In our modern world where we take it so much for granted that we can be in Switzerland eating a kiwi grown in New Zealand, taking photographs using a camera made in Japan or enjoying a red wine produced in South Africa, it is easy to forget that these seemingly everyday actions are rendered possible by a seamless system of logistics which is anything but banal. People speak of production units on extended manufacturing runs in Germany being prevented from working because a sub-contractor in France has encountered a technical problem ... but nevertheless, very little consideration is usually given to transport, whether it be of a machine or of manufactured components or of consumer products ... even though this is a source of added value.
Interview with a specialist To try to clarify this important stage through which a product needs to pass between its manufacturing process and the point where it is used or consumed, Eurotec met up with Mr. Rémy Saner, CEO of Bluesped Logistics Sàrl in Boncourt.
Eurotec: You say that, at the end of the day, your company can deliver more to its customers with intelligent transport solutions ... but are you not perhaps wishing to deliver a notion of service which your are not necessarily being asked for?
Rémy Saner: I believe that it is illusory to wish to talk about a product without the value-added component of service. The fact of delivering that produce just in time is in itself a service which is greatly appreciated. It is evident that, as it evolves, this service component must become as broad in scope as possible until its status is confirmed as a sales argument in its own right.
Eurotec: Could you give us an example of this creativity in action?
Rémy Saner: On behalf of a major regional manufacturer (Switzerland), we often have to ship goods to Australia. Due to the considerable length of time these goods are in transit, the customer in Australia was complaining about missing out on market share. It was therefore imperative for our customer that we somehow make up time on the ship transit time ... without having to pay the very substantial surcharge of air freight…
Eurotec : That surely must have been an insoluble demand… Rémy Saner: Absolutely not! At that time, air freight charges to Asia were very reasonable indeed ... We therefore organized air freight as far as the hub in Singapore and, from there, the rest of the journey was made by ship in just two weeks … in that way, we made up time, saved money and rescued the additional market share which the end customer was so concerned about losing…
This is an extract of the full story to be discovered in next issue of Eurotec.
For more information Bluesped Rémy Saner Chemin des Pommerats 5 CH-2926 Boncourt [email protected]
