80883_HAV_Einband-Jubilaeumsbuch:Layout 1

30.07.2008

17:17 Uhr

Seite 1

25 Years of Company History: 1981 – 2006

Havi Logistics is making history A new global brand is born

Publisher Havi Global Logistics GmbH Geitlingstraße 20 47228 Duisburg, Germany Phone: +49 20 65 695 04 [email protected] www.havi-logistics.com

25

Years 1981-2006

Since our group was established in 1981 we have grown from a new German business to an international logistics network of 25 Food Service Logistics (FSL) companies and an additional 15 service enterprises. Previously all 40 companies had different names and logos despite being part of one single company’s success story. It is that same passion for logistics, as well as the common vision and level of commitment that unite all our employees whether in Portugal, Russia, Norway or Italy. This powerful bond has been further strengthened by renaming all our FSL companies Havi Logistics, thus cementing our market position as “The Global Lead Logistics Provider” within Europe and paving the way to becoming a major global brand. Ever since our beginnings 25 years ago we have been dedicated to meeting our customers’expectations of the highest food safety standards, reliable supply-chain management and innovative logistics ideas. We have done this with an uncompromising commitment to the environment and continued social responsibility. This remains unchanged today: based on the “one-stop shopping” concept, our more than 4,100 employees continue to provide dependable logistics services in Europe under the banner of Havi Logistics.

Responsible Christoph Thünemann General Manager Corporate Communications

The Global Lead Logistics Provider

In July 2008 the corporation previously known as Alpha Group, “The European Lead Logistics Provider”, was renamed Havi Logistics. And along with the new name came a simultaneous increase of international expansion.

The Global Lead Logistics Provider

s r yea 1981-2006

The Foundation of WLS

History & Future

“The Only Partner for McDonald‘s“ “Andreas, you’ve got the job.” The call, which came in June

partners suddenly bailing out in case of a change of heart (leaving

1981 from Michael Gerling (McDonald´s Purchasing Manager

it with a large volume of goods and nobody to sell them to). Both

in Germany at that time) was one Frigoropa Germany had been

partners also agree that the Managing Partner should be allocated

eagerly awaiting for a number of weeks. The “you” in question

shares in order to encourage his entrepreneurial spirit. Finally,

was the still young trading company from Duisburg. A subsidiary

the capital stock of 100,000 German marks is shared 45:45:10

of Frigoscandia, it had been supplying frozen foods to the ex-

between McDonald’s, Frigoscandia and the designated Managing

panding quick service restaurants group in Germany since April

Partner, Andreas Rost. It is Rost who comes up with the name by

1978. Andreas? Frigoropa’s Managing Director Andreas Rost.

which the joint venture will be known as of November 1, 1981:

The job? McDonald’s had decided in principle to purchase the

WLS GmbH Warenhandel + Logistik + Service.

logistics for its entire range of frozen, chilled and dry goods from a single source as of November 1, 1981. That single source was

Let’s now take a moment to step back a little further into

to be Frigoropa Germany, having successfully bid for the role of

history. Frigoscandia Deutschland GmbH first starts distribu-

“Total Distributor Germany” in competition with major national

ting McDonald’s frozen foods in July 1975. According to the

and international players.

contract concluded on June 18 that year, “Frigoscandia shall purchase from known suppliers at the specifications negotiated by

During the course of the conversation that followed, McDonald’s

McDonald’s exclusively for McDonald’s and McDonald’s licen-

and Frigoscandia quickly agreed to form a joint venture for this

sees”. In principle, the agreement has retained its validity for Fri-

business, in which both partners should have equal share. For

goscandia successor companies. The two parties agree a margin

McDonald’s, this model is new and unusual, as its policy is not to take shares in suppliers. However, in this case, the company is determined to get its franchisees on board in order to whet their appetites for the strategy of supply from a single distributor,



which they are not familiar to yet. The specially founded holding company offers franchisees cost transparency by means of control and co-management, as well as a share in profits. In choosing this

1975 - 1981

solution, Frigoscandia believes that it is minimizing the risk of

Frigoscandia Germany and, since April 1978, the Frigoscandia affiliate Frigoropa have been exclusive suppliers to the German McDonald’s restaurants. While affiliated companies in Austria, Denmark, France, Sweden, and Switzerland at that time deliver frozen, chilled, and dry goods to the restaurants in their respective countries, Frigoropa in Germany is only responsible for frozen goods.

Did you know that as early as 1981 potential new customers were interested in working with WLS­?

offers • Administrate attendance lists • Work on a firm basis • Create jobs • Archive documents • Carry out audits • Watch the red dot •

History & Future

The Foundation of WLS

of “0.19 DM per kg”. They also agree that orders and deliveries

is so different from its other business. In relation to McDonald’s

should run “strictly in accordance with a fixed schedule». For the

and his franchisees, Frigoscandia is not only a forwarder but also

purpose of supply, Frigoscandia takes over the McDonald’s stock

a wholesale trader. As such, it has ownership of the goods in tran-

of frozen foods. The company, which opened its first restaurant

sit. It is, therefore, only logical that the company should operate

in Germany in Munich in 1971, had before managed its own

as a trading company. It is at this time that its management team

logistics and supplied its restaurants directly.

Andreas Rost and Kent Zohnne are approached by McDonald’s, whose people are insistent that the German business needs to be

Three years later, in April 1978, Frigoscandia founds the Frigor-

restructured and a total distribution system encompassing frozen,

opa subsidiary primarily because the business with McDonald’s

chilled and dry goods – like that operating in the USA – has to

10 The ice cream manufacturer Baskin Robbins made some inquiries, but WLS wanted to concentrate fully on McDonald’s at the start.

WLS DC Duisburg-Großenbaum

Delegate tasks • Fill tasks with life • Track fulfilment of tasks • Be honest • Refine used shortening • Make excursions • Improve efficiency

The Foundation of WLS

be introduced. With this in mind, Andreas Rost and Kent Zohnne

dia in respect of frozen-food storage and transportation problems;

collaborate on a project to draw up the most cost-effective

already the total distributor for McDonald’s in five countries».

History & Future

logistics concept for McDonald’s distribution in Germany (and Europe). Their findings reflect the perceptions of a quick service

At this time, sister companies of Frigoropa Germany were sup-

restaurant company.

plying McDonald’s restaurants in Austria, Denmark, France, Sweden, and Switzerland as total distributors. When the joint venture

Against the background of these preliminary investigations, it is

actually goes into operation in Germany on November 1, 1981,

no surprise that the duo’s findings provide the basis for the bid

these companies initially remain part of the Frigoropa Group, to

submitted by Frigoropa on April 21, 1981, for the role of “Total

be taken over subsequently one by one by WLS. WLS too is still

Distributor Germany”. The primary difference between the bid

under the Frigoropa umbrella when the big day dawns. Due to

and the original findings is that the former also includes “absolu-

cartel legislation based on parent-company turnover and number

te costs for the most cost-effective distribution model submitted

of employees, the new company needs a license. This takes time

previously in rough draft format». Appended to the bid is a list

– it is not until February 1982 that the license is actually granted.

of eight advantages (entitled Frigoropa – the only partner for

However, the parties have agreed that during this transitional

McDonald’s) arguing in favor of Frigoropa succeeding in its bid.

­phase, total distribution should run under the auspices of Frigor-

The most important among these are: “Profit sharing and cost

opa Germany.

transparency in the form of a joint venture; many years of loyal cooperation; access to the know-how and resources of Frigoscan-

McDonald’s tenders an application for a ‘Total Distributor Germany’ and is thus looking for a distributor supplying all the goods required in a restaurant – frozen, chilled, and dry – as a one-stop-shopping concept in Germany too. Frigoscandia is awarded the contract against a number of competent competitors on the condition that a new company is established for this task.

November 1, 1981

1981

11

WLS GmbH Warenhandel + Logistik + Service is established. WLS becomes the exclusive and full-range supplier of McDonald’s in Germany. The shareholders are Frigoscandia GmbH with 45 per cent, McDonald’s -including its franchisees - with another 45 per cent, and the Managing Partner Andreas Rost with 10 per cent.

Optimize occupancy • Participate in tender processes • Take picture for employee identity card • Make evaluations • Automatic creation of outgoing

History & Future

The Foundation of WLS

By this time, WLS has physically been in operation for four

And get underway it did, because even during these first - if still

months and has passed the first acid test, having integrated the

unofficial - days of WLS, an advantage you will not see listed in

dry goods previously supplied to McDonald’s restaurants in

any advertising brochure was clearly in evidence: the entire crew

Germany by RWR into its own range in November 1981. And yet,

was willing to give 120%. Everyone pulled together during the

despite an agreement being in place for the new total distributor

takeover phase, sorting, counting, cataloging, working almost 60

to take over RWR’s goods and stock on the big day, November 1,

hours non-stop and grabbing what little sleep they could get bet-

hardly anyone in the WLS team has any knowledge of dry goods

ween the – carefully sorted – floorcloths and cup lids. When they

or their specification. So, on the weekend before the takeover,

awoke, they would be McDonald’s “Total Distributor Germany”.

there are many puzzled looks on many faces. What exactly is a

What a job… ■

packaging unit of floorcloths? Ten items or just one? And which of the ten different types of cup lids go with which item number? Question after question, all needing answers in just three days – total distribution had to get underway the following Monday. (See minutes of advisory board meeting dates February 19, 1982 item two on agenda, annex).

A core team of five people starts building WLS: These are: the Managing Partner Andreas Rost, Nikolaus Meischatz, Willi Müller, Bernhard Gabriel, and Käthe Eickel. The company is headquartered in Duisburg-Großenbaum and has two full-range Distribution Centers in Duisburg and Markgröningen. In addition, warehousing capacities for frozen goods are leased in Hamburg, Groß-Gerau, and Munich as so-called satellites.

October 1983

November 1981

12

I.T.S. Internationale Transporte & Spedition is established to optimize transport of all products from the McDonald’s suppliers to the existing WLS Distribution Centers. In September, 1986, the company is renamed as S.T.I. International Spedition & Transport.

invoices • Organize backhaulage • Environmental pacemaker • Plan trips by train • Scan barcodes • Refill battery water • Travel expense

History & Future

13

December 1986

Did you know that there are installed some really clever aids in the warehouses of the Alpha DCs? WLS moves into a tailor-made Distribution Center in Ilsfeld near Heilbronn. From now on, the McDonald’s restaurants in southern Germany are supplied from here. The satellites in Munich and Groß-Gerau are closed.

accounting • Show persistence • Write reports for A-lex • Treat meetings • Manage meetings • Spread best practice solutions • Create ord

History & Future

Philosophy of WLS

Always Able to Deliver From the very beginning in November 1981, WLS GmbH Warenhandel + Logistik + Service was conceived to operate as a distributor in the US sense, as a wholesale trader handling import/export business and specializing in logistics. The company does not have a purchasing function (prices are negotiated by McDonald’s), only procurement, and no sales: the only customers are exclusively McDonald’s restaurants. As a wholesale trader, WLS integrates the diversity of the quick service industry. The policy of the business is to be able to deliver all items throughout the range at all times – after all, if an item is not available, restaurants do not have an alternative they can use in its place to create a specific product. An important issue in this context is that of ownership of goods, something many forwarding companies in Germany still would shrink from in

 For example: the red line at a height of 2.20 m in the loading area. It shows the maximum loading height allowed for pallets.

1986

14

HLS Logistik in Switzerland is established. This company, today headquartered in Oensingen, has exclusive responsibility for supplying all McDonald’s restaurants in Switzerland. Before the Swiss restaurants had been supplied by Frigoscandia since October 1976 and by Frigoropa since April 1980.

1986

picture 2000

the early 1980s.

MLS is established in the Netherlands. At the request of McDonald’s, WLS merges with the independent distributor Ber Damen to combine Ber Damen’s local competence with the know-how of WLS.

forecasts • Handle orders • Develop order proposals • Achieve best marks in productivity and reliability • Pick up visitors • Announce visitors on the

Philosophy of WLS

History & Future

As long as it doesn’t make any mistakes, because it has

At least of equal importance is the company’s service philoso-

customers in the shape of McDonald’s restaurants, the risk of

phy, which is also firmly ensconced in its name. It was the will

WLS being left with products in its Distribution Center and

of the shareholders that the letters WLS should be the perfect

not finding any purchaser would be relatively small. Although

expression of the purpose of the company’s existence: Waren-

franchisees (accounting for between 60 and 70% of McDonald’s

handel expresses the buying and selling the company does in its

restaurants in Germany) do not have to buy from WLS, they

role as a wholesale trader, Logistik – a little known term in Ger-

generally do. The high volumes WLS deals in keeps prices

many at the time of the company’s foundation – expresses the

reasonable and products are supplied, specified and approved

physical flow of goods from supplier to customer, and Service

by McDonald’s. Restaurants wishing to use other suppliers and

expresses the accompanying flow of information optimizing

their products could only do so if these suppliers and products

logistics and making the procurement process more transparent

are tested and approved by McDonald’s. In spite of this, from

for customers. In respect of the involvement of a US partner, all

the very beginning WLS was under pressure to deliver “low

the letters of the acronym should work equally well in English,

cost – best value” goods, in order to ensure that franchisees

where WLS stands for Wholesale + Logistics + Service. ■

would support the new model. So, in its role as McDonald’s Total Distributor, rather than having carte blanche, WLS actually finds itself under specific internal pressure to keep customers satisfied at all times.

15

black board

The entire WLS organization moves within Duisburg from Großenbaum to Rheinhausen, starting operation of the first McDonald’s Food Town in Europe in cooperation with FSB Backwaren GmbH and L+O Fleischwaren GmbH (now Esca Food Solutions). On the premises of what used to be the Diergardt Mevissen mine, the baking factory and the meat processing plant combine their production with the first tailor-made Distribution Center of WLS. At the same time, the WLS satellite in Hamburg is closed.

April 1988

March 1988

Andreas Rost (left) and Nikolaus Meischatz

SDL Service + Distribution + Logistik is established in Austria. As an enterprise of wholesale and import trades focusing on logistics, SDL is exclusively and fully responsible for supplying all McDonald’s restaurants in Austria.

• Take care for visitors • Issue a visitor identity card • Take visitor identity card • Hang up pictures • Adjust monitor • Switch mon

80883_HAV_Einband-Jubilaeumsbuch:Layout 1

30.07.2008

17:17 Uhr

Seite 1

25 Years of Company History: 1981 – 2006

Havi Logistics is making history A new global brand is born

Publisher Havi Global Logistics GmbH Geitlingstraße 20 47228 Duisburg, Germany Phone: +49 20 65 695 04 [email protected] www.havi-logistics.com

25

Years 1981-2006

Since our group was established in 1981 we have grown from a new German business to an international logistics network of 25 Food Service Logistics (FSL) companies and an additional 15 service enterprises. Previously all 40 companies had different names and logos despite being part of one single company’s success story. It is that same passion for logistics, as well as the common vision and level of commitment that unite all our employees whether in Portugal, Russia, Norway or Italy. This powerful bond has been further strengthened by renaming all our FSL companies Havi Logistics, thus cementing our market position as “The Global Lead Logistics Provider” within Europe and paving the way to becoming a major global brand. Ever since our beginnings 25 years ago we have been dedicated to meeting our customers’expectations of the highest food safety standards, reliable supply-chain management and innovative logistics ideas. We have done this with an uncompromising commitment to the environment and continued social responsibility. This remains unchanged today: based on the “one-stop shopping” concept, our more than 4,100 employees continue to provide dependable logistics services in Europe under the banner of Havi Logistics.

Responsible Christoph Thünemann General Manager Corporate Communications

The Global Lead Logistics Provider

In July 2008 the corporation previously known as Alpha Group, “The European Lead Logistics Provider”, was renamed Havi Logistics. And along with the new name came a simultaneous increase of international expansion.

The Global Lead Logistics Provider