ComPass Newsflash March 2009
Editorial
Dear reader,
times are stormy, and investors were cheated by millions of euros as bankers played roulette. The economic crisis that arose is leaving its mark across the globe, even in our branch: for the first time ever, transport volumes are going down and inventories are piling up as companies are increasingly forced to produce to stock in view of slagging demand.
Despite all this, we are firmly convinced that we will be able to counteract this trend together and reach our goals. Service with a personal touch and a personal commitment from everyone, the strong will to get things moving in a positive direction, the courage to break new ground without entering incalculable risks, and open communication at every level are the stepping stones for our future success.
We would like to thank our customers for their good cooperation, and we are positive that this crisis bears excellent chances and opportunities for us - all we have to do is use them.
But now, have fun reading our first newsletter in 2009!
Yours,
Michael Wortmann
(Managing Director)
Customs and foreign trade news
AES mandatory from 1st July
The new AES (Automated Export System) customs procedure will become mandatory without exception from 1st July 2009 onwards. The electronic export procedure will be applied to all exports to non-EU countries, replacing the SAD (Single Administrative Paper), which can no longer be used after this date. Since the obligation to switch over to the electronic export declaration was announced, providers are swamping the market with a host of different software solutions. But according to information from the customs authority, only 20% of the affected companies have switched to the Atlas system to date. ComPass, too, needed to decide on a solution.
And we decided on a solution that follows the principle: "simple, time-saving and professional!"
As a long-standing international company, we will use a certified software, which enables us to offer our customers extensive services and solutions. These will cover, among other things, the preparation, registration and submission of export declarations to the responsible customs office.
Contact: michael.wortmann@compass-gmbh.net
Award Excellence
Award for excellent logistics services
ComPass was recently awarded for its excellent logistics performance in a project by Ericsson. With the award, Ericsson acknowledges the extraordinary logistics services ComPass has offered in the course of a two-year project to modernise the largest GSM network in the world. 10,000 obsolete Lucent base stations were exchanged for new ones during the project.
"This award is not something that can be taken for granted. As a matter of fact, this is the first time we have awarded such a prize to an external service provider", Udo Niepel, former Head of Supply Chain Management, and Jürgen Mollus, Project Manager at Ericsson, comment.
Arnold Kämpkes, Managing Director at ComPass, recalls: "All together, we set up 100,000 drop-off points, switched over 23,000 radio cells, laid 1,250 kilometres of cable, worked 123,000 hours at night, and transported materials over a distance of 4 million kilometres. Up to 100 teams were on duty to deliver the base stations. Without the teams' unfaltering dedication on site and Ericsson's good partnership and cooperation, we would not have been able to make the project so successful."
Contact: arnold.kaempkes@compass-gmbh.net
Career Opportunities
Dual study programme
ComPass recognised the need for highly qualified logistics professionals with practical experience early on, and has always been seeking ways of investing in competence for future generations of logistics experts. Of course, ComPass will continue to run the traditional three-year vocational training programme forwarding agents and logistics service providers, who have to qualify for the training in a detailed and demanding assessment test.
In addition to this, ComPass now also cooperates with the Logistics Academy and the European University of Applied Sciences in Brühl on the new "Logistics Management" study programme.
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In order to prepare up-and-coming professionals for the logistics of the future in the best possible way, ComPass will start by bearing half of the tuition fees. The tight schedule of the programme should not be underestimated: it is an outstanding opportunity to receive the best possible training in the complex fields o logistics, but also demands great commitment. But in the end, the effort it takes pays off: with challenging tasks, maximum chances of ongoing employment in the company, and, of course, professional skills. |
ComPass - The Personal Touch
Successful graduation
We are very pleased to announce that Katrin Gehrke and Raphael Chudulla have successfully completed their vocational training as forwarding agents and logistics service providers on 19th January 2009! We are particularly happy about their decision to stay with the company, and contribute to our success with their expert knowledge as members of the team.
With the skills she has recently proved, Katrin Gehrke will meet new challenges in our sea freight department. Raphael Chudulla will ensure smooth processing of orders as contact for a large telecommunications operator.
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Katrin Gehrke: "I enjoy working in ComPass' sea freight department a lot, especially in the field of customs clearances and coordinating the on-carriage of container loads to German or European destinations. I feel very at ease with the colleagues in my new team and the customers. Of course all that makes me want to stay!" |
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Raphael Chudalla: "I'm glad my job offers plenty of change and I don't have to look forward to a dull everyday routine. We will take over the central warehouse in Düsseldorf for a market leader in mobile telecommunication services, and will take care of the complete commissioning and delivery of base stations. The close daily contact with the planners, who need our deliveries to be customised and punctual at all times, is what I find particularly inspiring." |
Market Ticker
Go Green: the end of biodiesel
Biodiesel produced from rapeseed is going through a hard time. Since it has been subject to energy tax and fossil diesel is cheaper to buy, biodiesel has been a slow seller at petrol stations. Taxation is bringing an end to biodiesel. While a litre of biodiesel costs between 1.18 and 1.20 euros, regular diesel fuel comes at 1.05 euros per litre. About 1,800 petrol stations in Germany used to offer biodiesel, but about a quarter of these no longer do so. The market for biodiesel has ceased to exist. It is too expensive, and the concerns over technical complications with the cars' fuel injection systems still loom large. Vice versa, biodiesel cars can take fossil diesel without a problem.
Computer logistics: Dell intends to save nine million kilograms of packaging material
The computer manufacturer Dell intends to cut down the packaging material for its desktop and laptop PCs by nine million kilograms within the next four years. This way, the company hopes to make savings worth about 8.1 million US dollars and to become the "greenest technological enterprise" in the world. Dell plans to reduce the amount of packaging material for its desktop and laptop PCs by ten percent until 2012 and increase the share of eco-friendly padding material by about 40%. Moreover, 75% of all packaging materials will be recyclable by 2012. The computer manufacturer is going for air-filled padding and renewable materials, such as the recycled synthetic material polyethylene, which is also used for milk packaging. According to Dell's own information, about 33 million milk packages will be recycled as desktop and laptop PC packaging. Dell claims to be the only large computer manufacturer with a global goal.
Pallet swapping: the German economy faces higher costs for pallet-swapping in future
The Fraunhofer Institut for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) in Dortmund has stated this in a study on the cost of europallet swapping. The study was presented by the German Association of Freight Forwarders and Logistics Companies (DSLV) to its members in Bonn. According to the study, swapping a flat europallet costs a forwarding agent about 2.50 euros. But these costs can easily rise to more than 3 euros due to high quality demands from the shipping industry. For mesh box pallets, cost add up to about 8 euros.
