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SNCF Geodis
| Chairman of SNCF |
Guillaume Pépy |
| CEO SNCF Geodis, Chairman of Geodis Group |
Pierre Blayau |
| Deputy CEO SNCF Geodis, CEO of Geodis Group |
Jean Louis Demeulenaere |
| Vice President Finance |
Laurent Dumas |
SNCF Geodis is the transport and logistics division of SNCF Group. The division combines the services of a number of subsidiaries including Geodis Group and STVA.
SNCF Geodis is the transport and logistics division of SNCF Group (Geodis Group was acquired by SNCF in 2008) and is made up of a number of subsidiary companies within the group.
The division is divided into:
- Global offerings
- Freight transport by rail
- Asset management
The Geodis Group is the primary subsidiary company in the division, however it also includes subsidiaries such as Fret SNCF and STVA.
The Geodis Group is based in Europe and has five core divisions:
- Geodis Calberson - Groupage and Express
- Geodis Logistics - Contractual Logistics
- Geodis BM - Road Division
- Geodis Wilson - Freight Management Division
- Geodis Global Supply Chain Optimisation
In 2010, SNCF Geodis recorded revenues of €8.89bn.
2011
Freight Forwarding
Geodis Wilson has a very aggressive development strategy which includes an acquisition programme.
The USA is a key area of focus. Management's aim is to double its freight forwarding business in the US from its base of €750m in 2010 within the next 5 years. This will involve external and organic growth. The company has established a 4PL product and in June 2011 bought One Source Logistics, a domestic transportation service provider with a focus on FTL and LTL, backed by a Transport Management System.
The Middle East is also an important region for Geodis Wilson. In 2010 the forwarder opened a new airfreight office in Dubai to support increasing demand for its services as well as advancing its sea-air product.
This year, the company also opened an 8,500 sq m distribution centre in Jebel Ali South within the free zone of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The new distribution centre marks a strategic step in the company's global growth plan: extending its freight forwarding services to a full–service contract logistics model in the Middle East region.
As well as forwarding services, the company is developing a Vertical Market focus. Specific sector competences include automotive, as well as in the pharmaceutical and hi-tech industries.
Another specific sector it has developed is a Luxury Hotel & Resort Logistics service operating with regional competency centres and a global hotel logistics control tower.
Other verticals include:
- Aviation
- Industrial
- Oil & Gas
- Retail-FMCG
- Marine Logistics
Contract Logistics
SNCF Geodis was created in 2009 in what appeared to be a clear attempt by the French state-owned rail company to imitate the strategy of Deutsche Bahn in its purchase of Schenker. Consequently the contract logistics of the new SNCF-Geodis is very much that of the original Geodis
Contract logistics within SNCF-Geodis is the responsibility of Geodis Logistics. This is complemented by Geodis-Wilson which is the freight forwarding business of SNCF-Geodis; Geodis International, which handles business outside of Europe and Geodis' own road freight network which includes a depot, pallet-networks (Fortec in the UK) and its complementary warehousing capability.
Markets
By far the most important client of Geodis Logistics is IBM. In December 2008, the two companies agreed an outsourcing deal in which Geodis agreed to assume responsibility for the management of all IBM"s logistics. Although not all aspects of the deal were transparent, it is known that IBM had a logistics spend of approximately €1bn spread across air, sea and land freight. This was a transformative contract for Geodis, making the company"s contract logistics not only larger but also much more international.
One of the characteristics of Geodis is its reliance on the French market. In its domestic market Geodis has a broad market presence covering retail, consumer durables, FMCG (although not generally food), automotive inbound and aftermarket and miscellaneous industrial sectors. Of the latter, electronics and telecommunications are of notable importance. Its presence in this sector was the basis for its relationship with IBM.
Logistics provision is comprehensive within France and some neighbouring companies.
Capabilities
Geodis Logistics is asset based, with extensive warehousing and consolidation resources available in France, Spain, Italy and UK. It also has resources, often forwarding related consolidation centres, outside Europe. Geodis also has 'in-facility’ capabilities, relevant to sectors such as automotive.
Conclusion
The main strength of Geodis Logistics, its focus on France, is also its principal limitation. Although the company has a significant freight forwarding capability, it lacks the ability to integrate this into contract logistics operations on a global scale. Although within France it has broad presence and its relationship with IBM is important, there is a danger that Geodis Logistics will 'fall between two stools’ and fail to be strong enough in any individual sector. As mentioned the IBM contract could be the platform for transforming Geodis Logistics and the other complementary parts of SNCF-Geodis into a global player.
2010
Due to intensified competition and pricing pressure, the company's aims for 2010 are to focus on commercial development and innovation:
- the aim in the traditional business sectors, particularly France Parcel Delivery and Express and Logistics, is to obtain market shares through a sales organisation satisfying the needs of shippers and contributing to the development of cross-selling for major customer accounts
- with regard to the SCO activity, the aim is to perfect the integration of industrial facilities, particularly with respect to information systems in order to win new global customers
- rail freight fleet management will aim to consolidate the activities of Ermewa, which will provide the division with the fleet management expertise its teams, thus helping to improve the efficiency and profitability of these activities.
Since its founding in 2008, SNCF Geodis' transport and logistics primary aim has been to support customers global supply chains, through end-to-end management.
Its has highlighted three key priorities for 2010:
- Achieve full recognition as a global logistics operator in all its sectors of activity - The new Supply Chain Optimisation (SCO) offering will be the basis of this. It will support key customers on international markets, and strengthen its offerings in freight forwarding, logistics, transport and, in particular, in the global management and optimisation of the supply chain. A recent service introduced by the SCO division is as solutions integrator and as the last stage in logistics sub-contracting, the division will implement management solutions and use external partners wherever necessary.
- Transform the business of freight transport by rail - its approach is focused on recovery and reallocation of resources. Towards this, it is working with shipping customers to draft new multi-customer transport plans involving the shipment of larger volumes. The branch is also investing in model transfer (from road to rail).
- Be positioned in Europe as a competitive rail operator and as a road operator using multimodal solutions - Geodis is developing combined overland, sea, air and rail transport. Its plan is to promote solutions that enable modal transfer over long distances and from ports and airports, and also to limit CO² emissions, including:
- rail motorways (Luxembourg/Perpignan, Alpine rail motorway between Aiton and Orbassano, Atlantic rail motorway, London, Turin, etc.)
- combined transport with the help of Novatrans and Naviland Cargo
- high-speed European rail freight (definition of a European network with international air and express hubs)
- development of port activities (investment in multimodal port and overland platforms, contributing to the development of local rail operators in ports, putting in place local partnerships and specialist handling firms).
In addition, Geodis BM is focusing development in the following strategic markets: all industrial segments, chemicals and gas, mass retail, consumer goods, automotive and press. And, in the last year Geodis BM has developed onboard IT systems for all its customers, with a view to continuously improving its service and operation.
Strategy: 2010 News
2010
December - Geodis is implementing a new global Transport Management System for its Freight Management division, Geodis Wilson. The new platform will be developed together with CargoWise, a global leader in logistics software. On December 8, 2010, both companies signed a contract to develop and implement the new system within the next three years.
The new TMS is based on ediEnterprise, CargoWise's award winning platform. It will gradually bring operational, financial and customer relationship management processes under one unified umbrella, resulting in faster and increasingly transparent information flows to the customers as well as increasing operational efficiency. The underlying single-file-concept links all relevant information together in one consistent database. It will be launched as of next year, starting in Europe and Asia-Pacific, and the full implementation will be part of a three year development process. In total, Geodis Group will be investing €20m into this project.
March - Geodis recently acquired Bertola to become a leading multi-business-line service provider in Italy.
Through this acquisition, Geodis is achieving critical logistics mass, doubling its storage area in Italy, where it already had 18 sites, and is gaining presence in Veneto, the country's second-most important logistics region.
With overall revenue of €400m and a workforce of more than 2,000, Geodis becomes one of the leading multi-business-line service providers in Italy with a full service offering: groupage, full-truckload transport, contractual logistics, freight forwarding, and 4PL.
This new operation for external growth will enable Geodis to strengthen its position in several customer industries and to increase its expertise in Italy through Bertola"s customer portfolio, primarily made up of key accounts in sectors of strategic interest to Geodis (FMCG, textiles, and automotive).
March - Following the acquisition of Giraud's Steel division and Central and Eastern Europe division in July 2009, the acquisition of its two remaining divisions, Northern Europe and Southern Europe (full and partial truckload road transport), will now allow Geodis BM to expand its European coverage, particularly in Spain.
Giraud is the third-largest road freight carrier in Spain, and a major player in France. It is also present in Italy and the UK. The acquisition is therefore an opportunity for Geodis to expand the geographic coverage of Geodis BM in Europe and also to increase revenue through a portfolio of loyal key accounts (automotive, retail and distribution, industry, etc.). The transaction will be concluded very quickly, after employees have been duly informed and after approval by the competition authorities, who are expected to rule on the acquisition by the end of the first half of 2010.
"For Geodis BM, this acquisition is an opportunity to build a true European network and to play a full role in the Group's global end-to-end offering. With this new network, the revenue of Geodis BM will exceed €1bn, based on the expertise of its 5,000 employees," concluded Jean-Louis Demeulenaere, CEO of Geodis.
April - The acquisition announced on 17 March was closed on 22 April, with Ciblex becoming an integral part of the Groupage Division of the Geodis group.
Speaking at the occasion, Jean-Louis Demeulenaere, CEO of Geodis, and Bruno Mandrin, Director of the Groupage Division, talked about the role and organisation of Geodis Ciblex, the Group's new "0-30 kg parcels" network.
This parcel service broadens the Group"s range of small parcel solutions, especially in e-commerce, health, optics, high-tech products and spare parts, sectors in which Ciblex plays a leading role. With a 700-strong workforce and more than 700 subcontractors, Ciblex is a specialised autonomous network able to manage late collections, up to 8 pm in Ile-de-France, for next-day deliveries before 8 am, 9 am, 10 am or midday, depending on the service required. The agreement will also round out the Geodis transport offering in Belgium. In addition, Geodis Ciblex customers will now benefit from the Group"s international multi-business offering.
Strategy: 2009 News
2009
February - The takeover of Rohde & Liesenfeld by Geodis Group was officially completed in Australia.
The global acquisition which took place on January 3, 2008, was intended to strengthened Geodis' position in key markets, including Germany, South Africa, the Persian Gulf and Latin America, where Rohde & Liesenfeld (R&L) handled the largest part of its freight forwarding activities. R&L contribute to an already strong Industrial Projects offer and increase the service portfolio in vital areas such as Oil and Gas. In Australia, the merger allowed the company to offer extended freight management services including door-to-door supply chain management for major key clients in all five states. With just over 350 staff in Australia, the combination of R&L's forwarding strengths together with Geodis Wilson's brokerage expertise made the new company a serious contender for a variety of supply chain management contracts around the country.
Strategy: 2008 News
2008
2008
December - Geodis' leading entity of SNCF Transport and logistics division, the 4th largest European transport and logistics supplier, acquired IBM"s internal global logistics operations in an all-cash deal for an undisclosed amount and signed a multi year outsourcing contract.
Through this contract, Geodis will be the sole lead logistics provider for IBM, managing approximately €1bn per year of IBM's logistics costs supporting asset recovery services, service parts logistics and flow management of all hardware and software products worldwide.
The logistics provider industry is becoming more global, more concentrated, and segmented around customer types and universally better at execution. To cope, this industry has been evolving to offer greater scope and more complex solutions. In this context, since 2007, Geodis has implemented a strategy of moving from a European multi services company to a worldwide logistics provider reinforcing its network in the Americas and in rapidly expanding countries such as China, India, and Russia. The acquisition of IBM"s global logistics services and its world-class global network and treasure trove of skills, expertise and best practices will provide Geodis and its customers' with an immediate access to a worldwide supply chain platform able to design, manage and execute customer solutions.
"This agreement is strategic to reinforce Geodis" position among the world leading logistics providers capable of delivering end to end solutions to its global clients. With this partnership, we will strengthen the skills and expertise required to service, both IBM's and our existing and future client's, core logistics needs in more than 120 countries. IBM's global logistics operations will significantly upgrade our services portfolio,” said Geodis' deputy CEO.
"IBM has long emphasized to its own clients that in a globally integrated enterprise, companies create more value by focusing on critical areas that provide differentiation, while they seek partnerships for non-core activities. This agreement with Geodis underscores this strategy,” said the vice president, global logistics, IBM Integrated Supply Chain. "All of the work that has been done by IBM to develop and integrate its supply chain across all of its businesses, provides us with an excellent opportunity to partner with a world class logistics company and leverage our joint resources on behalf of our many global clients. We are excited about this relationship as it will benefit not only our clients but our employees. Geodis has a passion for this business and they will provide both our clients and our employees with ongoing investment, innovation and growth ”
The transaction was expected to close in first quarter 2009, and it is subject to the expiration or the early termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act and the issuance by the European Commission of a decision declaring the transaction compatible with the EC Common Market as well as to applicable regulatory clearance, local agreements and appropriate and required employee information and consultation processes.Through that contract, stated Geodis, it would be the sole lead logistics provider for IBM, managing approximately €1bn per year of IBM's logistics costs supporting asset recovery services, service parts logistics and flow management of all hardware and software products worldwide.
"This agreement is strategic to reinforce Geodis' position among the world's leading logistics providers capable of delivering end to end solutions to its global clients," claimed Jean-Louis Demeulenaere, Geodis Deputy CEO.
"With this partnership, we will strengthen the skills and expertise required to service both IBM's and our existing and future clients' core logistics needs in more than 120 countries. IBM's global logistics operations will significantly upgrade our services portfolio."
Geodis said it was increasing its investments outside Europe and the new acquisition complemented the company's existing teams. "By leveraging IBM's employees in more than 50 countries across the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific, Geodis' service offering will be enhanced with multinational supply chain experts and an established worldwide platform to enable rapid growth and expansion," it claimed.
Geodis said the IBM transaction, which was expected to close in the first quarter of 2009, was subject to the expiration or the early termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act and the issuance by the EC (European Commission) of a decision declaring the transaction compatible with the EC Common Market as well as to applicable regulatory clearance, local agreements and appropriate and required employee information and consultation processes.
SNCF claims that its Transport and Logistics Division is currently the fourth-largest transport and logistics operator in Europe, with annual revenue of €8.5bn.
January - As of January 3, 2008, the Geodis Group has formally acquired Rohde & Liesenfeld, a German-based international air and sea freight forwarding group, after obtaining all regulatory approvals.
The acquisition is intended to strengthen Geodis' position in many of today's key markets, including Germany, South Africa, the Arabian Gulf and Latin America, where Rohde & Liesenfeld (R&L) handles the largest part of its freight forwarding activities. R&L will contribute to an already strong Industrial Projects offer and increase the service portfolio in vital areas such as Oil and Gas.
Jeff Hoogesteger, CEO of Geodis Wilson, stated that the acquisition will enable the company to extend its global network, increase density on major international trade lanes and expand its customer base globally.
The German-based international transport logistics company has been Geodis’ main freight forwarding partner since 2002. R&L will be integrated into Geodis Wilson, the freight management section of the Geodis Group, boosting Geodis Wilson’s headcount to a total of approximately 5,500 employees in more than 50 countries.
June - International Freight Management company Geodis Wilson has strengthened its growing business in the United Kingdom. The acquisition of Oughtred & Harrison Shipping will boost the ocean export segment of Geodis Wilson and extend the global network coverage in China and Benelux.
O&H Shipping is an air and sea freight forwarder with almost 100 employees, mainly based in Northern England, but also in Belgium and China. Serving more than 1,900 customers, O&H delivers about £ 35 Million to the Geodis Group's net sales.
The combined businesses at current trading will generate over £90m in Net sales with 290 employees based in 14 locations across the UK.
Jean-Louis Demeulenaere, Chairman of Geodis Wilson, explained: “This acquisition shows the Geodis Group’s will to continue investing in freight forwarding, which is an essential part of Geodis’ sustainable growth strategy.”
Stratgey: 2007 News
2007
The Geodis acquisition of TNT Freight Management partly re-adopted its old brand name, Wilson, now being known as Geodis Wilson. This represented the merger of TNT Freight Management and Geodis Overseas, which was due to be finalised by the end of 2007. Geodis Wilson is the Freight Management division of the Geodis Group.
All activities within TNT Freight Management would be conducted under the Geodis Wilson brand, excluding a few subsidiaries that are still awaiting approval for the new legal name from local authorities. As part of the merger master plan, the company intends to re-brand Geodis Overseas, the existing air and sea freight subsidiary in the Geodis Group, to Geodis Wilson before the end of this year. The combination of the merger is a separate division of the Geodis Group. The net revenue of Geodis Wilson was about €1.7bn in 2006.
As a part of the Geodis Group, Geodis Wilson would be able to offer its global customers the services delivered by the other Divisions, (Groupage, Contract Logistics, Full Truckloads), with the support of Geodis Global Solutions which is in charge of the integrated offers.
Until 2006, the Group's internal organisation was based on the following geographical regions: France, Europe excluding France and Rest of the World (Asia, Africa and Mexico). In first-half 2007, Geodis changed its structure to reflect not only the acquisition of Wilson (ex TNT Freight Management), but also the robust organic expansion of its networks businesses. The new structure is based on the following four business divisions:
- Groupage
- Freight Forwarding
- Contract Logistics
- Full Truckload
The strategic shift to the new organisation structure was completed at the end of 2007 with the appointment of management teams and division heads, the establishment of reporting relationships and strategic objectives for each of the divisions and the alignment of accounting and management systems.
Strategy: Ownership (2006-2008 Archive)
2008
April - Directors of French international forwarder/logistics group Geodis have unanimously recommended that shareholders accept an offer for the company made by France's state railway company, SNCF.
In a statement, Geodis reported that its board of directors had met yesterday (April 28) to render a reasoned opinion regarding the tender offer initiated by SNCF Participations. It said the board had been provided with several reports. One, prepared by, financial advisors Lazard and BNP Paribas, concluded that the offer price was "in line with the results of the various methods used in order to determine the value of Geodis". A second, prepared by independent expert Ricol Lasteyrie & Associés, considered that the price offered was "fair for Geodis' minority shareholders".
Geodis said its board of directors believed the offer initiated by SNCF "would not adversely affect the interests of Geodis and those of its employees, and that such offer may provide the latter with better security and development perspectives than those which could arise from the status quo".
Regarding the situation of shareholders, Geodis said its board of directors had expressed an intention to tender their own shares to the offer, except the shares that must be held by each director, pursuant to the bylaws of the company, and "unanimously recommends that the shareholders of Geodis tender their shares to the public offer".
Geodis added that the contemplated timeframe of the offer (without taking into account any potential reopening of the offer) was:
- May 20, 2008: Decision of the AMF on the conformity of the offer.
- May 22, 2008: Opening of the offer.
- June 25, 2008: Closing of the offer.
- July 17, 2008: Settlement delivery.
April - France's state railway company, SNCF, looked set to become a major global logistics player following the announcement that it was to make an offer for the outstanding shares which it did not already own in French international forwarder/logistics group Geodis.
SNCF had for many years been Geodis' main shareholder and currently held 42.37% of its share capital and 45.79% of its voting rights. €135 per share was to be offered to the shareholders in cash, valuing the company at nearly €1.1bn. The offer represented a 79% premium based on the average price of Geodis' shares during March 2008.
As Geodis' management stated, the offer was part of a plan by SNCF to create an international multimodal operator in the field of logistics and transportation. Pierre Blayau, CEO of Geodis, would be in charge of implementing that plan.
SNCF's new chairman, Guillaume Pepy, also mentioned that his company was planning on buying another rail operator in the near future. The acquisition of Geodis by SNCF will bring about the company's renationalisation, undoubtedly bringing protests from the private sector.
However, French politicians see this as a necessary step to help SNCF rival its main European competitor, Deutsche Bahn, which had been highly acquisitive in recent years, for example buying up international forwarders/logistics providers Stinnes/Schenker and Bax Global.
A listed company the majority shareholder is the SNCF group with 42.37% of the shares, the free float totals 40.53%.
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Geodis Common Stock Distribution as of 31st December 2007 |
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Source: Geodis |
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Geodis Voting Rights as of 31st December 2007 |
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Source: Geodis |
2007
In 2006, Salvepar's interest in the Group was further reduced from 8.59%to 5.85%. Taking these transactions into account, the free float stood at 35.44% at 31 December 2006.
2006
Listed company. SNCF (French Railways) 43.73%, AGF Vie 9.36%, Groupe Salvepar 8.59%, Geodis Mutual Fund 5.85%.
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Geodis Shareholder Structure as at 31st December 2005 |
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Source: Geodis |
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Geodis Group Summary of Organisation Chart December 2005 |
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Source: Geodis |
SNCF Geodis Finances: Total
2011
SNCF Geodis reported revenues of €9,427m, an increase of 6.0% or €538m.
A significant portion of this growth came on the back of acquisitions which included Giraud International, Ciblex and Bertola.
At constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates, revenue rose just 3.3% or €291m.
The logistics and parcel segment attributed for much of SNCF Geodis' organic growth. Rail freight also performed well, with revenue (at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates) rising by 4.2%. In contrast, freight forwarding revenue fell by 1.4% and road transport earnings dropped 2.7%.
The division performed particularly well in the first half of 2011, recording a 6.3% rise in revenue, although this momentum stalled in the second half of the year as revenue went up by just 0.4% year on year.
International business represented 45% of SNCF Geodis' total revenue.
2010
In March, Geodis reported that in 2010 it experienced a significant turnaround after the global economic crisis in 2009, when the group reported a decline in revenue and operating income. Its 2010 revenue reached €8,890m, a 20.5% increase on the previous year.
With the exception of Fret SNCF (-€180m), all the division's entities reported revenue growth, with Freight Forwarding perfoming particularly well with an increase of €454m (24.7%).
For the first time, in 2010 more than 50% of the Group's revenue was generated outside France.
Although operating profit improved by 178.9% the Group still a recorded an operating loss of -€327m.
The company said that the integration of the acquisitions made in 2009 and 2010 was proceeding to plan. These include IBM Global Logistics into the Group as a whole, Cooljet and Ciblex into the Groupage & Express Division, Giraud into the Road Division, Sealogis and STSI into the Freight Forwarding Division, and Chevallier and Bertola into the Contract Logistics Division.
Geodis Finances: Total Geodis Group (Excl SNCF Fret)
2010
2010 revenue totalled €6,563.8m, a 31.1% increase on the previous year:
- changes in scope in 2009 and 2010 generated €812.6m in new revenue;
- exchange-rate differences between 2009 and 2010 contributed €166.2m to 2010 revenue;
- at constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation, revenue rose 11.6% (+€578.2m) on 2009.
All the divisions contributed to revenue growth, especially the Freight Forwarding Division, which accounts for more than one-third of Group revenue and which posted growth of 50.4%. That increase can be attributed to higher freight prices and a recovery in volumes of air freight (+40%) and sea freight (+22%), especially between Asia and Europe.
SNCF Group Finances: Total
2010
Guillaume Pepy, Chairman of SNCF, commented "Revenue in the year rebounded to partly make up for the slump in 2009, despite two extended strikes that cost the business €240m in EBITDA."
In 2010, the company recorded revenues of €30,466m, an increase of 22.4% compared to 2009. The group's EBITDA increased by 28.1% from €1,688m to €2,163m.
2009
SNCF group revenues were €24,882m for the 2009 financial year, a decline of 1.2% on 2008 figures. Operating profit decreased significantly by 85% to €145m, resulting in a profit margin of 0.58%.
The company outlined the losses created by Fret SNCF as having the biggest affect upon the company's finances in 2009. It also reported that a significant decline in the activity of SNCF Geodis contributed to decreased revenues. Employee expenses also impacted upon operating profits due to a €574m increase in employee benefits expense. Note: 2008 figures recalculated.
Geodis Finances: Archive
2009
Total
2009 revenue decreased by €649m compared to 2008 (-8.1%). On a constant Group structure basis, revenue declined by 16.7%, -19.5% for STVA, considering the automotive market and -21.5% for Fret SNCF.
The €649 million decrease was primarily due to
- a decline in activity by €1,291m in all division segments:
- €812m for Geodis, including €216m for the Parcel Delivery and Express division and €436m for the Freight Forwarding division;
- €343m for Fret SNCF: a 26.5 GTK (Giga Tonnes per Kilometre) decline (26.5 GTK in 2009 vs. 35.9 GTK in 2008);
- positive Group structure impacts in the amount of €688m
- a negative foreign exchange impact of €46m, primarily for the Geodis Freight Forwarding division.
The €318m decline in gross profit was attributable to:
- the €120m decrease in Geodis' profit, the decline in business being partially offset by cost savings;
- the €204m decline in Fret SNCF's profit, including €30m arising from the provision for the gradual cessation of activity and €37m from the non-recurring impact of the electricity price adjustment recognised in 2008 in respect of 2007;
- a negative Group structure impact of €8m, mainly within the Geodis Supply Chain Optimisation (SCO) division, whose roll-out required integration and transformation costs.
2008
SNCF Group Total
Group revenue amounted to €25,188m in 2008, for an increase of €1,628m compared to 2007. The 7% increase was attributable for €375m to the external growth of the Transport and Logistics division (primarily the 2008 acquisitions of Rohde & Liesenfeld, ITL, Oughtred & Harrison and the consolidation of Wilson over 12 months).
The organic growth of the other divisions breaks down as follows:
- Infrastructure and Engineering: €282m, 6%
- Local Transport: €427m, 7%
- Passenger France Europe: €553m, 8%.
Current operating profit stood at €980m.
2007
Total
At the end of January Geodis gave an early indication as to the state of the European freight industry in 2007 and prospects for 2008.
Headline revenue for the full year 2007 was up 26.4%, including its acquisition of Wilson from TNT, and 5.4% on a like-for-like basis. Management commented that the group's performance was lifted by a very strong third quarter and sustained growth in the fourth quarter. All business divisions contributed to the increase.
Geodis' groupage revenue (37% of the total) rose 5.3% compared with the previous year. Its French home market revenue experienced a 7.2% rise at €1,426m. Volumes continued to grow in the second half, while price rises, mainly from passing on higher diesel costs, also contributed to the increase.
The group's Euromatic division and groupage businesses in other European countries contributed €360.1m to consolidated revenue, down 5.2% compared with 2006. The decline was mainly due to the discontinuation of loss-making operations in Germany and a December strike by Italian road hauliers.
The freight forwarding division, including Wilson from February 2007, reported a doubling of revenue, helped by like-for-like growth of 10.3%. Asia saw revenue grow 32% like-for-like to €441m, whilst in southern Europe the division generated revenue of €663.9m, an increase of 8.7% like-for-like. Management stated that it considered the operational integration of Wilson now complete.
Contract logistics revenue for 2007 rose 4.4% on a reported basis and 4.1% like-for-like. The rapid expansion of automotive logistics business and the start-up of new contracts in the second half helped to lift revenue for the year to €832.7m.
Full truckload revenue, corresponding mainly to Geodis BM's road haulage operations, totalled €584.7m, unchanged from the previous year.
The results are a good sign for other European logistics operators in Geodis' peer group such as DSV, Schenker and DHL. They show that there is as yet very little sign of a consumer-driven slowdown. Geodis' comments about a solid fourth quarter offer encouragement that fears of a European recession on the back of US economic weakness are possibly being over-played.
Revenue by Geographic Region % to Total
Performances were very uneven across the division in terms of both growth and profitability.
Whereas Groupage in Europe saw revenue decline in 2007, Groupage in France continued to enjoy sustained revenue growth of 7.3%, mainly due to:
- Further growth in volumes, particularly in the first half of the year
- The full-year impact of new contracts, especially the FedEx contract
- Price adjustments in France following the sharp increase in diesel prices and the cost impact of adapting the Express transport plan to new speed limits applicable to the types of vehicle used.
Owing to these effects, Groupage in France generated revenue of €1,426m, up €96.9m from the previous year. Profit from ordinary activities in France, corresponding to the Calberson network and France Express, stood at €61.0m, representing an operating margin of 4.3%. The 2007 figure was stable with respect to the €60.9m reported in 2006. Operating margin was down compared to 2006 due to new contracts start-up costs and the cost impact of adjusting the transport plan to new speed limits.
In a continuation of the previous year's trend, Groupage in Europe reported a profit from ordinary activities loss of €20.6m for revenue of €286.1m compared with a loss of €17.8m for revenue of €288.9m in 2006.
In Spain, the loss amounted to €9.7m for revenue of €78.6m. Local managers were replaced during the first half of the year and a restructuring plan was implemented in the second half. Most of the major operational difficulties concerned the Barcelona branch.
In Italy, revenue was down by 3.4% due to the impact of the Italian transport workers' nationwide strike in December. Despite the strike, a less pronounced loss of €4.6m was reported in 2007, versus €6.0m in 2006.
In Germany, the Groupage business was terminated on 31 December 2007 after generating a €2.6m loss in 2006 and a €2.9m loss in 2007 for revenue of €8.2m.
While the Euromatic specialised distribution network saw a bigger €5.7m loss in 2007 (€3.4m in 2006), the business seemed to be on the way to recovery, with a smaller loss reported in the second half than in the first.
Contract Logistics
The Contract Logistics division reported revenue of €832.7m, an increase of 4.4% or €35.1m over 2006, including like-for-like growth of 4.1%.
The termination of loss-making contracts in 2006 and the decrease in business with IBM were offset by new contract launches in France and Benelux as well as by geographical and business expansion affecting respectively the countries of Eastern Europe and the automotive and reverse logistics sectors.
Profit from ordinary activities stood at €23.9m versus €27.3m in 2006.
The decrease was mainly attributable to Spain and the IBM contract's reduced revenue contribution, with the majority of the other countries and regions reporting an improvement.
In Germany, revenue came in at €94.9m for 2007 versus €92.8m for 2006, up 2.3%. The termination of a loss-making contract with Thomson in 2006 adversely affected revenue but had a positive impact on the profitability of operations.
In Eastern Europe and Greece, revenue continued to rise in 2007 to total €118.3m versus €109.1m in 2006, representing a full-year increase of 8.4%. The region's robust performance limited the impact of losses and major contract terminations in Romania and Russia recognised in 2006 and in first quarter 2007. Growth accelerated over the year to reach 14.9% in the fourth quarter.
Profit from ordinary activities in Eastern Europe came to €3.3m in 2007 versus €1.5m in 2006 due to the termination of a loss-making contract in Russia in the second half of 2006, the turnaround of contracts in Hungary and continued growth in the automotive sector.
Revenue for the Logistics business in Benelux reached €86.4m in 2007 versus €75.8 m in 2006, signalling a return to growth. The business saw increased volumes with major clients such as Lexmark and IBM, in particular, as well as the launch of a new contract with Moët-Hennessy in Belgium. Together, these developments offset the loss on the Dell contract in 2006.
In the United Kingdom, revenue stood at €46.6m, down €13.5m from 2006 due to the combined effect of the termination of a Dell contract in first-half 2006 and lower PC distribution volumes in Europe for IBM/Lenovo. The United Kingdom reported profit from ordinary activities of €3.2m in 2007 versus €4.8m in 2006.
In Ireland, revenue climbed 1.4% to €48.6m from €47.9m in 2006. Profit from ordinary activities stood at €3.6m in 2007 versus €2.8m in 2006.
Freight Forwarding
The Freight Forwarding division, including Wilson from February 2007, reported revenue of €1,690.1m in 2007 versus €807.0m in 2006, up 109.4%, including like-for-like growth of 10.3%.
The Air Freight and Sea Freight Forwarding businesses made relatively equal contributions to Geodis Wilson's revenue, representing 37% and 43% of the total, respectively. Industrial Projects accounted for slightly more than €200m of billings, representing roughly 12% of the division"s total revenue.
In the area of industrial projects, volumes handled for Exxon decreased, as the long-term contract launched with that customer five years ago reached a maturity phase.
Profit from ordinary activities came to €46.8m (€17.5m in 2006), representing 2.8% of the division's revenue. This sharp increase was attributable to the following developments:
- The consolidation of Wilson over the eleven months from 5 February 2007 gave a material boost to Group operating profit.
- The initial impact of synergies arising on the new network"s creation added roughly €3m to operating profit.
- The 10% like-for-like increase in revenue and the elimination of loss-making facilities in Asia raised the operating profit level of Geodis' Asian subsidiaries.
However, industrial projects, including the Exxon contract in particular, made a lesser contribution than in 2006.
Road Transport
The Full Truckload (Road) division generated revenue of €584.7m, up 1.2% from €578.0m in 2006.
The division includes the road transport activities of Geodis Bourgey Montreuil in France and of the latter's subsidiaries in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Eastern Europe.
Revenue was virtually unchanged in like-for-like terms, up 0.2% from 2006, as it was impacted by the termination of a retailing contract at the end of first-quarter 2007. Growth accelerated however in the second half of the year with the launch of new contracts, in particular with Nestlé Waters.
Profit from ordinary activities rose to €9m in 2007 from €5m in 2006.
2006
Total
In March 2007 Geodis published its annual results showing a big recovery in both profits and revenue growth. Revenue increased 5.3% over the year to €3.8bn, but operating profits increased 24.6% to €106.4m whilst net income increased by a third to €48.4m.
Cost cutting played a substantial part in the increased profitability of the company, with the previously loss-making business in Italy breaking even. In positive terms, Geodis' growth businesses were its transport activities - LTL, Express and Freight Forwarding.
The tough French road transport market was delivering growth, whilst Geodis Express activities were being helped by its new relationship with FedEx. Geodis was also experiencing growth outside Europe, particularly through its Freight Forwarding business, although the exposure to East Asia should not be exaggerated as it accounts for only €200m of revenue.
Contract logistics appeared to be doing less well with falls in revenue over the year and the company stating that both the core high tech and automotive sectors were doing poorly.
In announcing this year's results, Geodis' management restated a target of 40% growth in revenue by 2007 and a profit margin target of 4%. The revenue target will be helped by its purchase of TNT's Freight Forwarding operations in the last quarter of 2006, not included in these results.
With the acquisition Geodis became one of the world's top ten Freight Forwarders with combined revenues of €1.6bn. However what this will do for return on capital is unclear as Geodis paid a generous €460m to buy TNT's Freight Forwarding operations .
The company does suffer from a lack of differentiation and lacks global presence compared to its bigger German rivals. Normally this might lead Geodis to be vulnerable to takeover - possibly from a group as openly acquisitive as Deutsche Bahn or even from a Private Equity group which could inject capital in order to expand through acquisition but this was unlikely to happen.
Geodis was still part owned by SNCF, the French state owned railway company and although SNCF may well be willing to sell its 44% stake in part or in its entirety, any buyer would have to be approved at the political level. The government has in the past opposed the sale of French businesses to acquisitive foreign rivals, majorly reducing the number of companies which could be interested.
The consolidated financial statements of June 30th 2007 will include 5 months of TFM results.
In early January 2007 Geodis announced a financial update ahead of the release of its full year results. With quarterly revenue approaching the billion-euro level for the first time, the fourth quarter of 2006 marked a revenue increase of 3.0% over the prior-year period. This growth lifted the Group's annual revenue to €3,784.8m - a 5.3% increase over 2005.
In France, annual growth was supported both by high volumes in Groupage (LTL) and Express in the last quarter of 2006 and by air and sea freight forwarding business. The reduction of volume in contract logistics in the high tech industry and the slowdown of automobile production partially offset these sources of growth.
In Europe, annual revenue increased by 3.2%. According to management, Italy turned the corner in 2006, showing positive growth. At the same time, development of new contracts in Eastern Europe and Germany continued. Trends of the prior quarters in high-tech contract volumes weighed on revenue in Benelux and the United Kingdom.
Asia and the rest of the world posted growth of 21.6% with strong development in China.
Operations: Overview
2010
| SNCF Geodis Structure |
|
|
| Source: SNCF |
SNCF Geodis provides:
- Global offerings (through Geodis and STVA)
- Freight transport by rail (rail companies, combined transport and rail services)
- Asset management (long-term leasing of wagons, tankers, containers and train engines).
Operations: Geodis Group
2010
The Geodis group is based in Europe and has a worldwide scope with a network covering 120 countries (own name operations in 60 countries) and approximately 30,000 employees.
| Operations: Geodis Group |
 |
| Source: Geodis |
Its services cover the whole supply chain, including:
- Groupage and express
- Freight forwarding - air and sea transport services
- Logistics - local storage, high added-value services, reverse logistics
- Road - transport of full loads
- Global coverage
The Geodis group is divided into five core business division:
- Geodis Calberson - Groupage and Express
- Geodis Logistics - Contractual Logistics
- Geodis BM - Road division
- Geodis Wilson - Freight Management Division
- Geodis Global Supply Chain Optimisation
Operations: Freight Forwarding (Geodis Wilson)
2010
Geodis Wilson, the Freight Forwarding Division of Geodis since November 2008, has an integrated network spanning 250 offices in 50 countries and 6,400 employees. Its offering includes air and sea freight forwarding, management of major industrial projects and customs solutions. The company is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
It manages and oversees a range of freight forwarding operations for air, sea and sea-air freight, combined with track and trace tools and value-added services. The integrated solutions are tailored to the specific needs of shippers in the following sectors: pharmaceuticals, consumer and retail goods, high-tech, aviation, automotive, oil and gas. Value-added services include: bonded transit platform, controlled temperature transit platforms approved for health products, KPI management, consulting etc. Geodis Wilson also provides turnkey solutions for international projects and industrial projects (installation of offshore pipelines, relocation of industrial plants, out-of-gauge transport and more). It also provides consultancy services and full management of global flows for companies of all sizes.
Operations: Groupage/Express (Geodis Calberson)
2010
Geodis Calberson has a network of 154 sites covering 25 countries in Europe, and employs approximately 11,000 staff. Its offering is based on a wide range of services: groupage, express, parcels, part and full loads and specialist distribution. These services rely on four distinct networks:
- Geodis Calberson - groupage
- France Express - domestic express transport
- Geodis Euromatic - specialist distribution Parcel network - with the acquisition of Ciblex, this service meets the needs of e-commerce, as well as the sectors of health products, optics, advanced technology and spare parts.
|
Geodis Calberson |
| Employees |
11,000 |
| Vehicles |
5,000 |
| Shipments per year |
36,000,000 |
| Source: Geodis |
The Groupage division offers three different services: domestic groupage, letters and parcels (in cooperation with La Poste) and international groupage (consolidate shipments of 3 tonnes or less). The Groupage division includes all the Geodis Group's French subsidiaries operating in the Groupage and Express transport businesses, the Groupage & Distribution businesses in Italy, Spain, the UK and Germany as well as the Euromatic specialised distribution network operating in France and Belgium.
Operations: Contract Logistics (Geodis Logistics)
2010
|
Contract Logistics (Geodis Logistics) |
|
Employees |
5,000 |
|
Sites in Europe |
170 |
|
Warehouse area |
3,000,000 sq m |
|
Source: Geodis |
The division provides services for the following sectors:
- High-tech
- Retail
- Healthcare and cosmetics
- Automotive
- Industry
Operations: Road (Geodis BM)
2010
Geodis BM, the road division of Geodis, is based at 77 sites in France and across Europe, has 350,000 sq m of warehouse and logistics space, a fleet of 6,000 vehicles and employs 3,500 members of staff. Its fleet includes: 1,800 tractors, 3,300 semi-trailers and 840 tankers.
The company has a sector-based organisation structure to target individual business sectors, the five divisions are:
- retail
- chemicals-gas
- automotive
- industry
- press.
The Full Truckload division includes the road transport activities of Geodis Bourgey Montreuil in France and the subsidiaries in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Eastern Europe. Growth of the division was accelerated in the latter part of 2007 after the launch of a contract with Nestle Waters.
|
Road (Geodis BM) |
| Employees |
3,500 |
| Tractors |
1,800 |
| Semi-trailers |
3,300 |
| Source: Geodis |
Operations: Supply Chain Optimisation Division (Geodis)
2010
This offering is based on the integration of global solutions at each stage of the supply chain and for each geographical region, by a partner selected to provide a service with the best guarantees of excellence and competitive performance. It is based on a network of 1,500 employees in 50 countries worldwide, management of more than 500 sub-contractors and €1.5bn in transport and logistics purchases.
Operations: STVA
2010
STVA is a subsidiary of SNCF and part of the SNCF Geodis (Transport and Logistics) division, along with the Geodis Group. It is headquartered in Paris, France and provides finished vehicle logistics, with a strong presence among automobile manufacturers and renters throughout Europe and transports 6m vehicles a year.
It has nearly 7,800 wagons and 1,700 road units and is a European leader in the finished vehicle logistics market. STVA has 2,500 employees. The company also has a network of depots and PDI facilities.
Its own rail fleet is complemented by a network of alliances in Belgium, Spain, Germany, Poland and Italy with finished vehicle logistics companies.
Its network of alliances includes:
-
Transportvoiture in Belgium
-
Werner Egerland and Helf in Germany
-
Ambrostetti Autologistics and its subsidiary Sitfa in Italy
-
Transfesa (mutual shareholding) and Setram in Spain
-
Mostva in Poland
| STVA Logistics Centres Network |
 |
| Source: STVA |
Operations: 2011 News
2011
September - Geodis announced that, as of October 6, it would begin making deliveries for Carrefour in Lille using a hybrid refrigerated trailer truck. A new initiative in Geodis' Distripolis urban logistics system, this first-of-its-kind service would mean deliveries to the six Carrefour stores in the Lille city centre would be both cleaner and quieter.
In May 2010, Geodis teamed up with Renault Trucks to test a unique hybrid vehicle equipped with a cryogenic refrigeration unit. The vehicle was proposed to several customers for testing, and the retailer Carrefour was first to request the new vehicle. A perfect fit with Carrefour's sustainable development strategy, this 26-tonne hybrid truck that complied with the Euro 5 standard would begin delivering goods to Carrefour stores in Lille starting in October.
The thermal engine–electric motor combo in hybrid trucks lowered diesel consumption by an average of 20%. This represented an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of 10 tonnes. The use of liquid nitrogen, a non-toxic substance that emitted no CO2, as the refrigeration fluid made this vehicle even more environmentally friendly. This vehicle also had separate transport compartments, so both fresh produce and dry goods could be delivered. In addition, the cooling unit lowered the temperature twice as fast, making the truck particularly useful for the transport of vegetables.
Operations: 2010 News
2010
December - SNCF Geodis was implementing a new global Transport Management System for its Freight Management division, Geodis Wilson. The new platform would be developed together with CargoWise, a global leader in logistics software. In December, both companies signed a contract to develop and implement the new system within the next three years.
The new TMS was based on ediEnterprise, CargoWise's award winning platform. It would gradually bring operational, financial and customer relationship management processes under one unified umbrella, resulting in faster and increasingly transparent information flows to the customers as well as increasing operational efficiency. The underlying single-file-concept linked all relevant information together in one consistent database. It would be launched as of next year, starting in Europe and Asia-Pacific, and the full implementation would be part of a three year development process. In total, Geodis Group would be investing €20m into this project.
"We were not only looking for the best, currently available system in the market. More precisely, we were focusing on the future capabilities of different products and service providers, their flexibility and the potential speed of innovation. In other words, we were looking for a partnership that enables us to position Geodis technically ahead of the market, both in the near future and also in the long run", said the Chief Information Officer at Geodis Wilson.
CargoWise CEO said: "Our product matches Geodis's vision of the 'single file' which at CargoWise we call OEDO or Only Enter Data Once. We recognise that this partnership will continue to drive our innovation, dramatically broaden the global footprint of our product and business and give substantial benefits to all parties involved."
August - Geodis Wilson expanded its Atlanta operations into a new, larger facility encompassing 84,000 sq ft (7,800 sq m). The Atlanta operation provided air freight, ocean freight, customs brokerage, domestic forwarding, warehousing & distribution and other freight management solutions. Geodis Wilson Atlanta was also a primary US air freight gateway to Europe, with regular consolidations. "The newly expanded Atlanta facility will be a model for future growth and expansion in the US market for Geodis Wilson," commented the Chief Operating Officer Eastern USA.
"The well established trend in manufacturing growth throughout the Southeast has been apparent for quite some time with increases in export and import activity," said the newly appointed Southeast US Regional Manager and acting Branch Manager for Atlanta. "With our newly expanded warehouse and gateway, and with our enhanced security and compliance programmes, we are in a prime position to service the market's continually growing freight transportation needs in the critical industries throughout the area including automotive, industrial manufacturing, fast moving consumer goods, aviation and furniture."
Geodis Wilson had also invested in the necessary infrastructure in Atlanta to become one of several new Certified Cargo Screening Facilities (CCSFs) in the United States. This investment provided Geodis Wilson with the equipment, facility, security enhancements and trained staff in order to provide shippers with a fast, efficient, secure, and predictable cost option for screening freight in compliance with the TSA's (Transportation Security Administration) new 100% cargo screening mandate for all passenger aircraft.
Geodis Wilson Atlanta served as the airfreight gateway for the entire region, including Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and parts of Florida and Virginia.
March - Geodis Wilson has opened a new airfreight office in Dubai. In the first of three service developments this year in the United Arab Emirates, global forwarder and logistics services provider Geodis Wilson has opened a new airfreight office in Dubai to support increasing demand for this service mode as well as its advancing sea-air product. Based in Dubai's busy Cargo Village, the new office will employ 22 people.
The new facility will handle freight from up to ten inbound flights daily - mainly from Europe and the Far East - as well as sea-air cargo originating as ocean freight from the Geodis Wilson network in the Far East, which is switched from the nearby Jebel Ali port to air cargo on Dubai flights bound for European destinations. The new office will also be involved in customs clearance, general forwarding, supply chain management, warehousing and customs clearance activities. Geodis Wilson, which is ranked among Dubai's top ten forwarders, employs a total of 70 people in the Emirate and has its regional headquarters at nearby Jebel Ali, where ocean freight activities are also carried out.
Early indications suggest that Geodis Wilson"s year-on-year activity in Dubai is currently growing at more than 10 per cent across all modes. There is particular strength in the sea-air business, which allows shippers to save on the cost of a total airfreight movement from the Far East to Europe, while offering substantial transit time savings over an end-to-end ocean freight movement. Sea-air demand is particularly strong from the textile and hi-tech sectors. The second significant milestone for Geodis Wilson in the UAE will be the opening of an Abu Dhabi office during the second quarter. Within this region, the company also has offices in Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Later this year, a third landmark event will be the opening of a new regional headquarters in Jebel.
Operations: 2009 News
2009
May - Global freight management company Geodis Wilson has announced the opening of a new dedicated warehouse for pharmaceutical products at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. The new facility will be opened on Wednesday 3rd June.
The new warehouse is dedicated exclusively to the storage and distribution of pharmaceutical products, and complies with all relevant protocols and current standards in the sector. The facility offers:
• quality and integrity control
• truck temperature check
• X Ray security checks
• temperature controlled transit storage
• shipment preparation
• export customs clearance formalities
• handover to airlines
• inventory, reverse management and quarantine facilities
Pharmaceutical products can be stored in a temperature-controlled area divided into two sections, offering one area with a temperature of between +2 and +8, and another with temperatures between +15 and +25◦C. In addition, there is a dedicated area for pharmaceutical goods at ambient temperature.
There is a high degree of security at the Geodis Wilson warehouse, which gives access only to authorised individuals, and is constantly monitored by CCTV. The warehouse is located in the bonded area of Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, and is available to all modes of transport.
June - Following investment at locations in Amiens, Chalons en Champagne, Milan and Paris Bonneuil, Geodis Calberson announced that it had made a further investment in property by opening a new facility for the France Express network in Lyon Corbas.
The secure platform, dedicated to national and European express, was located south-east of Lyon, next to the A46 motorway. The site covered an area of 12,000 sqm with 168 gates and could process and sort 2,400 parcels per hour.
The platform would provide daily lines to many destinations throughout Europe as well as enabling next-day delivery before midday to 36,000 cities in France, with 90 daily departures.
"Through this investment, Geodis Calberson and France Express confirm their commitment to strengthening their leadership in Express for the manufacturing sector," said the Vice-President, Groupage Division.
October - Global freight management company Geodis Wilson has launched the US headquarters of its specialist Industrial Projects Division in Houston to be closer to the decision-making centers of a growing client base that needs global transportation to site of major generators, turbines, large volumes of pipes, mining and construction equipment and desalination plants, along with associated support and control.
Geodis Wilson already meets the demands of oil and gas, engineering, drilling and engineering procurement contractors (EPCs) based in the Houston area, providing a one-stop shop for transport management by truck, barge, air and ocean, as well as offering order expediting, customs brokerage, storage and inventory functions, materials management and distribution. It serves as a national center of excellence for the US and will service projects through other areas, including the eastern seaboard and Pacific coast.
Essential in serving this sector is provision of an industrial packing capability, which Geodis Wilson’s Industrial Projects Division meets through its own 65,000 sq ft (6,000 sq m) packing and temporary and long-term storage warehouse close to Houston Airport, complete with two acres of outside area for marshalling heavy plant and project equipment. Supplementing this facility, a mobile packing team will service projects at the docks where necessary.
In tandem with the technical and commercial capabilities required, the division also provides the wider expertise and support now demanded, ensuring control of infrastructure at both ends of the operation.
Geodis Wilson sees further potential development in the industrial projects activity, which has been strengthened by the acquisitions of TNT Freight Management and Rohde & Liesenfeld, attracting raft of new clients worldwide. Revenues have doubled over the past three years and further expansion is anticipated over the next five years. The Houston office, which has grown its staff from just 15 at the start of 2009 and is expected to comprise a team of 80 by the end of 2010, joins a global Industrial Projects Division network of competence centers in 34 countries. Other scheduled launches include Abu Dhabi, Dammam and Rio de Janeiro. Algeria and Libya have also joined the network.
Geodis groups it's services into four areas: Multi-business offer, Consulting offer, Sector-based and Information system
1. Multi - Business Offer
Supply Chain Management
Geodis offers its customers supply chain-oriented logistics services at three levels:
- Upstream advice
- Network design, modeling, sharing of experience, etc.
- Activities related to the execution of transport and logistics
- All or part of the customer's supply chain.
- Execution of all or part of logistics services at the national and European levels
- Multi-modal transport, pre-production logistics, inter-site flow management, post-production logistics, distribution, etc.
Distribution/Express
- Priority service, express, couriers, batches and full loads
- Geodis Calberson for France, Geodis Iberia for Spain and Geodis Vitesse for the Netherlands
Logistics Services
- Factory inflow/outflow logistics: receipt, stock management, provisioning of production chains, quality control, customs/tax representation
- Distributor storage logistics: receipt, stock management, order preparation
- Cross-docking: receipt, consolidation of pre-allotted orders, distribution
- PFE (wayport): preparation of orders in tight flows based on receipts (non-allotted) for the day
- Value-added services: personalisation, packaging, assembly, co-packing, etc
- Call centre, sales administration: order taking, management of disputes
- Distribution: distribution oversight (air & sea freight, batches, 1/2 batches, priority service, express), specialised distribution with installation at user site, start-up.
Full Truck Loads
Geodis BM has developed services in shipping goods:
- full loads and partial batches
- shipping on demand
- dedicated or rental
- direct flows or platform-oriented
- delivery trips and inter-site trips
Geodis BM has also invested in the combined rail-road mode:
- reservation of a Geodis BM dedicated line to ensure a daily roundtrip liaison between Paris and Northern France and Italy
- purchase of swap bodies to offer an adaptable fleet.
BM Pack Service: organises the logistics chain of IBCs (rental, transport, washing, storage, maintenance, computerized follow-up and tracking).
Geodis BM is split into five divisions:
- Gas-Chemicals Division
- General Cargo Division
- Automobile Division
- Mass Distribution Division
- Air Press Division
Air and Sea Freight
- Air
- Regular shipping consolidation for all five continents
- Priority service
- Express
- Sea-Air
- Freighting
- Standby capacity
- Maritime
- Full container loads (FCL)
- Weekly shipping consolidation for the entire world (LCL)
- Personalised consolidated shipping (LCL/FCL)
- NVOCC Operator
- Conventional transport
- Space protection
|
Geodis Air and Sea Freight Services |
|
 |
|
Source: Geodis |
- Customs formalities
- Industrial projects
- Feasibility studies
- Logistical engineering
- Operations planning
- Transport and delivery turnkey factories
- Transit and customs
- Areas of focus
- Air, maritime and logistics to and from Northern Africa
- Freighting
- Custom tracking and tracing
- Advice
- Insurance
- Customs bonding and non-bonded warehousing
In 2005 Geodis launched the new Aerodis service which is dedicated to air freight forwarding:
- Aerodis Premium is an express air service: a direct link from airport to airport in one or two days worldwide.
- Aerodis Expedite combines the constraints of speed and price to offer links in three or four days from airport to airport.
- Aerodis Charter gives the customer the opportunity to use all or part of a chartered plane.
- Aerodis Export is a "hand carry" service: Geodis teams deliver the parcels by hand (sensitive, perishable, dangerous, or very fragile products).
- Aerodis Sea-Air provides a solution to capacity problems and problems of waiting in peak periods between Asia and Europe: sea transport to Dubai replaced by air transport to the final destination guarantees an exact timeframe.
- Aerodis Door-to-Door proposes a global range of services from collection to final delivery.
Reverse Logistics
Geodis manages and coordinates the end-of-life product process, call centres, regulatory statistics, end-to-end traceability throughout the reverse logistics chain:
- Environmental regulations : pollution control, recycling, safe disposal or recovery of material in accordance with environmental standards, issuing Waste Transfer Note (WTNs), etc.
- Transport and logistics : interfacing collection points, obtaining, managing and archiving authorisations to transport waste, providing containers for regular collection, collection by appointment, warehousing, inventory management, spare part management etc.
- Treatment (technical skills) : managing call centres, disconnections/connections, cleaning, sorting/testing, updating software, reconditioning, asset stripping (salvaging parts in good working order), repairs, dismantling
- Managing recovery processes :extracting of valuable metals and other recyclable materials, reselling spare parts and refitted products, etc.
2. Consulting Offer
Geodis offers services through four divisions: Groupage, Contract Logistics, Full truck loads and freight forwarding. The main areas of consultancy are:
- Network Design
- Flow management, Manageing Vendor, Lead Logistics Provider
- Ad-Hoc Solutions Design
- Project Management.
3. Sector Based Offer
Geodis has designed a range of services for various industry sectors:
- Automotive
- Consumer Goods
- Health and Cosmetics
- High Tech / Multimedia
- Home and Leisure
- Industry and Technologies
- Luxury
- Retail
4. Information Systems
Geodis operate a number of information systems to support its transport and logistics services including:
- CRISTAL
- E-Sp@ce
- EDI
- Geodis IS
- Geodis BM IS
- Logistics IS
- Onboard Systems
2009
Strengths
- Geodis has a very strong base in the French market from which to develop.
- The company has high-level links with French multinationals, which helps overseas expansion.
- Geodis has a complementary mix of logistics activities to supply a full range of services to clients.
- Having a large parent company such as SNCF has provided Geodis with substantial investment resources.
- Management has shown the willingness to undertake a range of innovative partnerships and acquisitions to build the business.
Weaknesses
- The acquisition of TNT Freight Management (now Geodis Wilson) still left 'white spots' in global forwarding scope until the full impact of its out-sourcing deal with IBM is realised.
- Now totally controlled by state-owned SNCF, strategy development is subject to influences by government policy.
- It is has relatively few operations in the Americas, Middle East or in the China and Indian markets.
Opportunities
- The company is continuing to extend its worldwide scope in line with the needs of its clients.
- Geodis has operations in Central and Eastern Europe, which will also be a strong growth market.
- Further development of its logistics division in the contract logistics market will see revenues and margins grow.
- The company can complete more 'carve outs' and joint ventures (such as with French multinational Thales and IBM) to grow logistics revenue and operations quickly.
- Geodis is well positioned in the growing recycling and reverse logistics sectors.
Threats
- Many of Geodis' operating divisions are smaller than its European competitors in a market where scale is important.
- The high exposure to the European road freight sector will leave the company vulnerable to falling volumes.
- The high exposure in the French market could leave the company vulnerable to the continued economic slowdown in the country's economy.
- Regional competitors such as Kuehne + Nagel will make the French market even more competitive.
Mergers Acquisitions: 2011
2011
September - The Geodis Group strengthened its position on the healthcare market and consolidated its offering with the acquisition of the pharmaceutical pre-wholesaler Pharmalog.
Pharmalog was a pharmaceuticals logistics and distribution company based in Val de Reuil in Normandy, France. It had 50,000 sq m of storage space and a workforce of 150. Pharmalog had revenue of €18m.
The new entity would carry out a full range of value-added operations: sales administration, customer debt recovery, repackaging, management of free medical samples, etc. It had nine specialised platforms in France (warehouses, clean rooms, controlled temperature premises, etc.) a workforce of almost 500 employees.
In the long term, this organisation would be deployed Europe-wide, based on operations already carried out for the health sector by Geodis Logistics in Benelux, Ireland and Italy. At the same time, Pharmalog customers would gain access to all the dedicated services in logistics, distribution and international transport delivered by the Geodis Group to healthcare professionals.
The CEO of Geodis, said: "This new vertical offering places Geodis among the top three players in healthcare logistics in France, as well as opening broad new prospects in Europe. This organisation will bring real benefits for customers since it is a close fit with the services developed by the cross-cutting entity Geodis Global Solutions and the other divisions of the Geodis Group: Groupage & Express, Contract Logistics, Freight Management and Road."
Mergers Acquisitions: 2010
2010
November - SNCF Geodis, the transport and logistics division of the SNCF Group, has acquired the shares of Caisse des Depots et Consignations and Vinci Concessions in Lorry-Rail, increasing its holding in the company from 12.5% to over 50%.
Founded in 2007, Lorry-Rail transports unaccompanied semi-trailers and swap bodies via rail motorway between Perpignan and Luxembourg. The 1,050 km line connects the Bettembourg and Le Boulou platforms.
July - The European Commission (EC) approved, in accordance with the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition by Geodis of sole control of Giraud, an international road freight group.
In a statement issued last week, the EC said it had concluded that the transaction "would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it".
The EC explained that Geodis was a global logistics chain and goods transport operator active mainly in France. It was a subsidiary of SNCF-P, a holding company which managed SNCF's shareholdings, particularly with regard to rail freight transport, combined transport, freight wagon hire, resource management and port handling. Giraud was an international road freight group active in commissioning freight forwarding, logistics and road freight services in Europe.
"By the notified transaction, Geodis aims to acquire sole control of the four areas of the Giraud group's activity (Central and Eastern Europe, steel industry, northern Europe and France, and southern Europe). There are no significant overlaps between the parties' activities," stated the EC.
"The proposed transaction will result in a vertical relationship between, on the one hand, SNCF's rail freight transport services and, on the other, Giraud's land‑based freight forwarding activities (including freight forwarding by rail and road).
"The Commission has examined the effects of the proposed transaction and confirmed that there would be no incentive for SNCF to restrict access to its rail transport services following the merger because Giraud specialises in commissioning road transport, and because there are strong competitors in the freight forwarding sector who are important clients of SNCF."
April - Geodis' acquisition of French parcels company Ciblex, announced on 17 March, was closed on 22 April, with Ciblex becoming an integral part of the Groupage Division of the Geodis group. Ciblex will provide the Group's new "0-30 kg parcels" network.
The parcel service would broaden the Group's range of small parcel solutions, especially in e-commerce, health, optics, high-tech products and spare parts, sectors in which Ciblex plays a leading role. With a 700-strong workforce and more than 700 subcontractors, Ciblex was a specialised autonomous network able to manage late collections, up to 8 pm in Ile-de-France, for next-day deliveries before 8 am, 9 am, 10 am or midday, depending on the service required. The agreement will also round out the Geodis transport offering in Belgium.
March - Following the acquisition of Giraud's Steel division and Central and Eastern Europe division in July 2009, Geodis had entered into exclusive negotiations to buy its two remaining divisions, Northern Europe and Southern Europe (full and partial truckload road transport). The company said this would allow it to expand its European coverage, particularly in Spain. Giraud was the third-largest road freight carrier in Spain, and a major player in France.
Geodis commented that the transaction would be concluded very quickly, after employees had been informed and after approval by the competition authorities, who were expected to rule on the acquisition by the end of the first half of 2010.
"Giraud's corporate culture is close to ours," said the director of the Geodis Road division. "It has a centralized organization, strong culture of operational excellence and management tools that are similar to ours. These factors, along with our successful experience with the Steel division and Central and Eastern Europe division, augur well for a successful integration."
"For Geodis BM, this acquisition is an opportunity to build a true European network and to play a full role in the Group's global end-to-end offering. With this new network, the revenue of Geodis BM will exceed one billion euros, based on the expertise of its 5,000 employees," concluded the CEO of Geodis.
In addition in early March Geodis SA announced the acquisition of BSL Bertola Servizi Logistici S.p.A. Based in Pavia, Italy, BSL provides warehousing and logistics services to the consumer goods, textiles and automotive industries. Bertola provides contract logistics services from its base in Veneto, Italy. Terms were not disclosed.
March - Geodis acquired Ciblex, France's fourth-ranked groupage operator and a specialist in small parcel express delivery. Geodis said that it was pursuing several objectives through the acquisition.
It wished to:
- Reinforce its position in the parcel service, a market that had developed considerably over the last few years mainly with the growth of e-commerce in which Ciblex was a leading operator.
- Develop its technical expertise specific to parcel processing, relying on an independent network of more than 700 service providers.
- Improve its value-added services offer that met the needs of the Group's customers mainly in the sectors of e-commerce, healthcare, optical, high tech and spare parts.
- Complete the Geodis transport network in Benelux.
The director of the Groupage/Express division, said: "I would like to welcome the Ciblex teams, who share the same values, quality of service and respect of commitments, which are vital for our customers." The deputy CEO of Geodis, concluded: "I am very pleased with this acquisition, which is part of our strategic priorities and enables us to enrich our global European service offering with specific expertise that will attract our international customers."
Mergers Acquisitions: 2009
2009
July - Geodis Calberson has signed a framework agreement to purchase the business of Cool Jet, a major player in the domestic groupage and chartering market in France. The actual transfer of activities will take place on October 1, subject to the approval of competition authorities and Labour groups. Thanks to Cool Jet's portfolio of 5,000 active customers, Geodis Calberson is acquiring the additional volumes needed to ramp up its domestic groupage network to full capacity.
Included in the acqusition are two buildings located in the Paris region (Gennevilliers) and the North region (Lesquin).
In conjunction with this acquisition, Geodis took full control of Prisme, an Economic Interest Group in which Cool Jet had a 50% stake.
"This acquisition contributes to a dynamic of growth that we want to maintain in each of the Geodis divisions. In particular it strengthens our leadership position in France and will accelerate the development of our European groupage activities," said Geodis.
March - Geodis confirmed its intention to acquire part of the activities of another French transport/logistics provider, Giraud International*, namely the metallurgy unit and the Central and Eastern Europe area division.
"The two entities provide essential synergies with Fret SNCF and Bourgey Montreuil," said Geodis in an official company statement. "Once the acquisition is definitive and the competition authorities have given their approval, the metallurgy unit will be integrated in the full Truck Load division of the Geodis group and the Central and Eastern Europe division in the Logistics division of the Geodis group."
Geodis said the businesses concerned were worth over €100m in revenues and corresponded with the SNCF group's strategy of multimodal development. "Sernam has not been discussed," it added. * Giraud International is a limited liability company headquartered in France. According to the company's corporate website, its majority shareholder is Butler Capital Partners, which is also the shareholder of Sernam.
January - Geodis and the Belgian service provider Nova Holding are creating a joint venture that will provide logistics services in the port of Antwerp. Geodis Logistics, the logistics Division of the Geodis group, is signing a joint venture with the logistics service provider Nova Natie, so as to set up a new entity dedicated to the development of logistics activities in the port of Antwerp. The new common entity Geodis Nova Logistics resulting from this joint venture will aim at providing value-added logistics services directly in the port of Antwerp: control of products, labelling, postponement, assembling, kitting, packaging, co-packing,… They will namely concern the manufacturers and distributors willing to optimize their export and import channels in Europe, via the port of Antwerp.
Mergers Acquisitions: 2008
2008
December - SNCF had significantly ramped up its apparent push to try and become as important a player on the global logistics stage as German counterpart and rival Deutsche Bahn.
The group's Transport and Logistics Division business Geodis, which it bought earlier this year after previously being its main shareholder for many years announced it had acquired IBM's internal global logistics operations in an all-cash deal for an undisclosed amount and signed a multi-year outsourcing contract.
Through that contract, stated Geodis, it would be the sole lead logistics provider for IBM, managing approximately €1bn per year of IBM's logistics costs supporting asset recovery services, service parts logistics and flow management of all hardware and software products worldwide.
"This agreement is strategic to reinforce Geodis' position among the world's leading logistics providers capable of delivering end to end solutions to its global clients," claimed Geodis Deputy CEO.
"With this partnership, we will strengthen the skills and expertise required to service both IBM's and our existing and future clients' core logistics needs in more than 120 countries. IBM's global logistics operations will significantly upgrade our services portfolio."
Geodis said it was increasing its investments outside Europe and the new acquisition complemented the company's existing teams. "By leveraging IBM's employees in more than 50 countries across the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific, Geodis' service offering will be enhanced with multinational supply chain experts and an established worldwide platform to enable rapid growth and expansion," it claimed.
Geodis said the IBM transaction, which was expected to close in the first quarter of 2009, was subject to the expiration or the early termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act and the issuance by the EC (European Commission) of a decision declaring the transaction compatible with the EC Common Market as well as to applicable regulatory clearance, local agreements and appropriate and required employee information and consultation processes.
SNCF claims that its Transport and Logistics Division is currently the fourth-largest transport and logistics operator in Europe, with annual revenue of €8.5bn.
June - Geodis Wilson, the forwarding division of French European logistics group Geodis, strengthened its growing business in the UK with the acquisition of Oughtred & Harrison Shipping. Geodis Wilson said that the move would boost its ocean export business and extend its global network coverage in China and Benelux.
O&H Shipping was an air and sea freight forwarder with almost 100 employees, mainly based in northern England, but also in Belgium and China. Serving more than 1,900 customers, O&H would deliver about £35m (€44m) to the Geodis group's net sales.
"The O&H acquisition is an important step in our long term growth ambition and strengthens our presence in the market," commented Geodis Wilson. "The eventual merger of our two companies brings us closer to achieving our objective of being a top five freight management company in the UK. Both from a geographical and from a functional point of view, there are no essential overlaps, which will lead into a straight integration process that will be completed within the next 12 months."
According to Geodis Wilson, the combined businesses at current trading will generate over £90m (€112m) in net sales. Together, it added, they had 290 employees based in 14 locations across the UK.
2007
October - Geodis expanded its freight forwarding capabilities through the purchase of its German partner Rohde & Liesenfeld (finalised in January 2008). Rohde & Liesenfeld had both a sea freight and air freight business with sales of €270m. Its largest business was in Germany, but it had significant exposure to South America, South Africa and Australia.
Geodis bought a stake in Rohde & Liesenfeld worth €13m in 2002 and paid a further €77m to purchase the rest of the company.
With the purchase of Wilson from TNT, Geodis indicated its intention not only to increase its exposure to freight forwarding but also to expand business outside of France through acquisition. Clearly the acquisition of Rohde & Liesenfeld is part of that strategy. It would also contribute to Geodis' CEO, Pierre Blayau's target of increasing revenue to over €5.5bn by 2008.
This new purchase pushed the 'Freight Management' proportion of Geodis business to over 40%. However its freight management business was still smaller than that of Ceva/EGL or Expeditors, let alone the sector leaders such as DHL or Kuehne + Nagel. However, it re-emphasised that Geodis' ambitions lay in competing with the big diversified Logistics Service Providers.
The German freight forwarder does have a slightly different profile to Geodis. It was heavily engaged in project cargo business for the oil, gas and mining sectors, which were areas that had provided lucrative opportunities to other freight forwarders, notably Panalpina. R&L operates mainly in Germany (34% of revenue), Latin America (17%), South Africa (16%) and Australia/New Zealand (14%) and has 710 employees. The acquisition of R&L broadened the geographic reach of the Geodis Wilson network, which gained a significant position in Germany, thereby making Geodis Wilson a major player in German freight forwarding. In addition, the Group benefited from R&L's expertise in handling industrial projects, especially in the oil and gas industry.
Alliances
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European Recycling Platform
2007
October - The European Recycling Platform (ERP), the first independent pan-European WEEE compliance scheme, announced that it had expanded its strategic partnership with Geodis to include Italy as another country in which it acts as the general contractor, in addition to France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and the UK where Geodis currently operates. ERP has been working with Geodis since 2004, when it was selected as the general contractor responsible for ERP's operations in France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and the UK.
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Noyon
2010 A Normandy based transportation company with 30,000 sq m of storage and four branch locations across lower Normandy, France. Geodis maintains a 35.59% interest in the company.
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Sivom (Movis International)
2010
July - Geodis and the Ivory Coast group Sivom announced the creation of a joint entity, Movis International, to broaden their offering and strengthen their position across central and western Africa.
Geodis Wilson, the Geodis group's Freight Management division, had been present in Africa since 1998, mainly operating in air and sea transport commissioning, port consignments and handling, warehousing and logistics for major industrial projects.
Sivom had since 1973 worked in Ivory Coast, Senegal, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in transit and port logistics (stevedoring, consignments and port handling). The two groups decided to bring together their respective sales and local operations (apart from major industrial projects, which would continue to be managed by Geodis Wilson) under the Movis International brand in order to strengthen their market visibility and boost development.
The contributions of Geodis Wilson's African business to Movis International bring the Freight Management division a 40% share of the new entity. Movis International would work in the two partners' current geographic territory, with increased development at major ports in the Gulf of Guinea. Commenting at the signature of the partnership the Chief Executive Officer of Geodis, said: "The African continent is an important operational sector for our freight management business. I am delighted with this partnership with a specialist in this part of the world, one that helps us to considerably increase our respective positions." Thierry Davaille, Managing Director of SIVOM, noted: "Joining our interests in Africa brings us the critical mass necessary to take advantage of all growth opportunities, broaden our range and get the most out of the network effect."
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xpedx
2007
September - US based xpedx and European headquartered Geodis, two major providers of third party logistics services, announced that they had formed a global strategic alliance that enabled both companies to expand their services and geographic reach for customers worldwide.
The alliance offers a full range of logistics services including air, sea, multi-modal transport, asset and inventory management, reverse logistics, demand planning and web-based custom reporting. This alliance complements Geodis' recent acquisition of TNT Freight Management now re-branded to Geodis Wilson, which has a number of freight forwarding activities in the US. The Geodis Group is now able to extend its global offer all over the US.
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Cargoline GmbH
2007
March - Geodis UK, has unveiled plans to extend its European road service product, Eurofirst, into Eastern Europe. Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary will be the first countries to gain the new daily services to and from the UK, with door to door transit times of three or four days.
Geodis UK's managing director, stated that the successful expansion of Eurofirst was a logical progression. "Since the launch of the Eurofirst product in 2005, Geodis UK has seen a substantial increase in turnover and a rise in export shipment numbers of up to 20% in many European markets. The product provides exporters and importers with the service level, pricing structure and transit times needed to help their own businesses grow. "Working closely with Cargoline, our German network partner, we have now connected Eastern European countries to our established network and can offer daily imports and exports with short transit times. Transparency is key to the popularity of Eurofirst and tracking is available online for all shipments up to 2,500 kg, enabling customers to know the exact status of their order at all times," he concluded.
Click here to view alliance concern details
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ProLogis Inc.
2009
June - ProLogis announced that it had leased 90,000 sq ft (8,400 sq m) of newly developed space in Bucharest, Romania, to Geodis, the subsidiary of SNCF (French Railway), known in Romania as Geodis Calberson.
Geodis would occupy space in a facility at ProLogis Park Bucharest A1, a logistics park located along the Bucharest-Pitesti highway, which was Romania's primary east-west interstate approximately 23 km west of downtown Bucharest. Geodis, which at the time leased warehouse space from ProLogis in nine European countries, would operate the facility as a regional distribution centre for customers with logistics requirements throughout Romania.
"Geodis is a global customer of ProLogis; our partnership is strong and on a long term basis," said the general manager for Geodis Calberson in Romania. "We know from experience that in order for a business to successfully grow you need reliable partners to help support you along the way. ProLogis is exactly this kind of a partner and together, we believe we can achieve our goal of being the best in the field of transport and logistics. This new agreement with ProLogis is the third lease we have signed with them in Romania, which is proof of our satisfaction with the superb logistical facilities offered by the company." In addition to Geodis, other customers at the park included Augsburg International Impex, cargo-partner, Centrum Logistics, Flamingo Romania, Gefco, Kuehne+Nagel and Omega Transport & Logistics.
Click here to view alliance concern details
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Azkar (Transportes Azkar)
2009
January - Azkar announced the signing of a partnership agreement with Geodis, part of French rail and logistics group SNCF, relating to the distribution of the latter's parcel traffic in Spain and Portugal.
In a statement, Azkar said that it would participate in that aspect of Geodis' activities on the Iberian Peninsular and islands. "This collaboration of two parcel sector leaders in their respective markets constitutes a major advance in the sustainable development of Geodis and, consequently, the Transport and Logistics branch of SNCF in Europe."
Azkar added that the agreement did not affect Geodis' forwarding and logistics divisions which would continue to operate normally. Azkar claims to have more than 75 years of experience in the Iberian Peninsula and islands logistics sector. "Azkar offers its customers a powerful international network for the management of import and export of goods, from any origin or destination in the world outside Europe through Azkar Overseas, European traffic through Azkar Bisa International or in the Iberian Peninsula and islands where the company has 73 locations in Spain and Portugal."
Click here to view alliance concern details
Sister Concerns
Major Contracts: 2010
2010
July - Nestle has renewed its cooperation with Geodis Logistics for a further five years. In its distribution centre in Ludinghausen, North Rhine, Geodis Logistics takes over the storage, picking and worldwide distribution of 500 different Nestle products.
Geodis plans to make further investment in the distribution centre as part of its sustainability strategy for 2010. The aim is for the expanded facility to reduce its energy consumption by 20%. In addition, it will extend the flow capacity enabling it to be able to respond to volume peaks.
June - Parrot, a leader in wireless peripherals for mobile telephony, awarded the management of its supply chain and reverse logistics to Geodis Logistics. Following a call for tender launched in 2009, Geodis Logistics concluded a contract with Parrot covering stock management, equipment customisation and reverse logistics for its products. The award involves a multi-year contract to manage the key stages of the company's supply chain.
As a result, since February, Geodis Logistics had been providing logistics services for Parrot, including customisation of equipment and assembling kits at one of its logistics hubs in the Paris region.
The products concerned were essentially hands-free systems for mobile phones and top-of-the-range multimedia products, destined to be sold in over 60,000 outlets worldwide. Services also include order management for 80 countries in the EMEA and Latin America zones, supplying the products to Certified Installer networks, automobile accessory manufacturers, non-food superstores and department stores.
"The technical complexity of our products and market considerations call for flawless distribution to our end customers," said Parrot's Chief Production and Quality Officer at the contract signing. "We are convinced that Geodis Logistics' familiarity with this sector will enable it to provide the required levels of quality."
Major Contracts: 2009
2009
January - Azkar announced the signing of a partnership agreement with Geodis, part of French rail and logistics group SNCF, relating to the distribution of the latter's parcel traffic in Spain and Portugal.
In a statement, Azkar said that it would participate in that aspect of Geodis' activities on the Iberian Peninsular and islands. "This collaboration of two parcel sector leaders in their respective markets constitutes a major advance in the sustainable development of Geodis and, consequently, the Transport and Logistics branch of SNCF in Europe."
Azkar added that the agreement did not affect Geodis' forwarding and logistics divisions which would continue to operate normally. Azkar claims to have more than 75 years of experience in the Iberian Peninsula and islands logistics sector. "Azkar offers its customers a powerful international network for the management of import and export of goods, from any origin or destination in the world outside Europe through Azkar Overseas, European traffic through Azkar Bisa International or in the Iberian Peninsula and islands where the company has 73 locations in Spain and Portugal."
Major Contracts: 2008
2008
October - Geodis Wilson reported that it was to manage certain air and sea freight routes for RS Components from its site in Corby, central England, to the electronic components supplier's facilities around the globe. It said a contract through to the end of 2009 had been signed by both companies on September 29.
Geodis Wilson described RS Components as a catalogue-based distributor of electronic components and industrial products, from semi-conductors to batteries, tools and measurement equipment from over 2,500 suppliers. It added that RS, which was founded in 1937, was part of Electrocomponents plc and was a global business supporting over 1.6m customers worldwide.
"For many years, Geodis Wilson has supplied in-house expertise at RS Components' site in Corby, operating from within the warehouse in a designated area and processing all freight ready for export shipment," stated the forwarding company. "The new contract extends these services to the consolidation of import products from Asia, which are to be handled by Geodis Wilson UK before final delivery to RS facilities at Corby and Nuneaton."
Geodis Wilson was created from a merger of Geodis Overseas, TNT Freight Management and Rohde & Liesenfeld.
May - French rail and logistics group SNCF had significantly ramped up its apparent push to try and become as important a player on the global logistics stage as German counterpart and rival Deutsche Bahn.
The group's Transport and Logistics Division business Geodis, which it bought earlier this year after previously being its main shareholder for many years announced it had acquired IBM's internal global logistics operations in an all-cash deal for an undisclosed amount and signed a multi-year outsourcing contract.
Through that contract, stated Geodis, it would be the sole lead logistics provider for IBM, managing approximately €1bn per year of IBM's logistics costs supporting asset recovery services, service parts logistics and flow management of all hardware and software products worldwide.
"This agreement is strategic to reinforce Geodis' position among the world's leading logistics providers capable of delivering end to end solutions to its global clients," claimed Geodis's Deputy CEO.
"With this partnership, we will strengthen the skills and expertise required to service both IBM's and our existing and future clients' core logistics needs in more than 120 countries. IBM's global logistics operations will significantly upgrade our services portfolio."
Geodis said it was increasing its investments outside Europe and the new acquisition complemented the company's existing teams. "By leveraging IBM's employees in more than 50 countries across the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific, Geodis' service offering will be enhanced with multinational supply chain experts and an established worldwide platform to enable rapid growth and expansion," it claimed.
Geodis said the IBM transaction, which was expected to close in the first quarter of 2009, was subject to the expiration or the early termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act and the issuance by the EC (European Commission) of a decision declaring the transaction compatible with the EC Common Market as well as to applicable regulatory clearance, local agreements and appropriate and required employee information and consultation processes. SNCF claims that its Transport and Logistics Division was currently the fourth-largest transport and logistics operator in Europe, with annual revenue of €8.5bn.
Major Contracts: 2006
2006
September - as part of a three-year transport outsourcing contract, Geodis took over the co-ordination of both pre- and post-production transport flows for Nestlé France on a reward sharing basis. Nestlé France operations included dry groceries and controlled temperature products sold under the Nescafé, Maggi, Guigoz, Mousseline and other brand names.
Following a preliminary study, Geodis assumed the position of Lead Logistics Provider (LLP) for all transport flows with performance guarantees concerning quality, optimisation and total cost reduction: transport and flow optimisation, logistics services, management of non-quality, management of service providers and invoice checking, etc. Based on the alignment of Nestlé France's pre- and post-production processes with Geodis resources, the two groups signed a transport coordination agreement on 10 March with the goal of sharing the gains resulting from the reduction in total costs. All of the Group's French and European entities would be involved in the project, including Geodis Calberson and Geodis BM.
As part of the agreement, Geodis would manage all pre-production flows (17,000 transport orders every year) for the 6 Nestlé France factories from 250 foreign and 182 French suppliers. In addition, Geodis would coordinate all distribution flows to 6 national super/hypermarket retailers (125 delivery points in France with an annual volume of 860,000 pallets). Selected by Nestlé France, the transporters would remain contractually tied to the manufacturer and would invoice it directly. Geodis would receive the orders, monitor their execution, or operate on its own behalf (max. 15% of total volume) through an LLP coordination team.
Major Contracts: 2005
2005
June - Geodis announced the provision of warehousing and distribution services for Nestlé Purina Petcare in Cologne.
Geodis Deutschland was set to recruit 50 extra staff to run a key warehouse in Cologne-Ossendorf in the scope of a new contract to provide warehousing (on raised storage racks) and distribution services for pet food manufacturer Nestlé Purina Petcare.
Geodis was to run a centralised warehouse for Nestlé Purina Petcare and the contract would run from October this year. Geodis was to begin to move pallets into the warehouse in August but the contract signed between the two companies would run for at least three years. As a result, Geodis was creating 50 new jobs at its Cologne logistics platform.
Geodis' warehouse was automated and used a raised storage rack system. It could store up to 50,000 pallets. Geodis Deutschland staff will pick orders for their domestic market and ship deliveries to customers directly from the warehouse. In addition to providing storage services at its hi-tech warehouse, Geodis would also manage all Nestlé Purina Petcare's transport needs.
Geodis also managed Nestlé's Lüdinghausen warehouse, from which Maggi products were distributed, and another site in Gladbeck that shipped Nestlé-Food-Service products to wholesalers.
The site would gradually be extended to allow them to continue their growth on the German market.
Information Systems
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Descartes' Cargo 2000 Forwarder
| Name: |
Descartes' Cargo 2000 Forwarder |
| Vendor: |
The Descartes Systems Group Inc. |
| Description: |
TNT Freight Management (now Geodis Wilson) selected an on-demand logistics software and services specialist The Descartes Systems Group Inc.'s Global Logistics Network to help comply with the Cargo 2000 air cargo quality management industry standard. Cargo 2000 is an International Air Transport Association (IATA) interest group comprised of many of the world's major airlines, freight forwarders and general handling agents. Its goal is to implement quality management standards and systems for the worldwide air cargo industry and drive increased efficiencies in air cargo delivery. |
| Capabilities: |
Decartes' Cargo 2000 Forwarder platform helps freight forwarders track customer shipments and measure the delivery performance of air carriers. TNT Freight Management (now Geodis Wilson) has been a member of the Global Logistics Network for several years, using Descartes' logistics communication and visbility solutions. |
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E-sp@ce, EDI, Logistics IS, Geodis BM IS, Cristal, Onboard Systems
| Name: |
E-sp@ce, EDI, Logistics IS, Geodis BM IS, Cristal, Onboard Systems |
| Vendor: |
In-House |
| Description: |
Geodis IS - Geodis information systems are:
- applications developed from its own specifications for managing its business
- EDI and the interconnection of in-house information systems with those of customers and partners
- 4000 terminals at customer sites
- interactive services at the Calberson and France Express web sites
- a partnership with IBM Global Services
- market places with shippers (Teleroute, Nettrans)
- warehouse management solutions
E-sp@ce - a Geodis Calberson innovation which makes available via its internet site a range of interactive solutions to make exchanges simpler, more reliable and rapid.
EDI - permits the transfer of information pertaining to an order in total security and provides notification in real time.
Logistics IS - this system is devoted to the field of warehouse management.
Geodis BM IS - this system is resolutely customer oriented.
Cristal - The Cristal system can be connected to the customer's information system, as well as that of the Calberson agency. Geodis ensure the availability and maintenance of the material and software configuration. Onboard Systems - as a complement to the shipping monitoring tools available to customers, all express drivers now have a computer system onboard their vehicles. |
| Capabilities: |
Logistics IS - Geodis uses two primary warehouse management tools on an AS400 platform:
- ALTESSE, a tool developed and maintained by Geodis
- G.E.O.D.E. a software package sold by CLE128, a subsidiary of Adonix.
- Geodis has also developed an NT platform tool, Millenium to handle simple of small-sized cases.
The products manage all activities at a warehouse. They handle product architecture, multiple references (shipper, commercial, supplier, manufacturer, etc.) and its multiple packaging schemes. The products also manage series and batch numbers and different dates, thereby offering tracking options for the entire logistics chain.
Cristal - functions:
- entering shipments
- weighing packages
- recording delivery slips
- exchange of information between the customer and the carrier via EDI
- generation of package labels with barcodes
- generation of statistics
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Teleroute
| Name: |
Teleroute |
| Vendor: |
Teleroute |
| Description: |
Teleroute implement a solution for all the 200 Geodis sites across Europe to optimise freight exchanges. In addition to the Freight Exchange solution provided to Geodis as a basis for its freight management as of 2008, Teleroute provides a Private Freight Exchange to Geodis, a system that allows Geodis to deal in priority with its network of partners. |
| Capabilities: |
The private freight exchange system allows all European sites of Geodis to assign its freights to regular carriers. If the offer is not allocated to a regular carrier through the Private Exchange, then it will turn automatically to the general freight exchange and it will be visible by all the users of Teleroute. |
Regions
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Africa: Summary
Services:
- Logistics
- Consignments
- Air and Sea Freight
- Transit/Customs operations
- Industrial Projects
- Port Handling
Key Figures:
- 317 Employees
- 21,100 sq m warehousing space
- 325 Vehicles
Sites:
Benin, Burkin-Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Togo.
| Geodis Africa Sites |
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| Source: Geodis |
Africa: 2010 News
2010
July - Geodis and the Ivory Coast group Sivom announced the creation of a joint entity, Movis International, to broaden their offering and strengthen their position across central and western Africa.
Geodis Wilson, the Geodis group's Freight Management division, had been present in Africa since 1998, mainly operating in air and sea transport commissioning, port consignments and handling, warehousing and logistics for major industrial projects.
Sivom had since 1973 worked in Ivory Coast, Senegal, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in transit and port logistics (stevedoring, consignments and port handling). The two groups decided to bring together their respective sales and local operations (apart from major industrial projects, which would continue to be managed by Geodis Wilson) under the Movis International brand in order to strengthen their market visibility and boost development.
The contributions of Geodis Wilson's African business to Movis International bring the Freight Management division a 40% share of the new entity. Movis International would work in the two partners' current geographic territory, with increased development at major ports in the Gulf of Guinea. Commenting at the signature of the partnership the Chief Executive Officer of Geodis, said: "The African continent is an important operational sector for our freight management business. I am delighted with this partnership with a specialist in this part of the world, one that helps us to considerably increase our respective positions." Thierry Davaille, Managing Director of SIVOM, noted: "Joining our interests in Africa brings us the critical mass necessary to take advantage of all growth opportunities, broaden our range and get the most out of the network effect."
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Chad
Chad: 2007 News
2007 Due to events in Chad, the Geodis Group's two local subsidiaries - Geodis Tchad and TCL Tchad - temporarily suspended their operations and expatriate employees were repatriated in early February. These subsidiaries' operations mainly concern the supply and transfer of materials, replacement parts and consumables for the operation and maintenance of an oil pipeline under a contract with Exxon. The necessary resources have been put in place to continue operations in Chad, mainly from neighbouring countries. Those events did not have any financial impact on the results of the beginning of 2008.
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Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
Cote d'Ivoire: 2010 News
2010
July - Geodis and the Ivory Coast group Sivom announced the creation of a joint entity, Movis International, to broaden their offering and strengthen their position across central and western Africa.
Geodis Wilson, the Geodis group's Freight Management division, had been present in Africa since 1998, mainly operating in air and sea transport commissioning, port consignments and handling, warehousing and logistics for major industrial projects.
Sivom had since 1973 worked in Ivory Coast, Senegal, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in transit and port logistics (stevedoring, consignments and port handling). The two groups decided to bring together their respective sales and local operations (apart from major industrial projects, which would continue to be managed by Geodis Wilson) under the Movis International brand in order to strengthen their market visibility and boost development.
The contributions of Geodis Wilson's African business to Movis International bring the Freight Management division a 40% share of the new entity. Movis International would work in the two partners' current geographic territory, with increased development at major ports in the Gulf of Guinea. Commenting at the signature of the partnership the Chief Executive Officer of Geodis, said: "The African continent is an important operational sector for our freight management business. I am delighted with this partnership with a specialist in this part of the world, one that helps us to considerably increase our respective positions." Thierry Davaille, Managing Director of SIVOM, noted: "Joining our interests in Africa brings us the critical mass necessary to take advantage of all growth opportunities, broaden our range and get the most out of the network effect."
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Morocco
Morocco: 2006 News
2006
March - Geodis UK opened new routes to North Africa via Morocco and Tunisia to provide door-to-door complete tracking and visibility, the goods will transit via Geodis depots and bonded warehouses in Casablanca, Tangier and Rades. This new line will initially be export based but will expand to include an import service in June 2006. The African services will dovetail with the existing fixed departure scheduled service operated by the Geodis Group in mainland Europe.
Demand from existing customers and their market research indicate that this market will develop and they are expecting business to increase significantly following the launch. They have specialist market development personnel originating from the North-African region, providing central sales contact and support for sales and marketing teams and their customers.
Local Geodis teams will handle the shipments in North Africa and a dedicated Geodis UK contact person will manage booking shipment and transport requirements. Geodis Morocco was founded in 2002 (a previous partner had been operating since1983) and has enjoyed strong growth in its core business of international air, sea and road transport as well as logistics.
As a result, in 2004, the subsidiary opened two logistics platforms in Had Soualem and Ain Sebaâ, increasing its total operating surface area to 10,000 sq m plus 4,000 sq m of secure and guarded bonded warehousing. The expansion of the Textile, Automotive and Healthcare customer portfolio has triggered the recruitment of 65 new staff members, bringing the total workforce to 145.
The Moroccan logistics business is certainly growing. Supporting the development of their customers is their top priority, as shown by the multi-year contract they signed recently with Unilever Maghreb. Indeed, the subsidiary provides a variety of logistics services (pre-production transport, factory procurement, warehouse management) for Unilever's food, home care and personal care products. Geodis Morocco is considering the setting up of a domestic distribution service (groupage and full load) to enhance its product offering to Unilever and other logistics customers.
In North Africa, Geodis Tunisia is also a key growth business based in the main port of Rades, near Tunis with 2,500 sq m of bonded warehousing and 26 skilled and experienced staff. Geodis UK sees this as a key development and a vital conduit to the African Continent and its emerging markets. This initiative is entirely in line with their 2006 business objectives and strategy. Geodis in Africa provides Logistics, Road, Air and Sea Freight, Transit and Customs Operations, Industrial Projects and Port Handling and currently has 445 employees and 26,600 sq m warehousing space. Geodis is operational in South Africa, Angola, Benin, Burkina-Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Reunion Island, Senegal, Togo.
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Asia Pacific: Summary
Oceania
Services:
- Logistics
- Warehousing
- Distribution
- Land transport
- Air and Sea Freight
Key Figures:
- 39 employees
- Seven sites in five countries: Wallis & Futuna, New Caledonia,Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand.
Sites:
|
New Asian Geodis Network including TNT Freight Management |
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| Source: Geodis |
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China
China: 2010 News
2010
June - Geodis Wilson managed the transportation of two new wind turbine blades for its customer LM Wind Power on an Antonov AN-225, the biggest aircraft in the world. With a length of 42.1 metres the blades were the longest cargo pieces that were ever flown by an aircraft.
Geodis Wilson was one of the logistics providers of LM Wind Power, a market leader in the international wind power industry, supplying rotor solutions to numerous wind turbine manufacturers in all main markets worldwide. The two transported prototype blades were produced for a new type of wind turbine that extends the possibility of efficient generation of clean energy.
Geodis Wilson's Industrial Projects division had built a specialist team to handle wind energy logistics. This transportation involved a full turn-key operation including inland transportation from the LM Wind Power manufacturing plant in Tianjin to Tianjin Airport, China, loading onto the world's largest freight aircraft AN-225, customs clearance, supervision of unloading and final delivery from the Skrydstrup Vojens Danish Military Airport (SKS), the only Danish airport capable of handling this large move. "Our activities in the wind energy sector are well known in the market, but the move of these prototype blades of LM Wind Power allowed us to conquer a new level of complexity," said its Global Manager Wind Energy Projects. The Senior Vice President of Geodis Wilson Industrial Pojects added: "The fact that we have an established network presence in both China and Denmark, along with a dedicated air charter division, on-site expertise and technical support in this sector, certainly helped us to successfully manage this move for and together with LM Wind Power and Antonov Airlines."
China: 2004-2007 News
2007
June - Geodis has strengthened its services to Hong Kong and China, following the acquisition of TNT Freight Management (TFM) which doubled Geodis' exporting capacity in Asia. The company intends to incorporate Geodis Overseas, its existing air and sea freight activities, under the Geodis Wilson umbrella before the end of this year.
Geodis now has 210,000 sq ft of warehousing space and 620 employees across its nine offices throughout the region.
Geodis Wilson's air freight service out of the region operates direct consolidated air shipments on a daily basis. For sea freight, the company functions as a Non Vessel Owning Common Carrier (NVOCC).
2006
After the acquisition of TNT Freight Management it was estimated that Geodis would double its total turnover in China in 2007. Geodis was expected to have a total turnover of about €75m ($99m) in 2006, and nearly €200m ($264m) in 2007.
After the acquisition, Geodis doubled its operational capacity in China, and increased business networks to 11 cities, including Xiamen and Dalian.
Geodis plan to integrate TFM's resources by cross-sales or cross-training and keep good relations with their customers and are still looking for new partnerships in Asia in order to expand. It is likely that Geodis will expand through acquiring small- or medium-sized companies, establish new companies or just buy back shares from joint venture.
Geodis has already established two wholly owned companies in Shenzhen and Guangzhou after China opened to foreign logistics investors in November 2005. It holds a 75% share in a Shanghai joint venture. They expect a wholly-owned enterprise to make them more independent in decision-making and co-operation.
Geodis increased its Asia market share from 4.1% to 7.2% of its total market share after the acquisition and they expect an increase in revenue by 34% in Asia in 2007.
2005
Geodis is pursuing its growth strategy in China by developing its freight forwarding offer with value-added logistics (supply chain, inventory management, just-in-time deliveries, VMI, etc.) and domestic transport services. It is aiming to provide an end-to-end multi-business offer and a sector-based offer (especially textile, hi-tech, consumer products, manufacturing and luxury goods) aimed at local-based customers and international customers with local manufacturing operations or retail businesses.
In China, Geodis operates nine representative offices as well as a joint-venture in Shanghai which it is believed to be in the process of buying outright from its joint venture partner, Shanghai E&T Intl-Trans Co. It will also upgrade its representative offices in China to 'branch' status at the start of 2006. Geodis already has a wholly owned subsidiary in the country based in Shenzhen, southern China, which officially began trading in September 2004.
The latest offices it has opened include Geodis Wuhan office in October 2005 well-known for its automotive base close to a major Citroen joint venture plant. In November 2005, it opened an office in Ningbo, an important industrial base in Zhejiang Province. Ningbo Port is the 3rd largest seaport in China.
2004
In November 2004 Geodis opened its first wholly-owned subsidiary in China. The new company was based in Shenzhen, southern China, and officially began trading in September 2004.
The group already operated a number of representative offices in the country, in Beijing, Guangzhou and Nanjing, and a joint-venture in Shanghai. However the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement between Hong Kong and China allowed the company to set up a wholly owned business in the country. According to the company, the opening will be the first of many as the CEPA 2 (Extension of CEPA 1) agreements mean that from January 1, 2005 it will be free to open offices across China.
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India
India: Summary
Services:
- Worldwide air and sea freight
- Custom clearance
- Inland distribution by truck and rail
- Warehousing on demand
- Combined shipment
- Projects
- Central Asia
Key figures:
- 125 employees
- 14,000 shipments annually
- 2,700 sq m of warehousing space
Sites:
|
Geodis India |
|
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| Source: Geodis |
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Indonesia
Indonesia: Summary
Services:
- Worldwide air and sea freight
- Customs Clearance
- Inland distribution
- Insurance
- Industrial Project
- Airfreight and sea freight: Full loads and consolidations
Key Figures:
- 60 employees
- 6,000 shipments per annum.
Sites:
| Geodis Indonesia |
|
|
| Source: Geodis |
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Malaysia
Malaysia: Summary
Services:
- Air and Sea Freight
- Trucking
- Customs opertaions
- Warehousing
Key Figures:
- 80 employees
- 28,000 sq m warehousing space
- Licensed custom broker
Sites:
| Geodis Malaysia |
|
|
| Source: Geodis |
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Singapore
Singapore: Summary
Services:
- Air and Sea Freight
- Customs opeartions
- Turnkey projects
- Warehousing and distribution
- Daily consolidations and full truck loads
- Door to door service
- Express dedicated vehicles
Key Figures:
- 52 employees
- 19,000 shipments per annum
- 2,600 sq m of warehousing
Sites:
|
Geodis Singapore |
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Source: Geodis |
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South Korea
South Korea: Summary
Services:
- Consolidations and direct shipments to all major global airports
- LCL and FCL shipments to all the main ports of the world
Key Figures:
- 73 employees
- 19,000 shipments per annum
- 4,500 sq m Warehousing area
Sites:
| Geodis South Korea |
|
|
| Source: Geodis |
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Taiwan
Taiwan: Summary
Services:
- Domestic custom clearance and delivery service
- Transit shipment service
- Logistics
- Industrial projects
- Customs operations
- Air and sea freight
Key Figures:
- 2,500 customers
- 13,000 shipments per annum
Sites:
|
Geodis Taiwan |
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|
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Source: Geodis |
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Thailand
Thailand: Summary
Services:
- Air and Sea freight consolidator
- Customs operations
- Industrial projects
- Warehousing including VMI hub
- Express daily raod services
- Special Loads and projects
- nationwide distribution
Key Figures:
- 250 employees
- 5,000 sq m of warehousing space
- 30,000 shipments per annum
Sites:
| Geodis Thailand |
|
|
| Source: Geodis |
Thailand: 2005 News
2005
November - following the signing of a six-year contract with Laotian company LXML Geodis Overseas Thailand was the first company to be granted the ADR licences to operate acid tankers in Thailand. The five approved tankers boasting very high technical specifications will haul sulphuric acid from Thailand to LXML's copper mine in Sepon, Laos. Thailand now subscribes to the ADR regulations for the transport of hazardous goods by road, which are governed by The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and set the International Standards for Transport of Dangerous goods. Their implementation in Thailand will ensure higher safety standards in equipment used and in operation methods.
Geodis was awarded a contract in Thailand by Carefour to manage its 30,000 sq m distribution centre in Icheon (south of Seoul) and nationwide distribution to its 31 stores for their dry products activity. Meanwhile in Indonesia Carrefour chose Geodis to manage two logistics platforms in Cibitung (Jakarta).
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Vietnam
Vietnam: Summary
Services:
- Consolidations and direct shipments to all major airports
- LCL and FCL shipments to all main ports globally
Key Figures:
Sites:
| Geodis Vietnam |
|
|
| Source: Geodis |
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Central and Eastern Europe: Summary
Services:
- International Transport
- Full and part loads
- Road and rail chartering
- Logistics
- Customs operations
- Air and sea Freight
Key Figures:
- 300 employees
- 228,000 sq m of warehousing space
Sites:
|
Geodis Eastern Europe |
 |
|
Source: Geodis |
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Czech Republic
Czech Republic: Summary
Services:
- European Groupage
- Logistics
- Supply Chain Management
- Order Picking, assembly
- Reverse Logistics
- Air and Sea Freight
- Customs operations
- Export Europe sea hub
Key Figures:
- 20 Employees
- 12,000 shipments per annum
| Geodis Czech Republic |
|
|
|
Source: Geodis |
Geodis is present in the Czech market through a subsidiary, CES Spol. It forms part of Geodis' European groupage network. One of its largest customers in the market is automotive parts manufacturer, Valeo.
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Hungary
Hungary: Summary
Services:
- European Groupage
- Logsitics
- Supply Chain Management
- Storage and Distribution
- Order Picking, assembly
- Reverse Logistics
- Air and Sea Freight
Key Figures:
- 220 Employees
- 75,000 sq m warehousing space
Sites:
| Geodis Hungary |
|
|
| Source: Geodis |
Geodis has two main subsidiaries in the Hungarian market: Calberson Hungaria (groupage operations) based in Komoro and Geodis Magyarország Logisztikai Kft. (logistics) based in Gyál and Székesfehérvár. It also has a non-exclusive partner, Rynart Transport Hungary Fkt for groupage operations based in Biatorbaagy. Earlier in the year Geodis Logistics signed a three year deal on a 6,500 sq m logistics unit in Budapest, Hungary. Geodis manages Philips Consumer Electronics 25,000 sq m transnational distribution centre (TDC) in Szekesfehervar. From the centre, Philips exports products such as TVs, VCRs and DVD players to its national sales warehouses and larger customers in Central and Eastern Europe, while factories in France, the Netherlands, Poland and Hungary feed its stocks.
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Poland
Poland: Summary
Services:
- European Groupage
- Logistics
- Supply Chain Management
- Storage and Distribution
- Order Picking, assembly
- Air and Sea Freight
- Customs operations
- Export Europe sea hub
Key Figures:
- 15 employees
- 8,000 sq m of warehousing space
Sites:
|
Geodis Poland |
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|
|
Source: Geodis |
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Romania
Romania: 2010 News
2010
February - SNCF Geodis launched a new brand, CapTrain, covering its international rail haulage activities. The company said that the creation of CapTrain, following the acquisitions made over the last two years, had confirmed its objective to integrate and develop its various international activities.
The new brand would bring together a range of its subsidiaries:
- In Benelux, CapTrain groups SNCF Fret Benelux, Veolia Cargo Belgium, Veolia Cargo Nederland and ITL Benelux.
- In Germany, CapTrain Deutschland groups together SNCF Fret Deutschland and Veolia Cargo Deutschland.
- In Italy, CapTrain Italia groups together SNCF Fret Italia and Veolia Cargo Italia.
In other developments, Freight Europe UK and VFLI Romania had been renamed CapTrain UK and CapTrain Romania.
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Russian Federation
Russian Federation: 2005 News
2005
October - Italian group Indesit Company, an international manufacturer of household electrical products, delegated management of its 53,000 sq m post-production warehouse in a new logistics park in Lipetsk, 450 km South-East of Moscow, to Geodis, the French logistics company. According to Geodis, the 53,000 sq m warehouse is the biggest single-customer platform in Russia, and will strengthen its strategy to partner key customers from the automotive, consumer, retail, manufacturing and cosmetics businesses, who want to reorganise their pan-European logistics activities.
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Middle East: 2010 News
2010
March - In the first of three service developments that year in the United Arab Emirates, global forwarder and logistics services provider Geodis Wilson had opened a new airfreight office in Dubai to support increasing demand for this service mode as well as its advancing sea-air product.
Based in Dubai's Cargo Village, the new office would employ 22 people allowing a previous combined office and warehouse, situated close by, to focus entirely on warehousing accommodation.
"Our pace of growth meant that we no longer had any spare capacity in the old office/warehouse, and as our business is increasing, particularly with Geodis Wilson's sea-air product, further warehousing space became essential in order to meet our customers' requirements," Geodis explained.
The new facility would handle freight from up to ten inbound flights daily - mainly from Europe and the Far East - as well as sea-air cargo originating as ocean freight from the Geodis Wilson network in the Far East, which was switched from the nearby Jebel Ali port to air cargo on Dubai flights bound for European destinations. The new office would also be involved in customs clearance, general forwarding, supply chain management, warehousing and customs clearance activities.
Geodis Wilson, which was ranked among Dubai's top ten forwarders, employed a total of 70 people in the Emirate and had its regional headquarters at nearby Jebel Ali, where ocean freight activities were also carried out.
Early indications suggest that Geodis Wilson's year-on-year activity in Dubai was currently growing at more than 10% across all modes. There was particular strength in the sea-air business, particularly from the textile and high tech sectors. The second significant milestone for Geodis Wilson in the UAE would be the opening of an Abu Dhabi office during the second quarter. Within this region, the company also had offices in Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Later this year, a third event would be the opening of a new regional headquarters in Jebel Ali.
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United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: 2011 News
2011
July - Geodis Wilson announced it was opening an 8,500 sq m distribution centre in Jebel Ali South within the free zone of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The new distribution centre marked a strategic step in the company's global growth plan: extending its freight forwarding services to a full-service contract logistics model in the Middle East region.
"The demand for contract logistics is very high," said the Managing Director Geodis Wilson UAE. "Most companies trading via or in the Middle East need a hub solution for their business, and Dubai is undoubtedly the regional choice, with very good onward connections. Geodis Wilson runs its own freight network to cope with this demand, including trucking services between the various countries and a 24-hour on-line customs service."
Geodis Wilson invested about €1m into the Jebel Ali distribution centre, now providing a full range of supply chain solutions, including warehousing services, inventory, labelling, bar-coding, packing pouches, blisters, vendor management as well as domestic and cross border distribution.
New business included the handling of IBM hardware and spare parts for dispatch to other points in the Gulf region; including Abu Dhabi. For another global customer stationery and personal care products would be hubbed through the new centre, arriving from France in containers for storage and then distributed to 16 countries in the region including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Pakistan, Jordan and Syria.
United Arab Emirates: 2010 News
2010
March - In the first of three service developments that year in the United Arab Emirates, global forwarder and logistics services provider Geodis Wilson had opened a new airfreight office in Dubai to support increasing demand for this service mode as well as its advancing sea-air product.
Based in Dubai's Cargo Village, the new office would employ 22 people allowing a previous combined office and warehouse, situated close by, to focus entirely on warehousing accommodation.
"Our pace of growth meant that we no longer had any spare capacity in the old office/warehouse, and as our business is increasing, particularly with Geodis Wilson's sea-air product, further warehousing space became essential in order to meet our customers' requirements," Geodis explained.
The new facility would handle freight from up to ten inbound flights daily - mainly from Europe and the Far East - as well as sea-air cargo originating as ocean freight from the Geodis Wilson network in the Far East, which was switched from the nearby Jebel Ali port to air cargo on Dubai flights bound for European destinations. The new office would also be involved in customs clearance, general forwarding, supply chain management, warehousing and customs clearance activities.
Geodis Wilson, which was ranked among Dubai's top ten forwarders, employed a total of 70 people in the Emirate and had its regional headquarters at nearby Jebel Ali, where ocean freight activities were also carried out.
Early indications suggest that Geodis Wilson's year-on-year activity in Dubai was currently growing at more than 10% across all modes. There was particular strength in the sea-air business, particularly from the textile and high tech sectors. The second significant milestone for Geodis Wilson in the UAE would be the opening of an Abu Dhabi office during the second quarter. Within this region, the company also had offices in Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Later this year, a third event would be the opening of a new regional headquarters in Jebel Ali.
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North America: Summary
Services:
- Logistics
- Warehousing
- Distribution
- Land Transport
- Air and Sea Freight
Key Figures:
- 926 employees
- 85,000 sqm warehousing space
- Eight sites in North America, 16 sites in South America
Sites:
| New Americas Geodis Network including TNT Freight Management |
 |
| Source: Geodis |
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United States
United States: 2010 News
2010
August - Geodis Wilson expanded its Atlanta operations into a new, larger facility encompassing 84,000 sq ft (7,800 sq m). The Atlanta operation provided air freight, ocean freight, customs brokerage, domestic forwarding, warehousing & distribution and other freight management solutions. Geodis Wilson Atlanta was also a primary US air freight gateway to Europe, with regular consolidations. "The newly expanded Atlanta facility will be a model for future growth and expansion in the US market for Geodis Wilson," commented the Chief Operating Officer Eastern USA.
"The well established trend in manufacturing growth throughout the Southeast has been apparent for quite some time with increases in export and import activity," said the newly appointed Southeast US Regional Manager and acting Branch Manager for Atlanta. "With our newly expanded warehouse and gateway, and with our enhanced security and compliance programmes, we are in a prime position to service the market's continually growing freight transportation needs in the critical industries throughout the area including automotive, industrial manufacturing, fast moving consumer goods, aviation and furniture."
Geodis Wilson had also invested in the necessary infrastructure in Atlanta to become one of several new Certified Cargo Screening Facilities (CCSFs) in the United States. This investment provided Geodis Wilson with the equipment, facility, security enhancements and trained staff in order to provide shippers with a fast, efficient, secure, and predictable cost option for screening freight in compliance with the TSA's (Transportation Security Administration) new 100% cargo screening mandate for all passenger aircraft. Geodis Wilson Atlanta served as the airfreight gateway for the entire region, including Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and parts of Florida and Virginia.
United States: 2007 News
2007
September - US based xpedx and European headquartered Geodis, two major providers of third party logistics services, announced that they had formed a global strategic alliance that enabled both companies to expand their services and geographic reach for customers worldwide.
The alliance offered a full range of logistics services including air, sea, multi-modal transport, asset and inventory management, reverse logistics, demand planning and web-based custom reporting. The alliance complemented Geodis' acquisition of TNT Freight Management (re-branded to Geodis Wilson), which had a number of freight forwarding activities in the US.
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SNCF Geodis: 2010 News
2010
June - Geodis Wilson managed the transportation of two new wind turbine blades for its customer LM Wind Power on an Antonov AN-225, the biggest aircraft in the world. With a length of 42.1 metres the blades are the longest cargo pieces that were ever flown by an aircraft.
Geodis Wilson was one of the logistics providers of LM Wind Power, a market leader in the international wind power industry, supplying rotor solutions to numerous wind turbine manufacturers in all main markets worldwide. The two transported prototype blades were produced for a new type of wind turbine that extends the possibility of efficient generation of clean energy.
Geodis Wilson's Industrial Projects division had built a specialist team to handle wind energy logistics. This transportation involved a full turn–key operation including inland transportation from the LM Wind Power manufacturing plant in Tianjin to Tianjin Airport, China, loading onto the world's largest freight aircraft AN–225, customs clearance, supervision of unloading and final delivery from the Skrydstrup Vojens Danish Military Airport (SKS), the only Danish airport capable of handling this large move. "Our activities in the wind energy sector are well known in the market, but the move of these prototype blades of LM Wind Power allowed us to conquer a new level of complexity," said the Global Manager Wind Energy Projects. The Senior Vice President of Geodis Wilson Industrial Pojects added: "The fact that we have an established network presence in both China and Denmark, along with a dedicated air charter division, on–site expertise and technical support in this sector, certainly helped us to successfully manage this move for and together with LM Wind Power and Antonov Airlines."
SNCF Geodis: 2009 News
2010
December - Geodis Wilson was concluding its preparations for a new logistics centre at Vejle, Denmark. "This new facility will be Denmark's leading ocean and air freight competence centre", stated the Managing Director Geodis Wilson, Denmark. The global freight forwarder would create a 3,250 sq m facility employing 120 people.
"We are combining our core services in the air and ocean freight sectors, in Vejle," he continued. Express services, furniture logistics and industrial projects would also be coordinated from Vejle, as well as Geodis Wilson's aid & relief operations. In addition, the facility would act as a competence centre for air charter activities, one of the company's major niche areas.
Geodis Wilson would invest €3m in the Vejle service centre, which lay equidistant from the major industrial hubs of Aarhus and Odense. The new facility and its adjacent warehouse terminal would start operating in December 2010. At this point, Geodis Wilson Denmark would transfer its current staff resources from Odense, Billund and Aarhus into the new building. "Vejle is located centrally in the cluster of these three existing offices. It is a prime location with good access to major ports and airports in Denmark, and is considered a gateway to continental Europe," he stated.
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Denmark
Denmark: 2009 News
2009
December - Geodis Wilson was concluding its preparations for a new logistics centre at Vejle, Denmark. "This new facility will be Denmark's leading ocean and air freight competence centre", stated Geodis Wilson, Denmark. The global freight forwarder was to create a 3,250 sq m facility employing 120 people.
"We are combining our core services in the air and ocean freight sectors, in Vejle," Geodis continued. Express services, furniture logistics and industrial projects would also be coordinated from Vejle, as well as Geodis Wilson's aid & relief operations. In addition, the facility would act as a competence centre for air charter activities, one of the company's major niche areas.
Geodis Wilson would invest €3m in the Vejle service centre, which lay equidistant from the major industrial hubs of Aarhus and Odense. The new facility and its adjacent warehouse terminal would start operating in December 2010. At this point, Geodis Wilson Denmark would transfer its current staff resources from Odense, Billund and Aarhus into the new building. "Vejle is located centrally in the cluster of these three existing offices. It is a prime location with good access to major ports and airports in Denmark, and is considered a gateway to continental Europe," stated Geodis.
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Belgium
Belgium: Summary
Services:
- European Groupage
- Logistics
- Supply Chain Management
- Storage and Distribution
- Order picking, assembly
- Reverse Logistics
- Air and Sea Freight
- Customs operations
- Export Europe sea hub
Key Figures:
- 100 employees
- 34,000 sq m of warehousing space
- 20 Vehicles
Sites:
| Geodis Belgium Sites |
 |
| Source: Geodis |
Belgium: 2010 News
2010
February - SNCF Geodis launched a new brand, CapTrain, covering its international rail haulage activities. The company said that the creation of CapTrain, following the acquisitions made over the last two years, had confirmed its objective to integrate and develop its various international activities.
The new brand would bring together a range of its subsidiaries:
- In Benelux, CapTrain groups SNCF Fret Benelux, Veolia Cargo Belgium, Veolia Cargo Nederland and ITL Benelux.
- In Germany, CapTrain Deutschland groups together SNCF Fret Deutschland and Veolia Cargo Deutschland.
- In Italy, CapTrain Italia groups together SNCF Fret Italia and Veolia Cargo Italia.
In other developments, Freight Europe UK and VFLI Romania had been renamed CapTrain UK and CapTrain Romania.
Belgium: 2005 News
2005
June - following the opening of a 13,000 sq m warehouse at Wommelgem, Geodis Belgium opened a new logistics platform with a surface area of 10,000 sq m in Schoten, close to the port of Antwerp.
The new site's surface area could be extended to twice that in the future. The new European Logistics Centre will manage logistics services for around fifteen customers, including air conditioning company Lennox. It will provide receipt and unloading of sea containers (FCL and LCL) shipped in from Asia; customs clearance (bonded warehouse); added value services (kitting, customisation, etc.); order picking and European distribution via Geodis" European groupage network.
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France
France: 2011 News
2011
September - Geodis announced that, as of October 6, it would begin making deliveries for Carrefour in Lille using a hybrid refrigerated trailer truck. A new initiative in Geodis' Distripolis urban logistics system, this first-of-its-kind service would mean deliveries to the six Carrefour stores in the Lille city centre would be both cleaner and quieter.
In May 2010, Geodis teamed up with Renault Trucks to test a unique hybrid vehicle equipped with a cryogenic refrigeration unit. The vehicle was proposed to several customers for testing, and the retailer Carrefour was first to request the new vehicle. A perfect fit with Carrefour's sustainable development strategy, this 26-tonne hybrid truck that complied with the Euro 5 standard would begin delivering goods to Carrefour stores in Lille starting in October.
The thermal engine–electric motor combo in hybrid trucks lowered diesel consumption by an average of 20%. This represented an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of 10 tonnes. The use of liquid nitrogen, a non-toxic substance that emitted no CO2, as the refrigeration fluid made this vehicle even more environmentally friendly. This vehicle also had separate transport compartments, so both fresh produce and dry goods could be delivered. In addition, the cooling unit lowered the temperature twice as fast, making the truck particularly useful for the transport of vegetables.
September - The Geodis Group strengthened its position on the healthcare market and consolidated its offering with the acquisition of the pharmaceutical pre-wholesaler Pharmalog.
Pharmalog was a pharmaceuticals logistics and distribution company based in Val de Reuil in Normandy, France. It had 50,000 sq m of storage space and a workforce of 150. Pharmalog had revenue of €18m.
The new entity would carry out a full range of value-added operations: sales administration, customer debt recovery, repackaging, management of free medical samples, etc. It had nine specialised platforms in France (warehouses, clean rooms, controlled temperature premises, etc.) a workforce of almost 500 employees.
In the long term, this organisation would be deployed Europe-wide, based on operations already carried out for the health sector by Geodis Logistics in Benelux, Ireland and Italy. At the same time, Pharmalog customers would gain access to all the dedicated services in logistics, distribution and international transport delivered by the Geodis Group to healthcare professionals.
The CEO of Geodis, said: "This new vertical offering places Geodis among the top three players in healthcare logistics in France, as well as opening broad new prospects in Europe. This organisation will bring real benefits for customers since it is a close fit with the services developed by the cross-cutting entity Geodis Global Solutions and the other divisions of the Geodis Group: Groupage & Express, Contract Logistics, Freight Management and Road."
France: 2010 News
2010
September - Geodis inaugurated, together with Laboratoires Expanscience, a new logistics platform for the healthcare sector at Droue-sur-Drouette near Epernon, in the heart of France's 'Cosmetic Valley'.
Healthcare/Cosmetics had been a key growth sector for the Geodis group for more than 15 years. In Europe the Group currently operated 15 special purpose and regulation-compliant platforms that managed stocks in an ambient or controlled temperature environment, prepare orders for the entire sector, and provide value-added services such as relabelling, inspection and packaging. To span the entire supply chain, Geodis also managed import/export transport flows for products, and handled domestic distribution through its Certipharm-certified Geodis Calberson network or its Geodis Ciblex parcels network.
The new 15,600 sq m Droue-sur-Drouette platform was equipped with a retail parcel preparation line that could handle up to 12m products annually and a full-parcel preparation line. It had a 5,800 sq m storage area with the temperature regulated at 15°/25° and employed 50 people in two shifts.
Its main client was Laboratoires Expanscience, a long-standing customer of the Geodis group.
Laboratoires Expanscience was present in both the pharmaceutical and dermo-cosmetic sectors, and was the leader for skin care products for babies. Geodis distributed Expanscience products in more than 50 countries. Every year, this involved managing 1,600 articles, checking in 50,000 pallets, preparing 1,300,000 orders and shipping 1,500,000 parcels.
June - Parrot, a leader in wireless peripherals for mobile telephony, awarded the management of its supply chain and reverse logistics to Geodis Logistics. Following a call for tender launched in 2009, Geodis Logistics concluded a contract with Parrot covering stock management, equipment customisation and reverse logistics for its products. The award involves a multi-year contract to manage the key stages of the company's supply chain.
As a result, since February, Geodis Logistics had been providing logistics services for Parrot, including customisation of equipment and assembling kits at one of its logistics hubs in the Paris region.
The products concerned were essentially hands-free systems for mobile phones and top-of-the-range multimedia products, destined to be sold in over 60,000 outlets worldwide. Services also include order management for 80 countries in the EMEA and Latin America zones, supplying the products to Certified Installer networks, automobile accessory manufacturers, non-food superstores and department stores. "The technical complexity of our products and market considerations call for flawless distribution to our end customers," said Parrot's Chief Production and Quality Officer at the contract signing. "We are convinced that Geodis Logistics' familiarity with this sector will enable it to provide the required levels of quality."
France: 2005-2008 News
2008
April - Geodis announced a sustainable development at its new green building logistics site at Chaponnay, near Lyon (France)
On Thursday April 3, 2008 Geodis Logistics is opened its new Chaponnay site, the platform complies with the Geodis Group's 'sustainable development' policy, since its construction and operation comply from all points of view with the Green Building approach adopted within the Geodis' group's Logistics Division and implemented by its operational entities.
Built on a 60,000 sq m site in the Chaponnay Industrial Zone, 25 km south east of Lyon, this platform has a surface area of 28,000 sq m; including a 3,000 sq m customs warehouse and employs 65 staff. It has a storage capacity of 22,000 palettes with a transit capacity of over 200,000 palettes per year.
This new platform aims at provides added value services including labelling of imported products, managing seasonal operations, compiling boxes, testing and assembling industrial sub-assemblies and providing kanban production line supplies.
2007
June - Samsung Electronics France and Geodis announced a new 14,000 sq m logistics facility in Evry that Geodis has dedicated to Samsung Electronics France's products.
Geodis will handle distribution and logistics for the consumer electronics manufacturers high-tech products (LCD and plasma screens, Hi-Fis, MP3s, DVDs, notebooks), as well as reverse logistics for WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) including brown goods and IT equipment.
Geodis will handle the administrative management of customs declarations at ports and airports relating to importing products and supplying the logistics platform. The platform will be dedicated to inventory management and order picking for a range of Samsung Electronics France products. Geodis will make deliveries to all Samsung customers in France from the Evry platform (groupage, express, full truck loads). Reverse Logistics for Samsung products in France will be handled by Geodis' "General Contractor" organisation, set up for WEEE on a European scale. Samsung Electronics France has also entrusted Geodis with centralising and managing marketing and event logistics for all its product lines (white and brown goods, IT and telephony equipment).
January - Geodis deepened its domestic network in France by acquiring five charter and groupage branches.
2006
September - as part of a three-year transport outsourcing contract, Geodis took over the co-ordination of both pre- and post-production transport flows for Nestlé France on a reward sharing basis. Nestlé France operations included dry groceries and controlled temperature products sold under the Nescafé, Maggi, Guigoz, Mousseline and other brand names.
Following a preliminary study, Geodis assumed the position of Lead Logistics Provider (LLP) for all transport flows with performance guarantees concerning quality, optimisation and total cost reduction: transport and flow optimisation, logistics services, management of non-quality, management of service providers and invoice checking, etc. Based on the alignment of Nestlé France's pre- and post-production processes with Geodis resources, the two groups signed a transport coordination agreement on 10 March with the goal of sharing the gains resulting from the reduction in total costs. All of the Group's French and European entities would be involved in the project, including Geodis Calberson and Geodis BM.
As part of the agreement, Geodis would manage all pre-production flows (17,000 transport orders every year) for the 6 Nestlé France factories from 250 foreign and 182 French suppliers. In addition, Geodis would coordinate all distribution flows to 6 national super/hypermarket retailers (125 delivery points in France with an annual volume of 860,000 pallets). Selected by Nestlé France, the transporters would remain contractually tied to the manufacturer and would invoice it directly. Geodis would receive the orders, monitor their execution, or operate on its own behalf (max. 15% of total volume) through an LLP coordination team.
2005
In October Geodis strengthened its Express business in France by integrating a further 6 branches from the France Express network. The agreement involves France Express branches in Strasbourg, Mulhouse, Belfort, Epinal, Tarbes and Brest.
Geodis will also acquire a 100% stake in Calberson-Danzas in Clermont Ferrand, a company which is also a member of EIG France Express through its subsidiary Puy de Dôme Express.
Geodis thus expanded its groupage network, particularly in Eastern France, and strengthened its positioning within the France Express network, now managing 74 of the 99 regional franchises.
Last year it also completed the acquisition of a small logistics and freight forwarding company, Audas Distribution, which operates 63,000 sq m of warehouse space in and around the French city of Orléans. The company, which employs 92 staff, reported net sales of €13m in 2004.
January - Thales Geodis Freight & Logistics, part of Thales Services division and a joint venture created by Geodis and the French group Thales, signed a new contract with Embraer, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer. Brazilian company Embraer, the world's third largest civilian aircraft manufacturer, contracted Thales Geodis Freight & Logistics to manage all of its reverse logistics for the EMEA zone.
Embraer owns a spare part distribution centre in Le Bourget, near Paris, from which it supplies its customers in Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East. It aims to streamline the repair cycle for faulty equipment and manage all the different stages: collecting the part from the customer (airlines); examining it in Le Bourget; sending it to be repaired (in Europe, the USA or Canada) and finally reintegrating it into the supply inventory or returning it to the customer.
Thales Geodis Freight & Logistics specialises in transport and logistics for the aerospace and defence industries. Although TGFL started out working mainly for Thales, the company now sells its expertise to other players on the aerospace sector.
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Germany
Germany: Summary
Services:
- European groupage
- Logistics
- Warehousing
- Distribution
- Reverse Logistics
- Sea and Air frieght
Key Figures:
- 600 employees
- 200,000 sq m of warehousing space
Sites:
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Geodis Germany |
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| Source: Geodis |
Germany: 2006 News
2006
February - ProLogis the provider of distribution facilities and services, announced that it had signed leases in Germany with two leading logistics companies for more than 500,000 sq ft (46,450 sq m) of industrial space.
ProLogis leased 222,000 sq ft (20,600 sq m) in central Germany to Geodis.
Geodis' distribution centre is located in Malsfeld near the city of Kassel. Geodis also leases more than 2m sq ft (185,800 sq m) from ProLogis across multiple markets in Italy, The Netherlands, Hungary, Spain and France.
January - Geodis was reported to have acquired a medium sized German road haulier as the battle for control of one of Germany's largest networks becomes more intense. According to reports in the German press, Geodis was to acquire Spedition Boos, part of the IDS network.
IDS was originally established as a consortium of mid-sized independent businesses, combining to provide sufficient scale to compete against companies such as Schenker and DHL. IDS is also the German partner of Elix, which provides a pan-European network for road freight consignments. Elix's other European members include DSV DFDS as well as Geodis itself.
Over the last two years DSV DFDS and rival Kuehne + Nagel have acquired a number of the members of IDS and have reportedly accumulated 27% and 19% of the organization respectively. DSV DFDS is one of the key members of the Elix network, providing services in the Nordics region and UK, whilst Geodis focuses on providing coverage in southern Europe. Kuehne + Nagel has a rival European network of its own.
In the present environment of market consolidation, Geodis had been linked with DFDS, prior to DFDS' own bid for another rival freight operator, Frans Maas. The partnership in Elix seemed to suggest a good match between the French and Danish companies. However given recent events this seems less likely. Geodis' acquisition of Boos will give the company a greater level of influence in the IDS group, and could be designed to prevent either DFDS or Kuehne + Nagel taking a controlling stake. This 'blocking tactic' could help ensure the continuance of its network service in Germany which otherwise could be at risk.
Germany 2005 News
2005
June - Geodis announced the provision of warehousing and distribution services for Nestlé Purina Petcare in Cologne.
Geodis Deutschland was set to recruit 50 extra staff to run a key warehouse in Cologne-Ossendorf in the scope of a new contract to provide warehousing (on raised storage racks) and distribution services for pet food manufacturer Nestlé Purina Petcare.
Geodis was to run a centralised warehouse for Nestlé Purina Petcare and the contract would run from October this year. Geodis was to begin to move pallets into the warehouse in August but the contract signed between the two companies would run for at least three years. As a result, Geodis was creating 50 new jobs at its Cologne logistics platform.
Geodis' warehouse was automated and used a raised storage rack system. It could store up to 50,000 pallets. Geodis Deutschland staff will pick orders for their domestic market and ship deliveries to customers directly from the warehouse. In addition to providing storage services at its hi-tech warehouse, Geodis would also manage all Nestlé Purina Petcare's transport needs.
Geodis also managed Nestlé's Lüdinghausen warehouse, from which Maggi products were distributed, and another site in Gladbeck that shipped Nestlé-Food-Service products to wholesalers.
The site would gradually be extended to allow them to continue their growth on the German market.
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Ireland
Ireland: Summary
Services:
- European groupage
- Logistics
- Supply Chain Management
- Storage and Distribtuion
- Order picking, assembly
- Reverse Logistics
- Air and Sea Freight
- Customs oeprations
- Export Europe sea hub
Key Figures:
- 266 employees
- 500 customers
- 30,000 sq m of warehousing space
Sites:
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Geodis Ireland |
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Source: Geodis |
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Italy
Italy: Summary
Services:
- Domestic Groupage and Express
- European transport
- Consolidation
- Full truck load
- Express
- Logistics
- Project management
- Pre/post-prod. logistics
- Reverse Logistics
- Air and sea freight
- Customs operations
- Industrial projects
Key Figures:
- 800 employees
- 250,000 sq m of warehousing space (excluding cross dock operations)
Sites:
| Geodis Italy |
 |
| Source: Geodis |
Italy: 2011 News
2011
March - Geodis Logistics - through the recently acquired company BSL - had signed a six-year agreement with YOOX Group for the supply of integrated logistics services to the new highly-automated global operations and distribution platform in Interporto, Bologna.
Geodis Logistics would manage YOOX Group's supply chain, coordinating the handling and shipping activities for fashion items (garments on hangers and flat garments), as well as inventory management related to footwear and fashion accessories in the storage, packaging, shipping and return management phases. A dedicated team of 68 people would work on the project.
The Chief Executive Officer of Geodis, declared: "This important agreement with YOOX Group is representative of the capacity of Geodis to handle and face the needs and demands of the biggest players within the ecommerce sector in terms of innovation, perimeter covered and expertise." "In 2011 we began a partnership with one of the leaders in Internet fashion and design retail. The agreement signed with YOOX Group confirms the role of Geodis as a global provider of logistics services at both the national and international level - said the BSL CEO. In April 2010 we became part of the Geodis Group, which has allowed us to expand our presence in the industry beyond Italy, while maintaining a close relationship with our customers".
Italy: 2010 News
2010
March - Following the acquisition of Giraud's Steel division and Central and Eastern Europe division in July 2009, Geodis had entered into exclusive negotiations to buy its two remaining divisions, Northern Europe and Southern Europe (full and partial truckload road transport). The company said this would allow it to expand its European coverage, particularly in Spain. Giraud was the third-largest road freight carrier in Spain, and a major player in France.
Geodis commented that the transaction would be concluded very quickly, after employees had been informed and after approval by the competition authorities, who were expected to rule on the acquisition by the end of the first half of 2010.
"Giraud's corporate culture is close to ours," said the director of the Geodis Road division. "It has a centralized organization, strong culture of operational excellence and management tools that are similar to ours. These factors, along with our successful experience with the Steel division and Central and Eastern Europe division, augur well for a successful integration."
"For Geodis BM, this acquisition is an opportunity to build a true European network and to play a full role in the Group's global end-to-end offering. With this new network, the revenue of Geodis BM will exceed one billion euros, based on the expertise of its 5,000 employees," concluded the CEO of Geodis.
In addition in early March Geodis SA announced the acquisition of BSL Bertola Servizi Logistici S.p.A. Based in Pavia, Italy, BSL provides warehousing and logistics services to the consumer goods, textiles and automotive industries. Bertola provides contract logistics services from its base in Veneto, Italy. Terms were not disclosed.
February - SNCF Geodis launched a new brand, CapTrain, covering its international rail haulage activities. The company said that the creation of CapTrain, following the acquisitions made over the last two years, had confirmed its objective to integrate and develop its various international activities.
The new brand would bring together a range of its subsidiaries:
- In Benelux, CapTrain groups SNCF Fret Benelux, Veolia Cargo Belgium, Veolia Cargo Nederland and ITL Benelux.
- In Germany, CapTrain Deutschland groups together SNCF Fret Deutschland and Veolia Cargo Deutschland.
- In Italy, CapTrain Italia groups together SNCF Fret Italia and Veolia Cargo Italia.
In other developments, Freight Europe UK and VFLI Romania had been renamed CapTrain UK and CapTrain Romania.
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Luxembourg
Luxembourg: Summary
Services:
- European groupage
- Logistics
- Supply Chain Management
- Storage and distribution
- Order picking, assembly
- Reverse logistics
- Overseas
- Air and sea freight
- Customs operations
- Export Europe sea hub
Luxembourg: 2010 News
2010
February - SNCF Geodis launched a new brand, CapTrain, covering its international rail haulage activities. The company said that the creation of CapTrain, following the acquisitions made over the last two years, had confirmed its objective to integrate and develop its various international activities.
The new brand would bring together a range of its subsidiaries:
- In Benelux, CapTrain groups SNCF Fret Benelux, Veolia Cargo Belgium, Veolia Cargo Nederland and ITL Benelux.
- In Germany, CapTrain Deutschland groups together SNCF Fret Deutschland and Veolia Cargo Deutschland.
- In Italy, CapTrain Italia groups together SNCF Fret Italia and Veolia Cargo Italia.
In other developments, Freight Europe UK and VFLI Romania had been renamed CapTrain UK and CapTrain Romania.
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Netherlands
Netherlands: Summary
Services:
- European Groupage
- Logistics
- Supply Chain Management
- Storage and Distribution
- Order Picking, assembly
- Reverse Logistics
- Air and Sea Freight
- Customs oeprations
- Export Europe sea hub
Key Figures:
- Revenue €125m 2006
- 250,000 sq m of warehousing space
- 90 vehicles
- 900 employees
| Geodis Netherlands Sites |
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| Source: Geodis |
Netherlands: 2010 News
2010
February - SNCF Geodis launched a new brand, CapTrain, covering its international rail haulage activities. The company said that the creation of CapTrain, following the acquisitions made over the last two years, had confirmed its objective to integrate and develop its various international activities.
The new brand would bring together a range of its subsidiaries:
- In Benelux, CapTrain groups SNCF Fret Benelux, Veolia Cargo Belgium, Veolia Cargo Nederland and ITL Benelux.
- In Germany, CapTrain Deutschland groups together SNCF Fret Deutschland and Veolia Cargo Deutschland.
- In Italy, CapTrain Italia groups together SNCF Fret Italia and Veolia Cargo Italia.
In other developments, Freight Europe UK and VFLI Romania had been renamed CapTrain UK and CapTrain Romania.
Netherlands: 2005 News
2005 February - Geodis opened new assembly lines at the Vento logistics platform. The site is 49,000 sq m and offers services such as receipt to warehousing and dispatching of high value added services (assembly, customisation and packaging).
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Spain
Spain: Summary
Services:
- Iberian distribution
- European distribution
- Full truck loads
- Air and sea freight
- Customs operations
- Industrial projects
- Canary Islands offers
- Logistics
- Storage and distribution
- National logistics
- International logistics
- Reverse logistics
Key figures:
- 720 employees
- 4.6m dispatches a year
- 496 vehicles
- 80,000 sq m of warehousing space
Sites:
| Geodis Spain |
 |
| Source: Geodis |
Spain: 2010 News
2010
March - Following the acquisition of Giraud's Steel division and Central and Eastern Europe division in July 2009, Geodis had entered into exclusive negotiations to buy its two remaining divisions, Northern Europe and Southern Europe (full and partial truckload road transport). The company said this would allow it to expand its European coverage, particularly in Spain. Giraud was the third-largest road freight carrier in Spain, and a major player in France.
Geodis commented that the transaction would be concluded very quickly, after employees had been informed and after approval by the competition authorities, who were expected to rule on the acquisition by the end of the first half of 2010.
"Giraud's corporate culture is close to ours," said the director of the Geodis Road division. "It has a centralized organization, strong culture of operational excellence and management tools that are similar to ours. These factors, along with our successful experience with the Steel division and Central and Eastern Europe division, augur well for a successful integration."
"For Geodis BM, this acquisition is an opportunity to build a true European network and to play a full role in the Group's global end-to-end offering. With this new network, the revenue of Geodis BM will exceed one billion euros, based on the expertise of its 5,000 employees," concluded the CEO of Geodis. In addition in early March Geodis SA announced the acquisition of BSL Bertola Servizi Logistici S.p.A. Based in Pavia, Italy, BSL provides warehousing and logistics services to the consumer goods, textiles and automotive industries. Bertola provides contract logistics services from its base in Veneto, Italy. Terms were not disclosed.
Spain: 2004-2005 News
2005
September - Geodis Iberia signed a partnership agreement with Electrolux Professional, a leading supplier of integrated solutions for professional laundry and catering businesses. The agreement covers the management of logistics and distribution services for the company in Spain.
Geodis will run these services from a 3,000 sq m logistics platform in Coslada and is also to manage domestic transport for Electrolux, in addition to handling and storage. Electrolux Professional's main customer base includes hotels, restaurants and hospitals that require a complete range of equipment for their kitchens.
The Electrolux inventory will be managed using pocket PCs fitted with bar code readers, thus enabling batch numbers and product references to be checked. A dedicated application to manage interfaces between the Electrolux Professional information system and that of Geodis has been developed.
November - Geodis Iberia, the Spanish subsidiary of French group Geodis moved to the next level in terms of its expansion plans with the launch of a new platform at El Prat de Llobregat logistics park II (close to Barcelona's key port and airport zones).
The new site has been constructed on a plot measuring 25,000 sq m and comprises 12,000 sq m of operating space and 1,500 sq m of offices. It will bring Geodis Iberia's site surface area in Catalonia to a total of 40,000 sq m.
2004
December - as part of its Spanish development plan, Geodis opened a new logistics facility in Irún, in the north-west of the country. The opening of this new site close to the border with France and the A-8 motorway, was aimed to help the development of its logistics and domestic and international groupage activities. The new platform comprised a 1,000 sq m warehouse dedicated to logistics activities, 2,000 sq m of loading bays for groupage and 750 sq m of offices. The construction of the new site in Irún is the third platform opened by the Geodis this year, following the development of two 8,000 sq m sites in Arazuri (Navarre) and Cabanillas del Campo (Guadalajara). Geodis is also building a 12,000 sq m facility in Barcelona, scheduled to open in summer 2005.
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United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Summary
Services:
- European Transport
- Distribution of palletised goods
- Consolidation, full batches and loads
- Logistics
- Supply Chain Management
- Reverse Logistics
- Air and Sea Freaight
- Customs opeations
- Industiral Projects
Key Figures
- 500 employees
- 7,000 customers
- 100,000 sq m warehousing space
- 50 vehicles
Sites:
| Geodis United Kingdom |
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| Source: Geodis |
United Kingdom: 2010 News
2010
February - SNCF Geodis launched a new brand, CapTrain, covering its international rail haulage activities. The company said that the creation of CapTrain, following the acquisitions made over the last two years, had confirmed its objective to integrate and develop its various international activities.
The new brand would bring together a range of its subsidiaries:
- In Benelux, CapTrain groups SNCF Fret Benelux, Veolia Cargo Belgium, Veolia Cargo Nederland and ITL Benelux.
- In Germany, CapTrain Deutschland groups together SNCF Fret Deutschland and Veolia Cargo Deutschland.
- In Italy, CapTrain Italia groups together SNCF Fret Italia and Veolia Cargo Italia.
In other developments, Freight Europe UK and VFLI Romania had been renamed CapTrain UK and CapTrain Romania.
United Kingdom: 2006-2008 News
2008
October - Geodis Wilson reported that it was to manage certain air and sea freight routes for RS Components from its site in Corby, central England, to the electronic components supplier's facilities around the globe. It said a contract through to the end of 2009 had been signed by both companies on September 29.
Geodis Wilson described RS Components as a catalogue-based distributor of electronic components and industrial products, from semi-conductors to batteries, tools and measurement equipment from over 2,500 suppliers. It added that RS, which was founded in 1937, was part of Electrocomponents plc and was a global business supporting over 1.6m customers worldwide.
"For many years, Geodis Wilson has supplied in-house expertise at RS Components' site in Corby, operating from within the warehouse in a designated area and processing all freight ready for export shipment," stated the forwarding company. "The new contract extends these services to the consolidation of import products from Asia, which are to be handled by Geodis Wilson UK before final delivery to RS facilities at Corby and Nuneaton."
June - Geodis Wilson, the forwarding division of French European logistics group Geodis, strengthened its growing business in the UK with the acquisition of Oughtred & Harrison Shipping. Geodis Wilson said that the move would boost its ocean export business and extend its global network coverage in China and Benelux.
O&H Shipping was an air and sea freight forwarder with almost 100 employees, mainly based in northern England, but also in Belgium and China. Serving more than 1,900 customers, O&H would deliver about £35m (€44m) to the Geodis group's net sales.
"The O&H acquisition is an important step in our long term growth ambition and strengthens our presence in the market," commented Geodis Wilson. "The eventual merger of our two companies brings us closer to achieving our objective of being a top five freight management company in the UK. Both from a geographical and from a functional point of view, there are no essential overlaps, which will lead into a straight integration process that will be completed within the next 12 months."
According to Geodis Wilson, the combined businesses at current trading will generate over £90m (€112m) in net sales. Together, it added, they had 290 employees based in 14 locations across the UK.
2007
October - Geodis UK announced a significant new contract with high tech manufacturing company Gear4 for warehousing and distribution of the manufacturer's iPod accessories within the UK. The deal saw Geodis distributing Gear4's range of speakers, cases and connectivity devices designed specifically for use with the iPod to a number of high street retailers.
Geodis currently held a stock of Gear4's merchandise at its High Wycombe headquarters, warehousing full container loads of product, which were then distributed to Gear4's major customers as full pallet loads.
"Within the UK, we have made a conscious decision to concentrate our activity on areas where we already enjoy genuine expertise," explained Geodis UK. "We specialise in the storage and distribution of high-value products and offer a number of value-adding services in sectors such as high tech, textiles and pharmaceutical. Furthermore, our worldwide network allows customers to enjoy a seamless transition between the various elements of their supply chain operations."
October - Geodis announced it was to handle 90% of leading outdoor clothing manufacturer Regatta's continental pallet distribution. The move represented a significant strengthening of the relationship between the two organisations, which had been doing business for the previous 12 months.
Regatta was the UK's largest family outdoor clothing brand, with a product range taking in garments, footwear and rucksacks. The company operated a consolidation warehouse in Trafford Park, Manchester, which served as the European hub for imports from its production sites across the world into the UK. Geodis UK currently transported up to 200 pallet loads per week from the hub, providing distribution by road across the continent via its market-leading Eurofirst product.
Regatta, said: "Historically, we used a number of different providers to obtain the most competitive pricing for each individual shipment. Geodis was not only amongst the most cost-effective of our providers but also delivered an outstanding and thoroughly reliable service and was a natural choice when we looked to consolidate our continental distribution.
Regatta concluded: "The Eurofirst service meets our requirements perfectly, with regular scheduled departures and door-to-door transit times as short as 24 hours to most major European cities. Our partnership with Geodis UK has been extremely successful from the outset and we look forward to continuing to work alongside them. We have ambitious plans to grow our European business and actively sought a partner who could service that growth - Geodis, with their established continental network, will be able to support our business as it expands."
August - Fashion design house, Paul Smith, was to work with Geodis UK for European distribution of its luxury clothing, following a ten-month trial. The renewed agreement would see Geodis providing an end-to-end service for all Paul Smith products delivered into continental European retail outlets and the designer's own boutiques, via Geodis' Eurofirst distribution product.
Under the agreement, goods were collected from Nottingham-based Paul Smith's dispatch warehouses and conveyed to Geodis' European hubs, to feed into domestic distribution networks for final delivery to outlets across France, Germany and other markets.
The logistics manager for Paul Smith, cited Geodis' robust security measures and the total visibility enabled by Eurofirst as the main reasons behind the decision.
"We have worked closely with Geodis for some time," said Paul Smith's logistic manager. "Their continued investment in security and systems, including full web-tracking and reporting, makes the Eurofirst product one that suits our needs perfectly. Through the company's secure web portal, we always know where our goods are and when they will be delivered and can obtain proof of delivery online. The service provides everything that we, as a shipper of high value goods, require and the Geodis customer service team has developed a successful working partnership with our own logistics personnel."
May - Geodis announced that its environmentally-friendly new distribution centre at Magna Park, Leicestershire, had achieved near-optimal results by reaching 80% utilisation within its first six months of operation. Geodis' Magna Park facility was opened in June 2006 following a 12 week build process.
The materials used in the construction of Magna Park had been sourced to ensure that the facility's carbon footprint is kept to a minimum. Organic paint and recycled carpets have been used throughout the site and the trees that surround the warehouse not only offset a proportion of the site's CO2 emissions, but also provide a barrier against noise pollution.
April - Geodis UK, the High Wycombe-based arm of the European distribution organisation Geodis, is extending its product offering in the wine logistics sector from its European base to the international marketplace. The company is making significant investment into developing new routes between the UK and the 'New World' wine-producing regions of South America, Australasia and South Africa.
The new routes are run from Geodis UK's Poole distribution centre, which is home to the company's specialist team and the hub of its wine importing operations. Geodis currently transports 16,000 tonnes of wines into the UK from Europe every year, with France contributing the vast majority of imports at 15,800 tonnes, or 12.5m bottles, annually.
Geodis is also working alongside the company's global shipping partner, Rohde & Liesenfeld, which handles its third party requirements in the New World and has extensive experience in the international wines and spirits market.
2006
September - Gazeley in a joint venture with MetLife Inc, delivered a new 110,215 sq ft (10,239 sq m) distribution facility for Geodis UK Ltd at Magna Park UK in Lutterworth. The logistics provider, which has pre-let the unit for a term of 10 years, has taken possession of the warehouse unit. The distribution facility was completed, with phased access to operations, in an 11 week construction period using Gazeley's G.Track concept. The facility was fully operational at week 18 following an extensive fitting out programme undertaken by the developer. According to Gazeley, the standard industry build time for a unit of this size is approximately 25 weeks.
Vertical Sectors
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Automotive
Automotive: 2009 News
2009 January - GEODIS LOGISTICS and the Belgian service provider NOVA HOLDING created a joint venture, which provided logistics services in the port of Antwerp. Nova Natie, a Belgian logistics service provider, was a long-time group with family capitals, specialized in value-added logistics services for the consumer products, textile and high-tech sectors. It was one of the main logistics service providers set in the port of Antwerp, with nearly 250,000 sq m of warehouses with branch lines. Geodis Logistics provided logistics services for for high-tech, automotive, health and consumer products. It owned 170 warehouses on 2,000,000 sq m in Europe, and benefited from Geodis group freight forwarding network, which covered 120 countries in the world, as well as from European distribution means from the Divisions Geodis Calberson and Geodis BM. The new entity GEODIS NOVA LOGISTICS was aiming at providing value-added logistics services directly in the port of Antwerp such as control of products, labelling, postponement, assembling, kitting, packaging and co-packing to the manufacturers and distributors.
Automotive: 2004 News
2004
October - Geodis opened a new Vendor-Managed Inventory facility in Ottmarsheim, France. The 16,400 sq m site, which is mainly dedicated to managing synchronous flows, opened last March and now employs around 100 staff. It stores, assembles and delivers bumpers and door panels to PCA's (Peugeot Citroën Automobile) production lines manufacturing Peugeot 206 and 307 models and Citroën C4s.
The Ottmarsheim VMI is Geodis BM's sixth automotive distribution centre in the region; the remaining five are located in Etupes, Fontaine, Danjoutin, Illzach and Voujeaucourt. The new site completes Geodis' automotive network of around thirty specialised sites in France and all over Europe (EU + central Europe). The Automotive Division lists amongst its customers companies such as Faurecia, Inergy, Mécaplast, Plastic Omnium, Treves and Valeo.
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Chemical
Chemical: Summary
The company's Full Truckload division is involved in transporting and handling hazardous goods. The main business is concentrated in the Chemicals-Gas sub-division, whose activities include transporting bulk and packaged chemical, oil and gas products and storing packaged chemical products; the Groupage division, which accepts hazardous substances only when they are suitable for transportation by this type of network and does not transport very high risk substances, such as explosives, toxic gases, radioactive and infectious materials.
Chemicals are transported either in bulk, form in articulated tankers , or in packaged form, in semi-articulated trucks.
Trucks used to carry chemical products have an on-board environmental 'tool kit' containing everything the driver needs (shovel, absorbent and isolating materials) to avoid small leaks draining into the waste water system. The tool kit helps to avoid pollution while waiting for the fire fighters or the sub-division's technical team to arrive. The Full Truckload's Chemicals- Gas subdivision's storage facility is located at Salaise-sur-Sanne in southeast France and it is a classified site under the Seveso II directive, which provides classification for environmentally sensitive facility.
Chemical: 2005 News
2005
January - European chemical company Rhodia announced that it had signed contracts with Geodis, DHL and VOS Logistics for the creation of a global management system for its transport operations in Europe. The first step involved all procurement activities. A further step involved the purchase of transportation services by a small number of first tier suppliers. According to the company this global approach to the management of transport services will replace a decentralised, site level organisation and represents a first in the chemical industry.
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Consumer/ Retail
Consumer/ Retail: Summary
| Geodis Goods Flow Management |
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| Source: Geodis |
Geodis is recognised as a specialist in the luxury goods sector: perfumes, cosmetics, table art, fashion accessories, fancy leather goods, wines and spirits, gourmet food, glassware, porcelain, silverware, etc.
A single contact deploys and organises the resources needed to implement logistics project. Each customer is provided with upgradeable solutions such as:
- customer-site logistics, at a dedicated site or multi-customer platform
- customer or Geodis IT system, which can be interfaced or transferred to the customer's premises.
Supply logistics:
- management of supplier calls, customs clearance, receipt, quality control
- vendor-managed inventory
- order picking, supply of chains in synchronisation with production cycles
Distribution logistics:
- inventory management by unit
- order picking for end customer
- specific and unit packaging
- management of promotional operations, co-packing, customisation, value-added services etc.
- design, coordination and execution of systems combining the various distribution methods: cross-dock, merge-in-transit, etc.
- specialised transport: dedicated shuttles, secure and unmarked vehicles, emergency restocking, inter-warehouse breakdown support
- delivery to department stores (corners).
Consumer/ Retail: 2011 News
2011
September - Geodis announced that, as of October 6, it would begin making deliveries for Carrefour in Lille using a hybrid refrigerated trailer truck. A new initiative in Geodis' Distripolis urban logistics system, this first-of-its-kind service would mean deliveries to the six Carrefour stores in the Lille city centre would be both cleaner and quieter.
In May 2010, Geodis teamed up with Renault Trucks to test a unique hybrid vehicle equipped with a cryogenic refrigeration unit. The vehicle was proposed to several customers for testing, and the retailer Carrefour was first to request the new vehicle. A perfect fit with Carrefour's sustainable development strategy, this 26-tonne hybrid truck that complied with the Euro 5 standard would begin delivering goods to Carrefour stores in Lille starting in October.
The thermal engine–electric motor combo in hybrid trucks lowered diesel consumption by an average of 20%. This represented an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of 10 tonnes. The use of liquid nitrogen, a non-toxic substance that emitted no CO2, as the refrigeration fluid made this vehicle even more environmentally friendly. This vehicle also had separate transport compartments, so both fresh produce and dry goods could be delivered. In addition, the cooling unit lowered the temperature twice as fast, making the truck particularly useful for the transport of vegetables.
Consumer/ Retail: 2010 News
2010
July - Nestle has renewed its cooperation with Geodis Logistics for a further five years. In its distribution centre in Ludinghausen, North Rhine, Geodis Logistics takes over the storage, picking and worldwide distribution of 500 different Nestle products.
Geodis plans to make further investment in the distribution centre as part of its sustainability strategy for 2010. The aim is for the expanded facility to reduce its energy consumption by 20%. In addition, it will extend the flow capacity enabling it to be able to respond to volume peaks.
Consumer/ Retail: 2009 News
2009 January - Geodis Logistics and the Belgian service provider Nova Holding created a joint venture, which provided logistics services in the port of Antwerp. Nova Natie, a Belgian logistics service provider, was a long-time group with family capitals, specialized in value-added logistics services for the consumer products, textile and high-tech sectors. It was one of the main logistics service providers set in the port of Antwerp, with nearly 250,000 sq m of warehouses with branch lines. Geodis Logistics provided logistics services for for high-tech, automotive, health and consumer products. It owned 170 warehouses on 2,000,000 sq m in Europe, and benefited from Geodis group freight forwarding network, which covered 120 countries in the world, as well as from European distribution means from the Divisions Geodis Calberson and Geodis BM. The new entity Geodis Nova Logistics was aiming at providing value-added logistics services directly in the port of Antwerp such as control of products, labelling, postponement, assembling, kitting, packaging and co-packing to the manufacturers and distributors.
Consumer/ Retail: 2006-2007 News
2007
November - Mattel awarded Geodis a five-year contract to manage its new northern Europe distribution centre. Located in Venlo, the Netherlands, the newly-created platform is due to become operational on March 31, 2008.
June - Samsung Electronics France and Geodis will celebrate their new partnership.
Geodis handle distribution and logistics for the consumer electronics leader's high-tech products (LCD and plasma screens, Hi-Fis, MP3s, DVDs, notebooks), as well as reverse logistics for WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) including brown goods and IT equipment.
Geodis handle the administrative management of customs declarations at ports and airports relating to importing products and supplying the logistics platform. The platform will be dedicated to inventory management and order picking for a range of Samsung Electronics France products. Geodis make deliveries to all Samsung customers in France from the Evry platform (groupage, express, full truck loads). Finally, Reverse Logistics for Samsung products in France will be handled by Geodis' "General Contractor” organisation, set up for WEEE on a European scale. Samsung Electronics France has also entrusted Geodis with centralising and managing marketing and event logistics for all its product lines (white and brown goods, IT and telephone equipment).
As Samsung Electronics products are tailored to increasingly personalised market requirements (larger television screens for instance), the platform's organisation and operations for handling these products have been significantly adapted.
The platform's large volumes and high level of activity are stated below:
- Freight Forwarding: 5 containers per week
- Inbound: around 30 lorries per day (7,500 units per day)
- Warehouse area: nearly 14,000 sq m
- Distribution: an average of 150 groupage shipments and 140 freight shipments per day, involving over 45 lorries.
2006
TNT Freight Management secured a large-scale global contract with Electrolux Global Logistics. Having had a cooperation within the Nordic countries, TNT now handles all air-freight for Electrolux, from Asia to Europe, within Asia and from Europe to the rest of the world.
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Defence
Defence: 2005-2006 News
2006
The French armed forces are likely to be heavily orientated towards French Freight Forwarders, and Geodis in particular as it remains partly state-owned.
In March Geodis and Thales signed a partnership agreement relating to the defence sector which it claimed to be the first of its kind. The agreement strengthened the cooperation that already existed between Thales and Geodis in the form of their joint subsidiary TGFL (Thales Geodis Freight Logistics). Geodis and Thales will provide services in the implementation and long-term maintenance of systems, together with end-to-end supply chain solutions.
Even the most cursory examination of this will illustrate that national MOD spending is heavily influenced by the strength of presence of a particular freight forwarder in a particular country
Others companies -notably Panalpina, Kuehne + Nagel, Atlas Air must have substantial business with national MODs due to their strength in the air cargo market. Panalpina/CargoLux and Foyle Air also have important niche business for over-sized air cargo shipments for which there is often a substantial, if unpredictable demand from national MOD's.
The other large forwarders are significant suppliers to major defence suppliers, although its varies on the nature of the defence suppliers logistics management. Rolls-Royce and other the major aero-engine builders are much more hands –on with active planning and purchasing operations and therefore will have a closer relationship with the like of Bax Global and Atlas than with the pure forwarders.
2005
January - Thales Geodis Freight & Logistics, part of Thales Services division and a joint venture created by Geodis and the French group Thales, signed a new contract with Embraer, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer. Brazilian company Embraer, the world's third largest civilian aircraft manufacturer, contracted Thales Geodis Freight & Logistics to manage all of its reverse logistics for the EMEA zone.
Embraer owned a spare part distribution centre in Le Bourget, near Paris, from which it supplied its customers in Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East. It aimed to streamline the repair cycle for faulty equipment and manage all the different stages:
- collecting the part from the customer (airlines);
- examining it in Le Bourget;
- sending it to be repaired (in Europe, the USA or Canada)
- and finally reintegrating it into the supply inventory or returning it to the customer.
Thales Geodis Freight & Logistics specialises in transport and logistics for the aerospace and defence industries. Although TGFL started out working mainly for Thales, the company now sells its expertise to other players on the aerospace sector.
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Fashion/ Textiles
Fashion/Textiles: 2011 News
2011
March - Geodis Logistics - through the recently acquired company BSL - had signed a six-year agreement with YOOX Group for the supply of integrated logistics services to the new highly-automated global operations and distribution platform in Interporto, Bologna.
Geodis Logistics would manage YOOX Group's supply chain, coordinating the handling and shipping activities for fashion items (garments on hangers and flat garments), as well as inventory management related to footwear and fashion accessories in the storage, packaging, shipping and return management phases. A dedicated team of 68 people would work on the project.
The Chief Executive Officer of Geodis, declared: "This important agreement with YOOX Group is representative of the capacity of Geodis to handle and face the needs and demands of the biggest players within the ecommerce sector in terms of innovation, perimeter covered and expertise." "In 2011 we began a partnership with one of the leaders in Internet fashion and design retail. The agreement signed with YOOX Group confirms the role of Geodis as a global provider of logistics services at both the national and international level - said the BSL CEO. In April 2010 we became part of the Geodis Group, which has allowed us to expand our presence in the industry beyond Italy, while maintaining a close relationship with our customers".
Fashion/ Textiles: 2009 News
2009 January - Geodis Logistics and the Belgian service provider Nova Holding created a joint venture, which provided logistics services in the port of Antwerp. Nova Natie, a Belgian logistics service provider, was a long-time group with family capitals, specialized in value-added logistics services for the consumer products, textile and high-tech sectors. It was one of the main logistics service providers set in the port of Antwerp, with nearly 250,000 sq m of warehouses with branch lines. Geodis Logistics provided logistics services for for high-tech, automotive, health and consumer products. It owned 170 warehouses on 2,000,000 sq m in Europe, and benefited from Geodis group freight forwarding network, which covered 120 countries in the world, as well as from European distribution means from the Divisions Geodis Calberson and Geodis BM. The new entity Geodis Nova Logistics was aiming at providing value-added logistics services directly in the port of Antwerp such as control of products, labelling, postponement, assembling, kitting, packaging and co-packing to the manufacturers and distributors.
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Healthcare/ Pharmaceutical
Global Pharmaceutical Logistics 2011: Summary
Geodis offers both freight management and logistics services for the healthcare industry including management of returns, recalls and destruction oversight, pharmaceutical packaging and exports, management of samples and transportation management. The company provides logistics at the customer’s site, at a dedicated site or at a multi-customer platform.
Geodis has strengthened its position in the healthcare market and consolidated its offering with the acquisition of the pharmaceutical pre-wholesaler Pharmalog. Pharmalog was a pharmaceuticals logistics and distribution company based in Val de Reuil in Normandy, France.
It had 50,000 sq m of storage space and a workforce of 150 and revenue of €18m. The new entity will carry out a full range of value-added operations: sales administration, customer debt recovery, repackaging, management of free medical samples, etc. It has nine specialised platforms in France (warehouses, clean rooms, controlled temperature premises, etc.) a workforce of almost 500 employees. In the long term, this organisation will be deployed Europe-wide, based on operations already carried out for the health sector by Geodis Logistics in Benelux, Ireland and Italy.
At the same time, Pharmalog customers will gain access to all the dedicated services in logistics, distribution and international transport delivered by the Geodis Group to healthcare professionals.
Geodis have inaugurated, together with Laboratoires Expanscience, a new logistics platform for the healthcare sector at Droue-sur-Drouette near Epernon, in the heart of France's 'Cosmetic Valley'. Healthcare/Cosmetics has been a key growth sector for the Geodis group for more than 15 years.
In Europe Geodis currently operates 15 special purpose and regulation-compliant platforms that manage stocks in an ambient or controlled temperature environment, prepare orders for the entire sector, and provide value-added services such as relabelling, inspection and packaging.
To span the entire supply chain, Geodis also manages import/export transport flows for products, and handles domestic distribution through its Certipharm-certified Geodis Calberson network or its Geodis Ciblex parcels network. The new 15,600 sq m Droue-sur-Drouette platform is equipped with a retail parcel preparation line that can handle up to 12m products annually and a full-parcel preparation line.
It has a 5,800 sq m storage area with the temperature regulated at 15°/25° and employs 50 people in two shifts. Its main client is Laboratoires Expanscience, a long-standing customer of the Geodis group. Laboratoires Expanscience is present in both the pharmaceutical and dermo-cosmetic sectors, and is the leader for skin care products for babies. Geodis distributes Expanscience products in more than 50 countries. Every year, this involves managing 1,600 articles, checking in 50,000 pallets, preparing 1,300,000 orders and shipping 1,500,000 parcels.
© 2011 Transport Intelligence
Healthcare/ Pharmaceuticals: Summary
Services include:
- Logistics at the customer's site, at a dedicated site or at a multi-customer platform.
- Customer or Geodis computer systems with interfacing and portability capacity.
Geodis has the triple roles of manufacturer, depositary and distributor of drugs for clinical trials enabling them to conduct any business related to health logistics.
Pre-production logistics
- Oversight and execution of upstream transportation (ground, air, sea) and related services.
- Management of raw materials and packaging items with sampling.
- Production chain provisioning in tight flows.
Post-production logistics
- Receipt, qualitative and quantitative control, specific drawing and shipping of samples.
- Stock management at controlled and/or directed temperatures.
- Order preparation with controlled line and weighted control.
- Pharmaceutical packaging and exports.
- Oversight and execution of downstream transportation.
- Management of returns and recalls, demolition oversight.
- Transfer and installation of medical equipment and units.
- Management of medical equipment spare parts.
Healthcare/ Pharmaceutical: 2011 News
2011
September - The Geodis Group strengthened its position on the healthcare market and consolidated its offering with the acquisition of the pharmaceutical pre-wholesaler Pharmalog.
Pharmalog was a pharmaceuticals logistics and distribution company based in Val de Reuil in Normandy, France. It had 50,000 sq m of storage space and a workforce of 150. Pharmalog had revenue of €18m.
The new entity would carry out a full range of value-added operations: sales administration, customer debt recovery, repackaging, management of free medical samples, etc. It had nine specialised platforms in France (warehouses, clean rooms, controlled temperature premises, etc.) a workforce of almost 500 employees.
In the long term, this organisation would be deployed Europe-wide, based on operations already carried out for the health sector by Geodis Logistics in Benelux, Ireland and Italy. At the same time, Pharmalog customers would gain access to all the dedicated services in logistics, distribution and international transport delivered by the Geodis Group to healthcare professionals.
The CEO of Geodis, said: "This new vertical offering places Geodis among the top three players in healthcare logistics in France, as well as opening broad new prospects in Europe. This organisation will bring real benefits for customers since it is a close fit with the services developed by the cross-cutting entity Geodis Global Solutions and the other divisions of the Geodis Group: Groupage & Express, Contract Logistics, Freight Management and Road."
Healthcare/ Pharmaceuticals: 2010 News
2010
September - Geodis inaugurated, together with Laboratoires Expanscience, a new logistics platform for the healthcare sector at Droue-sur-Drouette near Epernon, in the heart of France's 'Cosmetic Valley'.
Healthcare/Cosmetics had been a key growth sector for the Geodis group for more than 15 years. In Europe the Group currently operated 15 special purpose and regulation-compliant platforms that managed stocks in an ambient or controlled temperature environment, prepare orders for the entire sector, and provide value-added services such as relabelling, inspection and packaging. To span the entire supply chain, Geodis also managed import/export transport flows for products, and handled domestic distribution through its Certipharm-certified Geodis Calberson network or its Geodis Ciblex parcels network.
The new 15,600 sq m Droue-sur-Drouette platform was equipped with a retail parcel preparation line that could handle up to 12m products annually and a full-parcel preparation line. It had a 5,800 sq m storage area with the temperature regulated at 15°/25° and employed 50 people in two shifts.
Its main client was Laboratoires Expanscience, a long-standing customer of the Geodis group. Laboratoires Expanscience was present in both the pharmaceutical and dermo-cosmetic sectors, and was the leader for skin care products for babies. Geodis distributed Expanscience products in more than 50 countries. Every year, this involved managing 1,600 articles, checking in 50,000 pallets, preparing 1,300,000 orders and shipping 1,500,000 parcels.
Healthcare/ Pharmaceuticals: 2007 News
2007
September - After a European Tender process, Geodis Wilson had been nominated as one of AstraZeneca's preferred suppliers to handle its airfreight volumes from the five European AstraZeneca production countries in Sweden, United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Germany.
The scope of the business enabled Geodis Wilson to control 60% of the airfreight volumes out from these five countries. The contract would run for two years with an option of extending one additional year. The revenue potential was estimated to €20m on an annual basis.
"What makes the assignment so special is the high level demand of Temperature Management, Quality Management and Lead-time accuracy that apply for handling pharmaceuticals," said the Global Account Manager at Geodis Wilson. "We completed a thorough tendering process from which Geodis Wilson emerged as one of our preferred suppliers. They were selected based on the pricing offered, their company culture and the speed with which we could implement together our new way of working. I have been impressed by the energy which Geodis Wilson applied to cutting over the current arrangements and also proposing potential new solutions on current allocations," said the Global Freight & Logistics Manager at AstraZeneca.
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High Tech
High Tech: 2010 News
2010
June - Parrot, a leader in wireless peripherals for mobile telephony, awarded the management of its supply chain and reverse logistics to Geodis Logistics. Following a call for tender launched in 2009, Geodis Logistics concluded a contract with Parrot covering stock management, equipment customisation and reverse logistics for its products. The award involves a multi-year contract to manage the key stages of the company's supply chain.
As a result, since February, Geodis Logistics had been providing logistics services for Parrot, including customisation of equipment and assembling kits at one of its logistics hubs in the Paris region.
The products concerned were essentially hands-free systems for mobile phones and top-of-the-range multimedia products, destined to be sold in over 60,000 outlets worldwide. Services also include order management for 80 countries in the EMEA and Latin America zones, supplying the products to Certified Installer networks, automobile accessory manufacturers, non-food superstores and department stores. "The technical complexity of our products and market considerations call for flawless distribution to our end customers," said Parrot's Chief Production and Quality Officer at the contract signing. "We are convinced that Geodis Logistics' familiarity with this sector will enable it to provide the required levels of quality."
High Tech: 2005-2009 News
2009
January - Geodis Logistics and the Belgian service provider Nova Holding created a joint venture, which provided logistics services in the port of Antwerp.
Nova Natie, a Belgian logistics service provider, was a long-time group with family capitals, specialized in value-added logistics services for the consumer products, textile and high-tech sectors. It was one of the main logistics service providers set in the port of Antwerp, with nearly 250,000 sq m of warehouses with branch lines.
Geodis Logistics provided logistics services for for high-tech, automotive, health and consumer products. It owned 170 warehouses on 2,000,000 sq m in Europe, and benefited from Geodis group freight forwarding network, which covered 120 countries in the world, as well as from European distribution means from the Divisions Geodis Calberson and Geodis BM.
The new entity Geodis Nova Logistics was aiming at providing value-added logistics services directly in the port of Antwerp such as control of products, labelling, postponement, assembling, kitting, packaging and co-packing to the manufacturers and distributors.
2007
October - Geodis UK announced a significant new contract with high tech manufacturing company Gear4 for warehousing and distribution of the manufacturer's iPod accessories within the UK. The deal will see Geodis distributing Gear4's range of speakers, cases and connectivity devices designed specifically for use with the iPod to a number of high street retailers.
June - Samsung Electronics France and Geodis announced a new 14,000 sq m logistics facility in Evry that Geodis dedicated to Samsung Electronics France's products.
Geodis will handle distribution and logistics for the consumer electronics manufacturers high-tech products (LCD and plasma screens, Hi-Fis, MP3s, DVDs, notebooks), as well as reverse logistics for WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) including brown goods and IT equipment.
Geodis handle the administrative management of customs declarations at ports and airports relating to importing products and supplying the logistics platform. The platform will be dedicated to inventory management and order picking for a range of Samsung Electronics France products. Geodis make deliveries to all Samsung customers in France from the Evry platform (groupage, express, full truck loads). Finally, Reverse Logistics for Samsung products in France will be handled by Geodis' "General Contractor" organisation, set up for WEEE on a European scale. Samsung Electronics France has also entrusted Geodis with centralising and managing marketing and event logistics for all its product lines (white and brown goods, IT and telephony equipment).
As Samsung Electronics products are tailored to increasingly personalised market requirements (larger television screens for instance), the platform's organisation and operations for handling these products have been significantly adapted.
2005
October - The TTE Group (TCL-Thomson Electronics), a global multimedia solutions provider, awarded a major pan-European contract with the Geodis Group. The three year contract is for the distribution of finished products (TV sets) throughout Western Europe: France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Benelux, Great Britain, Switzerland (excluding Scandinavia).
In order to handle these volumes, in addition to its warehouses in France (Evry), Italy (Grezzago) and Spain (Cabanillas), Geodis plans to build before the end of the year a new 20,000 sq m platform in Germany (Malsfeld).
Other related vertical sectors
Logistics markets
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Air Freight
Air Freight: 2010 News
2010
June - Geodis Wilson managed the transportation of two new wind turbine blades for its customer LM Wind Power on an Antonov AN-225, the biggest aircraft in the world. With a length of 42.1 m the blades were the longest cargo pieces that were ever flown by an aircraft.
Geodis Wilson was one of the logistics providers of LM Wind Power, a market leader in the international wind power industry, supplying rotor solutions to numerous wind turbine manufacturers in all main markets worldwide. The two transported prototype blades were produced for a new type of wind turbine that extends the possibility of efficient generation of clean energy.
Geodis Wilson's Industrial Projects division had built a specialist team to handle wind energy logistics. This transportation involved a full turn-key operation including inland transportation from the LM Wind Power manufacturing plant in Tianjin to Tianjin Airport, China, loading onto the world's largest freight aircraft AN-225, customs clearance, supervision of unloading and final delivery from the Skrydstrup Vojens Danish Military Airport (SKS), the only Danish airport capable of handling this large move. "Our activities in the wind energy sector are well known in the market, but the move of these prototype blades of LM Wind Power allowed us to conquer a new level of complexity," said its Global Manager Wind Energy Projects. The Senior Vice President of Geodis Wilson Industrial Pojects added: "The fact that we have an established network presence in both China and Denmark, along with a dedicated air charter division, on-site expertise and technical support in this sector, certainly helped us to successfully manage this move for and together with LM Wind Power and Antonov Airlines."
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Contract Logistics
Contract Logistics: 2011 News
2011
September - The Geodis Group strengthened its position on the healthcare market and consolidated its offering with the acquisition of the pharmaceutical pre-wholesaler Pharmalog.
Pharmalog was a pharmaceuticals logistics and distribution company based in Val de Reuil in Normandy, France. It had 50,000 sq m of storage space and a workforce of 150. Pharmalog had revenue of €18m.
The new entity would carry out a full range of value-added operations: sales administration, customer debt recovery, repackaging, management of free medical samples, etc. It had nine specialised platforms in France (warehouses, clean rooms, controlled temperature premises, etc.) a workforce of almost 500 employees.
In the long term, this organisation would be deployed Europe-wide, based on operations already carried out for the health sector by Geodis Logistics in Benelux, Ireland and Italy. At the same time, Pharmalog customers would gain access to all the dedicated services in logistics, distribution and international transport delivered by the Geodis Group to healthcare professionals.
The CEO of Geodis, said: "This new vertical offering places Geodis among the top three players in healthcare logistics in France, as well as opening broad new prospects in Europe. This organisation will bring real benefits for customers since it is a close fit with the services developed by the cross-cutting entity Geodis Global Solutions and the other divisions of the Geodis Group: Groupage & Express, Contract Logistics, Freight Management and Road."
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Freight Forwarding
Freight Forwarding: 2007 News
2007
June - TNT Freight Management partly re-adopted its old brand name, Wilson, now being known as Geodis Wilson. This represents the merger of TNT Freight Management and Geodis Overseas, which is due to be finalised by the end of 2007. Geodis Wilson is the Freight Management division of the Geodis Group.
All activities within TNT Freight Management will be conducted under the Geodis Wilson brand, excluding a few subsidiaries that are still awaiting approval for the new legal name from local authorities. As part of the merger master plan, the company intends to re-brand Geodis Overseas, the existing air and sea freight subsidiary in the Geodis Group, to Geodis Wilson before the end of this year. The combination of the merger is a separate division of the Geodis Group. The net revenue of Geodis Wilson was about €1.7bn in 2006.
As a part of the Geodis Group, Geodis Wilson will be able to offer its global customers the services delivered by the other Divisions, (Groupage, Contract Logistics, Full Truckloads), with the support of Geodis Global Solutions which is in charge of the integrated offers The announcement comes just over six months after the TNT Group announced it had sold TNT Freight Management to the Geodis Group, which said it would merge it with Geodis Overseas, its air and sea freight subsidiary. TNT Freight Management was formerly known as Wilson Logistics, the 164-year-old company that was acquired by the TNT Group in June 2004.
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Green Logistics
Green Logistics: 2011 News
2011
September - Geodis announced that, as of October 6, it would begin making deliveries for Carrefour in Lille using a hybrid refrigerated trailer truck. A new initiative in Geodis' Distripolis urban logistics system, this first-of-its-kind service would mean deliveries to the six Carrefour stores in the Lille city centre would be both cleaner and quieter.
In May 2010, Geodis teamed up with Renault Trucks to test a unique hybrid vehicle equipped with a cryogenic refrigeration unit. The vehicle was proposed to several customers for testing, and the retailer Carrefour was first to request the new vehicle. A perfect fit with Carrefour's sustainable development strategy, this 26-tonne hybrid truck that complied with the Euro 5 standard would begin delivering goods to Carrefour stores in Lille starting in October.
The thermal engine–electric motor combo in hybrid trucks lowered diesel consumption by an average of 20%. This represented an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of 10 tonnes. The use of liquid nitrogen, a non-toxic substance that emitted no CO2, as the refrigeration fluid made this vehicle even more environmentally friendly. This vehicle also had separate transport compartments, so both fresh produce and dry goods could be delivered. In addition, the cooling unit lowered the temperature twice as fast, making the truck particularly useful for the transport of vegetables.
Green Logistics: 2010 News
2010
June - Geodis Wilson managed the transportation of two new wind turbine blades for its customer LM Wind Power on an Antonov AN-225, the biggest aircraft in the world. With a length of 42.1 metres the blades were the longest cargo pieces that were ever flown by an aircraft.
Geodis Wilson was one of the logistics providers of LM Wind Power, a market leader in the international wind power industry, supplying rotor solutions to numerous wind turbine manufacturers in all main markets worldwide. The two transported prototype blades were produced for a new type of wind turbine that extends the possibility of efficient generation of clean energy.
Geodis Wilson's Industrial Projects division had built a specialist team to handle wind energy logistics. This transportation involved a full turn-key operation including inland transportation from the LM Wind Power manufacturing plant in Tianjin to Tianjin Airport, China, loading onto the world's largest freight aircraft AN-225, customs clearance, supervision of unloading and final delivery from the Skrydstrup Vojens Danish Military Airport (SKS), the only Danish airport capable of handling this large move. "Our activities in the wind energy sector are well known in the market, but the move of these prototype blades of LM Wind Power allowed us to conquer a new level of complexity," said its Global Manager Wind Energy Projects. The Senior Vice President of Geodis Wilson Industrial Pojects added: "The fact that we have an established network presence in both China and Denmark, along with a dedicated air charter division, on-site expertise and technical support in this sector, certainly helped us to successfully manage this move for and together with LM Wind Power and Antonov Airlines."
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Intermodal Transport
Intermodal Transport: 2010 News
2010
February - SNCF Geodis launched a new brand, CapTrain, covering its international rail haulage activities. The company said that the creation of CapTrain, following the acquisitions made over the last two years, had confirmed its objective to integrate and develop its various international activities.
The new brand would bring together a range of its subsidiaries:
- In Benelux, CapTrain groups SNCF Fret Benelux, Veolia Cargo Belgium, Veolia Cargo Nederland and ITL Benelux.
- In Germany, CapTrain Deutschland groups together SNCF Fret Deutschland and Veolia Cargo Deutschland.
- In Italy, CapTrain Italia groups together SNCF Fret Italia and Veolia Cargo Italia.
In other developments, Freight Europe UK and VFLI Romania had been renamed CapTrain UK and CapTrain Romania.
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Rail Transport
Rail Transport: 2010 News
2010
February - SNCF Geodis launched a new brand, CapTrain, covering its international rail haulage activities. The company said that the creation of CapTrain, following the acquisitions made over the last two years, had confirmed its objective to integrate and develop its various international activities.
The new brand would bring together a range of its subsidiaries:
- In Benelux, CapTrain groups SNCF Fret Benelux, Veolia Cargo Belgium, Veolia Cargo Nederland and ITL Benelux.
- In Germany, CapTrain Deutschland groups together SNCF Fret Deutschland and Veolia Cargo Deutschland.
- In Italy, CapTrain Italia groups together SNCF Fret Italia and Veolia Cargo Italia.
In other developments, Freight Europe UK and VFLI Romania had been renamed CapTrain UK and CapTrain Romania.
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Reverse Logistics
Reverse Logistics: 2007 News
2007
October - The European Recycling Platform (ERP), the first independent pan-European WEEE compliance scheme, announced that it has expanded their strategic partnership with Geodis to include Italy as an additional country where it will act as General Contractor, in addition to France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and the UK where Geodis currently operates. This is a natural extension as the relationship with Geodis has proven successful over the last three years. ERP has been working with Geodis since 2004, when it was selected after a careful tendering process as the General Contractor responsible for ERP's operations in France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and the UK. The partnership has been successful, and ERP is growing in both membership numbers and market share. Currently, ERP has over 1,000 members (including 27 European members) and has treated and recycled over 200,000 tonnes of electronic and electrical waste.
Reverse Logistics: 2004 News
2004
June - Geodis created a joint venture with SITA, a major European waste disposal company, in 2004. The JV, in which both companies hold 50%, focuses on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and automotive products (waste from repairing and maintaining vehicles, tyres, products from the dismantling of out-of-service vehicles).
Both of these sectors were regulated through European directives in 2005.
The joint venture undertakes strategic project and operations management (audit, coordination, follow-up and traceability), logistics (collection, consolidation and sorting, forwarding), processing (clean up, recovery, disposal of final and hazardous waste products) and marketing for processed products (selection of buyers, asset management, repair and resale of parts and finished products).
February - Geodis signed a major new agreement with France Telecom in what may be the first of many of its type. The deal saw Geodis' Environmental Affairs and Reverse Logistics division manage the recycling of out-of-use or end-of-life professional electrical and electronic equipment. The operation also included other parts of the Geodis group such as Geodis Valenda, Geodis Euromatic and Geodis Solutions.
The company was to be responsible for organising the disconnection, dismantling, transport, repackaging and recycling of products, as well as the resale of some equipment via hardware brokers. The type of goods covered by the agreement included servers, telephone exchanges, personal computers, and over a million telephones and fax, telex and Minitel machines. The agreement was precipitated by the onset of European waste management regulations which came into force in August 2005. Geodis estimated that the total market was worth in the region of €1.5bn in France and €10bn in total throughout Europe. Other logistics companies such as Tibbett & Britten and Wincanton had already launched initiatives which will take advantage of the market created by the new regulations.
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Road Transport
Road Transport: 2007 News
2007
June - Geodis announced that it had opened a new groupage branch. Located on the Bonneuil sur Marne Port industrial estate, 10 km south-east of Paris, the site has 41 loading dock doors, 4,000 sq m of operating surface and 70 staff. It will handle all groupage deliveries and collections in the area.
This new platform has a direct link with Geodis' domestic and international network. The branch, which is exclusively dedicated to customers in the local area, will allow shippers in the Val de Marne département to benefit from later collections and direct forwarding to a dozen major centres in France. It will also make earlier deliveries in around thirty local rounds. The new site's operating equipment will enable it to handle around 300,000 express groupage shipments a year. The site has been set up as part of a new plan for Geodis Calberson to cover the Paris area. Part of the aim will be to minimise the impact of its activities on the environment by optimising its local transport network.
March - Geodis UK, a subsidiary of the French freight and logistics solutions provider, unveiled plans to extend its European road service product, Eurofirst, into Eastern Europe. Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary will be the first countries to gain the new daily services to and from the UK, with door to door transit times of three or four days.
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Waste & WEEE
Waste and WEEE: 2004-2007 News
2007
October - The European Recycling Platform (ERP), the first independent pan-European WEEE compliance scheme, announced that it has expanded their strategic partnership with Geodis to include Italy as an additional country where it will act as General Contractor, in addition to France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and the UK where Geodis currently operates. This is a natural extension as the relationship with Geodis has proven successful over the last three years.
ERP has been working with Geodis since 2004, when it was selected after a careful tendering process as the General Contractor responsible for ERP's operations in France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and the UK. The partnership has been successful, and ERP is growing in both membership numbers and market share. Currently, ERP has over 1,000 members (including 27 European members) and has treated and recycled over 200,000 tonnes of electronic and electrical waste.
June - Samsung Electronics France and Geodis announced a new partnership.
Geodis handle distribution and logistics for the consumer electronics leader's high-tech products (LCD and plasma screens, Hi-Fis, MP3s, DVDs, notebooks), as well as reverse logistics for WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) including brown goods and IT equipment.
Geodis handle the administrative management of customs declarations at ports and airports relating to importing products and supplying the logistics platform. The platform will be dedicated to inventory management and order picking for a range of Samsung Electronics France products. Geodis make deliveries to all Samsung customers in France from the Evry platform (groupage, express, full truck loads). Finally, Reverse Logistics for Samsung products in France will be handled by Geodis' "General Contractor" organisation, set up for WEEE on a European scale. Samsung Electronics France has also entrusted Geodis with centralising and managing marketing and event logistics for all its product lines (white and brown goods, IT and telephony equipment).
As Samsung Electronics products are tailored to increasingly personalised market requirements (larger television screens for instance), the platform's organisation and operations for handling these products have been significantly adapted.
2005
Geodis signed a major new agreement with France Telecom in what may be the first of many of its type. The deal will see Geodis' Environmental Affairs and Reverse Logistics division manage the recycling of out-of-use or end-of-life professional electrical and electronic equipment. The operation will also include other parts of the Geodis group such as Geodis Valenda, Geodis Euromatic and Geodis Solutions.
The company will be responsible for organising the disconnection, dismantling, transport, repackaging and recycling of products, as well as the resale of some equipment via hardware brokers. The type of goods covered by the agreement will include servers, telephone exchanges, personal computers, and over a million telephones and fax, telex and Minitel machines.
Geodis estimates that the total market will be worth in the region of €1.5bn in France and €10bn in total throughout Europe. Other logistics companies such as Exel and Wincanton have already launched initiatives which will take advantage of the market created by the new regulations.
2004
In December 2004, the European Recycling Platform (ERP), the first pan-European network for the re-cycling of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), announced that it had appointed German based CCR Logistics and French company Geodis as its logistics suppliers. ERP was founded by Braun, Electrolux, HP and Sony in order to comply with its obligations under European recycling legislation due to come into force in 2005.
In November 2004 it was announced by ERP that it would divide its logistics needs, including take-back, logistics, recycling and administration, between two suppliers. It now appeared that its logistics will be divided between the companies it had chosen on a geographical basis.
CCR to operate in Austria, Germany, Italy and Poland and Geodis will manage France, Spain, Portugal, UK and Ireland. However it was envisaged that these two companies would act as lead logistics providers out-sourcing much of the transportation and treatment of the waste to local suppliers. To provide an idea of the significant revenues involved in the deal with ERP, CCR's share should reach €40m a year once the operation is up and running.
The two companies which ERP has chosen come from vastly different backgrounds. German-based CCR Logistics is a specialist in what it calls 'product life-cycle systems' and operates throughout Europe. These include reverse-logistics networking, consulting, and software solutions. It also claims to be the European market leader in waste recovery systems for car shop disposal (such as oil, tyres and batteries for example) and has Peugeot, BMW and Toyota amongst its clients.
Geodis meanwhile has moved into this sector from the transportation sector. It has already developed a relationship with France Telecom through its Environmental Affairs and Reverse Logistics division to manage the recycling of out-of-use or end-of-life professional electrical and electronic equipment. The company was responsible for organising the disconnection, dismantling, transport, repackaging and recycling of products, as well as the resale of some equipment via hardware brokers.
December - following the success of being appointed as one of the lead logistics providers to Europe's largest recycling consortium, ERP, Geodis announced that it had created a joint venture with SITA, a major European waste disposal company.
The JV, in which both companies hold 50%, will focus on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and automotive products (waste from repairing and maintaining vehicles, tyres, products from the dismantling of out-of-service vehicles). Both of these sectors were due to become regulated through European directives in 2005.
The joint venture undertakes strategic project and operations management (audit, coordination, follow-up and traceability), logistics (collection, consolidation and sorting, forwarding), processing (clean up, recovery, disposal of final and hazardous waste products) and marketing for processed products (selection of buyers, asset management, repair and resale of parts and finished products).
The activity in the re-cycling market showed the importance which most major logistics providers were placing upon this particular sector. Geodis had been at the forefront of the trend, but other European logistics had also taken a lead.
Exel was already well placed through its own waste and re-cycling subsidiary, Cory Environmental. In 2002 UK competitor Wincanton established a joint venture with Genco, the leader in reverse logistics in the US, as well as investing £5m (€7m) in a fridge re-cycling plant in the UK. The rush to take advantage of the new revenue stream will hot up in 2005 as the implementation of the re-cycling directive approaches. This will provide logistics companies with a welcome new sector into which they can expand, and one which promises much higher returns than either contract logistics or transportation. Although it is difficult to draw direct comparisons, the operating margin of Cory Environmental is 12.8% compared with 2.47% for Exel as a whole.
Other related logistic markets
Supply Chains
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Ford Motor Company
2005
Geodis and the Ford Motor Company have worked together for 30 years. In 2005 Ford selected Geodis with the distribution of spare parts in France for four of its brands—Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo. Under the contract, Geodis manages the transfer of products from Germany, Belgium, and the United Kingdom, as well as delivery to French agents via the Geodis Calberson and France Express networks.
Other related supply chains
News
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21/09/2011 Geodis rolls out the first hybrid refrigerated trailer truck
21/09/2011 Geodis has announced that, as of October 6, it will begin making deliveries for Carrefour in Lille using a hybrid refrigerated trailer truck. A new initiative in Geodis' Distripolis urban logistics system, this first–of–its–kind service will mean deliveries to the six Carrefour stores in the Lille city centre will be both cleaner and quieter.
Last May, Geodis teamed up with Renault Trucks to test a unique hybrid vehicle equipped with a cryogenic refrigeration unit. The vehicle was proposed to several customers for testing, and the retailer Carrefour was first to request the new vehicle. A perfect fit with Carrefour's sustainable development strategy, this 26–tonne hybrid truck that complies with the Euro 5 standard will begin delivering goods to Carrefour stores in Lille starting in October. The thermal engine–electric motor combo in hybrid trucks lowers diesel consumption by an average of 20%. This represents an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of 10 tonnes. The use of liquid nitrogen, a non–toxic substance that emits no CO2, as the refrigeration fluid makes this vehicle even more environmentally friendly. This vehicle also has separate transport compartments, so both fresh produce and dry goods can be delivered. In addition, the cooling unit lowers the temperature twice as fast, making the truck particularly useful for the transport of vegetables.
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09/09/2011 Geodis acquires pharmaceutical pre–wholesaler Pharmalog
09/09/2011 The Geodis Group has strengthened its position on the healthcare market and consolidated its offering with the acquisition of the pharmaceutical pre–wholesaler Pharmalog.
Pharmalog is a pharmaceuticals logistics and distribution company based in Val de Reuil in Normandy, France. It has 50,000 sq m of storage space and a workforce of 150. Pharmalog has revenue of €18m.
The new entity will carry out a full range of value–added operations: sales administration, customer debt recovery, repackaging, management of free medical samples, etc. It has nine specialised platforms in France (warehouses, clean rooms, controlled temperature premises, etc.) a workforce of almost 500 employees. In the long term, this organisation will be deployed Europe–wide, based on operations already carried out for the health sector by Geodis Logistics in Benelux, Ireland and Italy. At the same time, Pharmalog customers will gain access to all the dedicated services in logistics, distribution and international transport delivered by the Geodis Group to healthcare professionals. Jean–Louis Demeulenaere, CEO of Geodis, said: "This new vertical offering places Geodis among the top three players in healthcare logistics in France, as well as opening broad new prospects in Europe . This organisation will bring real benefits for customers since it is a close fit with the services developed by the cross–cutting entity Geodis Global Solutions and the other divisions of the Geodis Group: Groupage & Express, Contract Logistics, Freight Management and Road."
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06/07/2011 Geodis Wilson opens new distribution center in Jebel Ali
06/07/2011 Geodis Wilson has announced it is opening an 8,500 sq m distribution centre in Jebel Ali South within the free zone of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The new distribution centre marks a strategic step in the company's global growth plan: extending its freight forwarding services to a full–service contract logistics model in the Middle East region.
"The demand for contract logistics is very high," says Sascha Geiken, Managing Director Geodis Wilson UAE. "Most companies trading via or in the Middle East need a hub solution for their business, and Dubai is undoubtedly the regional choice, with very good onward connections. Geodis Wilson runs its own freight network to cope with this demand, including trucking services between the various countries and a 24–hour on–line customs service."
Geodis Wilson invested about €1m into the Jebel Ali distribution centre, now providing a full range of supply chain solutions, including warehousing services, inventory, labelling, bar–coding, packing pouches, blisters, vendor management as well as domestic and cross border distribution. New business includes the handling of IBM hardware and spare parts for dispatch to other points in the Gulf region; including Abu Dhabi. For another global customer stationery and personal care products will be hubbed through the new centre, arriving from France in containers for storage and then distributed to 16 countries in the region including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Pakistan, Jordan and Syria.
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01/07/2011 Geodis Wilson launches luxury Hotel and Resort Logistics Service
01/07/2011 Geodis Wilson has announced the launch of a new vertical business unit dedicated to serving the logistics needs of luxury hotels and resorts and their suppliers worldwide. Geodis Wilson will provide dedicated integrated logistics solutions to this fast–growing market.
"Geodis Wilson expects to become a single–source shipping solution for many of the top–tier companies in this market," said Anjali Sadarangani, Geodis Wilson's global director Luxury Hotel & Resort Logistics. "These highly recognisable brands and their entire supplier base want a dedicated logistics partner. We created this new business unit to ensure they receive the white–glove services they expect and require." Geodis Wilson's Luxury Hotel & Resort Logistics service will be operated by dedicated teams and project managers, regional competency centres and a global hotel logistics control tower, providing a variety of global and domestic freight services, including: freight consolidations, insurance, customs brokerage, warehouse services, FF&E installation, OS&C delivery, customised freight control management and dedicated consultation.
Briefs
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19/12/2011 What does 2012 hold for the logistics industry?
19/12/2011 2011 was the third year of what has been called by the economist Paul Krugman, the "lesser depression". This phrase attempts to describe the prolonged lack of growth as well as the periods of contraction seen over the past three or four years. Of course there will be some who immediately point out that emerging economies have been growing consistently and that world trade has continued to increase at a substantial rate.
Indeed the strength of world trade in particular has meant that for some parts of the logistics sector this period has been positive. 2011 saw modest growth with even previously savaged areas, such as automotive logistics, performing well. Only towards the end of the year have there been signs that demand is falling.
However, 2012 may not be such a good year. The second wave of macro–economic pain is likely to exact a heavier toll than the first.
The sector most at risk is shipping. There is a considerable probability that the sea freight sector will undergo systemic restructuring. The margins in both the bulk and container sectors fell off a cliff two quarters ago and 2012 will see the effects of this. Unless there is a rebound of the magnitude seen in late 2009, the sector will probably see a rationalisation of remarkable aggression. Possibly, the container shipping sector will begin to consolidate into just a few giant firms with a pricing power to match. Up until then, freight forwarders are likely to profit from rock bottom rates.
The airfreight sector is less vulnerable. It may have suffered falling volumes out of the once solid Asia Pacific market and there is likely to be restructuring especially of dedicated freight airlines. As ever, though, it is the passenger business that will drive any change here and passenger numbers so far are robust.
Contract logistics will once again prove itself to be a haven of stability. Many of its core customers such as fast moving consumer manufacturers and retailers are becalmed in western markets and slowing even in developing ones. Yet volumes are unlikely to crash. Even the car industry is continuing to grow, sustained by strong exports from Europe. However the prospects for individual logistics service providers are less certain. Too many fail to cover their costs of capital and so a wave of mergers and acquisition looks all too possible.
This will impact not just on the private sector as many of the state owned industry giants may also face hard questions. The nations of Europe are engaged in brutal budget reductions and the attraction of privatisation must be on the agenda. This will have implications for Deutsche Post–DHL, DB Schenker and Geodis.
The real bellwether of the economy is road freight. Returns here are frequently terrible yet the likes of YRC in the US continue to survive. Surprisingly this may be an industry that sees less change than others due to its familiarity with managing crises.
Another huge question for the logistics sector is the future of China. It shaped so much of the world's supply chain in the past decade, yet its economy is said to be faltering. What is clear is that exports to the west are slowing. Will 2012 see the beginning of metamorphosis for the China trade? So with low freight rates and huge restructuring, 2012 is likely to be full of opportunities for investment bankers and freight forwarders. Perhaps it will not be so different from 2011 after all.
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08/06/2011 Acquisition opportunities increasing in the US domestic transportation market
08/06/2011 The 2009 global economic crisis, fuel costs and tight capacity are now providing a number of acquisition opportunities within the US domestic transportation market. In a matter of two weeks alone, two European–based logistics companies have acquired companies within the US domestic transportation market. German–based DHL acquired less–than–truckload carrier, Standard Forwarding and French–owned Geodis Wilson acquired non–asset based 3PL, One Source Logistics.
DHL entered the US LTL market with its acquisition of East Moline, Illinois based Standard Forwarding. The 70 year old company operates in a five state area: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. The unionised mid–size carrier employs about 500 people and owns 300 tractors and 16 terminals. In 2008, the company reported earnings of $79m.
According to Jennifer Pakradooni, DHL Americas' Director of Communications, Standard Forwarding is a very strong, well–respected company with excellent market share and is in a strong position for future growth. However, like many carriers, Standard Forwarding declared bankruptcy in 2009 because of the economy, and increasing health and pension benefits. In March 2010, the company's president, John Ward and members of the leadership bought the assets of the company.
The acquisition will give DHL much needed US road freight capabilities. When asked about additional acquisitions within the US trucking market, Pakradooni told Transport Intelligence that DHL did not anticipate additional acquisitions but instead expansion plans for Standard Forwarding are probable. Because of its current area of service, the company could quite possibly enter the Canadian cross–border market or even the Mexican cross–border market via rail lines available in the area. In any case, "there are lots of opportunity for growth", said Jennifer Pakradooni.
Standard Forwarding will retain its branding and structure and report through the DHL Freight group directly to CEO, Thomas George.
DHL follows the other two integrators, FedEx and UPS into the US LTL market. In 2005, UPS acquired Overnite and in 2006, FedEx purchased Watkins Motor Lines. In 2009, FedEx surpassed YRC as the largest LTL provider in the US by revenue.
While DHL plans to expand its road freight opportunities within the US market, Geodis Group looks to expand its freight forwarding operations. The company has stated that its US strategy consisted of doubling its freight forwarding business within the next five years. According to Geodis Wilson's Executive Vice President, Philippe Gilbert, "Taking over One Source Logistics is a first step in the company's growth strategy in the US. With the extended link to domestic services in North America, we are able to satisfy the needs of a wide range of our airfreight and ocean freight clients."
Formed in 2003, One Source Logistics is a private, non–asset based 3PL that provides logistics services, mission critical retail services and transportation services such as air, truckload and less–than–truckload transport. Retail services include inbound consolidation, return logistics, short–term inventory storage and point of purchase fixture installation services.
The One Source Logistics acquisition will provide Geodis Wilson with the opportunity to enhance the company's inland and final mile delivery services along with access to a distribution net work. As the country continues to slowly recover from the recent economic recession, US acquisition opportunities are growing. Expect an increase in acquisition activity in the US market as 2011 progresses.
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03/03/2011 Forwarding division lifts Geodis into profit
03/03/2011 Geodis, the French–based logistics provider, has reported that in 2010 it experienced a significant turnaround after the global economic crisis in 2009, when the group reported a decline in revenue and operating income. Its 2010 revenue reached €6,563.8m, a 31.1% increase on the previous year. At constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation, revenue rose 11.6% (€578.2m) on 2009.
All the divisions contributed to revenue growth, especially the Freight Forwarding Division, which accounts for more than one–third of Group revenue and which posted growth of 50.4%. That increase was attributed to higher freight prices and a recovery in volumes of air freight (+40%) and sea freight (+22%), especially between Asia and Europe.
For the first time, in 2010 more than 50% of the Group's revenue was generated outside France.
As a result of business growth and cost–cutting, Geodis reported positive operating income in 2010. Operating income reached €35.1m, a €75.4m increase on 2009. The company said that the integration of the acquisitions made in 2009 and 2010 was proceeding to plan. These include IBM Global Logistics into the Group as a whole, Cooljet and Ciblex into the Groupage & Express Division, Giraud into the Road Division, Sealogis and STSI into the Freight Forwarding Division, and Chevallier and Bertola into the Contract Logistics Division.
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19/10/2009 FedEx sees signs of life as it expands European hub
19/10/2009 A senior FedEx executive has claimed that the market for air express and air freight in Europe and Asia Pacific is showing "some life". The comments were made to journalists by Robert Elliott, Chairman of FedEx's European, Middle East and African Operations, during the opening of the company's new facilities last week at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.
Speaking to Reuters, Mr Elliott continued saying that "It is safe to say there is a stabilisation in Europe and some positive signs on the market. We are starting also to see sequential improvements, mainly to begin with in China and Asia, which is important because that's where the large manufacturers are. Manufacturers are meanwhile boosting activity after running down inventories as the financial crisis hit confidence .The speed of the recovery will be hard to determine but we are not seeing a deterioration of volumes as we did last year. "
He was present during a ceremony to open FedEx's expanded European hub at Charles de Gaulle airport. The new facility has increased its handling capacity by almost 15% to 61,500 packages per hour as well as increasing nine–fold its area for handling freight and dangerous goods. The hub, which is the largest FedEx facility outside the US, is a joint investment with Aeroports de Paris. Between them, the two companies have invested $158m in the new centre.
Retaining the FedEx facility has been important for Paris Charles de Gaulle as the facility's location was originally influenced by FedEx's relationship with GeoPost which ended several years ago. It replaced this alliance with an agreement with Geodis. FedEx has also previously announced that it hopes to establish a rail freight link to London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Cologne from Charles de Gaulle in collaboration with Geodis' parent SNCF.
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