushanbe on November 28.

Proud of this honor is Aziz Sharipov: “It is a great reward for all the work the team has done this year, and it further strengthens the M&M brand name.” The picture shows the M&M Tajikistan team with MD Sharipov (third from left) with the trophy.

Militzer & Münch is stepping up activities in China – with more employees and new branches. Local sales are being strengthened, and services are being expanded, which offers more opportunities for customers.

After strong growth in China, Militzer & Münch is now adjusting its organization in the country: “We are internally splitting our activities into North and South China from now on”, explains Andreas Löwenstein, Regional Managing Director Asia / Far East. “At the helm of both, we have very experienced managers, to whom the North and South Chinese branches will report in the future.”

Regional Director for China South is Carl Gao, the former branch manager in Shanghai. Jeffery Guo, 45, took over as head of China North in October. He has been at home in the logistics industry for over 20 years, including more than ten years as branch manager with a renowned international logistics service provider. With his expertise, he will support the northern Chinese branches with immediate effect, and further expand business in the region.

A greater footprint in North China

“The new management appointment for North China is just one element in Militzer & Münch’s general growth strategy in the region,” says Elyar Sherkati, Managing Director of Militzer & Münch China. “This year, we are strengthening our presence also by taking on additional employees, for instance at our branch offices in Tianjin as well as in Qingdao, one of China’s most important logistics locations.” Moreover, the Qingdao team was recently able to move into new office premises, and in Zhengzhou and Changchun in the northeast, Militzer & Münch opened two new sales offices.

In Shenyang, also in northeastern China, the company recently began operating a new branch office. Branch manager Colon Sun, who has already been working in the international freight forwarding industry for several years and has a very good knowledge of the market in northeastern China in particular, is in charge of developing and running the new location.

“Shenyang is a major transportation hub in the north of the country. We are glad to be able to further expand our presence at this location and in North China in general, to win experienced specialists, and thus to offer high-quality logistics services to our customers,” says Andreas Löwenstein.

The network of locations is expanding

Another new branch office expands Militzer & Münch’s network of locations in Central China: in September, an office was opened in Wuhan, capital of the Central Chinese province of Hubei and an important transport hub in China for air, rail, road and sea transport. The aim: to offer customers the full range of transport and logistics services, and to boost local sales. Branch manager in Wuhan is Jacky Zhu, who previously worked as sales manager at Militzer & Münch China in Wuhan for almost five years, and is thus very familiar with the local market and customers. He still reports to Carl Gao as before.

With the two new branches in Shenyang and Wuhan, the Militzer & Münch China network now comprises a total of 13 locations: Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shenyang, Urumqi, Shanghai, Ningbo, Wuhan, Chongqing, Shenzhen, as well as the two sales offices in Zhengzhou and Changchun.

“Strengthening our activities in China is part of our growth strategy,” says Andreas Löwenstein. “We look forward to further driving this positive development with the new offices and employees on board!”

‘New Markets’, ‘Industry 4.0 along the New Silk Road’, ‘New Risk Management’ – on October 10, online presentations on these diverse topics marked the end of the Talent Management Programme 2022, designed by TransInvest in cooperation with the Institute of Supply Chain Management at the University of St. Gallen.

In early summer, 21 young talents from various TransInvest companies had already convened in St. Gallen for the first teaching module of the in-service training course. In terms of topics, the three days focused on Strategy & Controlling, Supply Chain Resilience & Sustainability and Process Management. At the beginning of September, the participants met in Istanbul for the second, three-day module. In challenging, interactive teaching units, they gained in-depth insight into the areas of Leadership, Digitalization & Business Innovation, and Marketing & Sales, among others.

Alongside these tangible teaching contents, the Talent Management Programme also focuses on soft skills: thus, teamwork and the strengthening of the group spirit for example are decisive factors for living the TransInvest culture.

“In addition, the modules give the young talents the opportunity to expand their international network and experience the TransInvest culture first-hand by working closely with participants from other countries,” says Ralph Stadler, Head of Group Human Resources. “That way, our experienced experts and guest lecturers not only train our junior employees professionally, but also promote their personal development.”

 

A tried-and-tested, new support concept

Exclusive, science-based, practice-oriented: the Talent Management Programme was launched eleven years ago to provide precisely this kind of support for future managers from TransInvest ranks. The aim of the Talent Management Programme is not only to equip participants with logistics and management skills, but also to retain them in the company in the long run.

“Employee retention is extremely important for companies; it is a big challenge,” says Alexei Kovalenko, Chief Financial Officer, TransInvest and Militzer & Münch, and Speaker of M&M Group Management. “We are glad that we have been able to successfully meet this challenge with the Talent Management Programme for many years now. The young talents receive intensive training in all relevant areas and are offered the opportunity to develop individually – and we can fill top positions in the TransInvest Group with highly qualified and motivated junior staff from our own ranks. A win-win situation.”

In 2022, the Talent Management Programme met expectations in every respect – both on the part of the participants and those responsible around Ralph Stadler. With the impulses from the final teamwork presented, the participants are now creating a Personal Development Plan (PDP) with their superiors, a plan which will guide their development in the company over the next few years.

This year, Paata Kacharava celebrates a very special anniversary: 25 years ago in June, he started as Managing Director of M&M Militzer & Münch Georgia and has been driving the development of the country unit with heart and soul ever since. We talked about his time at Militzer & Münch so far, changes in the logistics industry, and the appeal the business holds for him.

Mr. Kacharava, first of all congratulations on 25 years with Militzer & Münch! That’s a long time; how would you describe it in retrospect?
In summary, I would say it was a very exciting and, in the beginning, also challenging time for me personally. When I joined Militzer & Münch Georgia in 1997, I was the first and only employee of the country unit. Today, our core team consists of six employees, who take care of all projects in the fields of road transport, air and sea freight, as well as of our courier and express services with our partners. The past three years in particular, with the global impact of the Corona pandemic and the political events in Ukraine, have had a major effect on the Georgian economy, and also put our business to the test.

What was your professional career like before you joined Militzer & Münch?
Before switching over to Militzer & Münch and the logistics industry, I had worked in Georgian government institutions for many years, holding various positions in the foreign trade sector; among others, I was responsible for the management of foreign trade relations.

What were the biggest changes you experienced in the subsequent 25 years at Militzer & Münch?
The trade lanes as we know them today and the possibilities they offer, did not exist at all at that time. When I started at Militzer & Münch Georgia, people were dreaming of a Euro-Asian transport corridor and the manifold opportunities it would create – in the course of my career, I was able to witness how this very dream became reality, step by step. Today, the Caucasus and Central Asia are important trading partners for European countries; transports via road, rail, sea, and air to these regions are part of the Militzer & Münch core business. And we are seeing that the demand for products from and connections to these regions continues to grow.

Which industries do your customers come from?
Currently, our most important customers come from the automotive industry, the retail sector, and the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, we work for many local manufacturers who wish to ship their products to the European market.

What is the attraction of the logistics industry for you?
It is clearly the people who work in this sector. Our employees drive our business forward every day with full commitment and know-how; they are the basis of our success. They have significantly contributed to the development we have been able to experience with Militzer & Münch Georgia in the past years, and I am very grateful to them for their commitment. I would also like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the Militzer & Münch management, whose support my team and I have always been able to count on in the past. Cooperating with all these people is a great pleasure for me, and I am looking forward to the tasks and projects still lying ahead of us.

Mr. Kacharava, thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us!

Ashgabat, September 6, 2022. First, a delegation was opened in Ashgabat in 1994, and then in 1997, M&M Militzer & Münch Turkmenistan Ltd. was founded: the Central Asian M&M company now looks back on 25 years of forwarding and logistics services and has gained a good reputation among customers and partners. The company is headed by Djeyhun Hummedov as managing director.