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

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

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

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

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

A greater footprint in North China

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

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

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

The network of locations is expanding

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

St. Gallen, October 27, 2022. On October 11th, 2022, the new country unit Militzer & Münch New Zealand Ltd. started operations. With the first branch office in Auckland City, the Militzer & Münch network grows into the Polynesian region.

Militzer & Münch has recently started to offer its customers in New Zealand high-quality services in the air and sea freight sector. Its focus is on the import and export of various industrial goods and agricultural products. The newly founded company is part of a growth strategy, in the course of which Militzer & Münch is developing promising markets for itself.

New Zealand with its prosperous economy fits perfectly into this strategy: Due to the favourable climate, the agricultural sector thrives all year round, and agricultural products such as dairy products, wool, or meat account for a large share of exports. New Zealand is the world’s largest exporter of dairy products, for example. The island nation is largely dependent on international trade; imports include almost every industrial good.

Growing together

Shakir Samsudeen, 38, will head the company based in Auckland City. He is an experienced freight forwarder and knows the industry very well. The new country unit will start with three employees. it is planned to be expanded soon, however.

“The new country unit will serve many different industries, both with import and export”, says Andreas Löwenstein, Regional Managing Director Asia / Far East at Militzer & Münch. “The industrial and logistics sector in New Zealand has grown strongly in recent years and we expect this trend to continue.”

Tashkent, August 30, 2022. Uzbekistan is the sixth largest cotton producer in the world, and when Militzer & Münch Uzbekistan was founded 25 years ago, cotton fiber transport was the main segment, a highly demanding special segment, as the cargo is self-heating unless packed and monitored correctly.

The 25 employees of M&M Uzbekistan nowadays handle all sorts and modes of national and international transports, and recently added customs clearance to the portfolio, too.

M&M Uzbekistan also has many years of experience in importing machinery and equipment for the cotton industry and has become a specialist in project transportation.

How is the market today, we ask Managing Director Khurshid Kasimdzhanov: “Customers appreciate our long presence in the country and our professional key staff, who have been with us for many year.”

Group Quality Manager Maximilian Kaiser is responsible for the quality management at Militzer & Münch sites all over the world. In this interview, he talks about current projects, the quality audit process, and what fascinates him about working in logistics.

Well, hello Mr. Kaiser, could you briefly describe what your activities for Militzer & Münch look like? What are your tasks?
The purpose of Quality Management is to ensure that consistently products and services are provided that meet customer requirements and comply with applicable laws and regulations. To this end, as Group Quality Manager, I oversee a wide variety of projects and processes. Our team consists of more than 20 Quality Managers, one for each country unit, all of which are coordinated through the holding company here in St. Gallen.
Our goals can be summarized in three key words: effectiveness, conformity and compliance. This means that, with a clear customer focus, we purposefully implement, maintain and continuously improve a quality management system, or introduce one where it does not yet exist. We solve our customers’ logistics problems effectively, comply with international standards, and meet regulatory and legal requirements. The values guiding us here are loyalty, integrity and respect.

What are the current projects or developments that keep you busy in Quality Management?

We passed our surveillance audit for 2022 this May. Not a single deviation from the standard was found during the external audits carried out by auditing company LRQA. At the beginning of 2023, we will then already be proceeding to the ISO 9001:2015 recertification, for which the most extensive audits ever will be carried out: our entire process landscape needs to be compliant with the standards.

In addition, we are rolling out our quality management system at other country units. We are currently seeking ISO 9001:2015 certification for our country units in Sri Lanka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Malaysia. A local quality manager is in charge of adapting the standards to the individual requirements of the companies and of ensuring compliance with them.
Closely linked to quality management is risk management, for which we are currently optimizing various processes throughout our country units. In cooperation with our Head of Group Controlling, I am also establishing an Environmental Management System in accordance with the international environmental management standard ISO 14001:2015. This will strengthen our ecological awareness and make it easier for our customers to take environmental factors into account in their transport operations. Our Quality, Risk and Environmental Management together will form an Integrated Management System, which we will launch in March 2023.

What is the procedure of a quality audit?

We select internal audits on the basis of what is known as the “risk-based approach”. With this risk-based approach, we decide on specific sites, taking into account time, success and risk factors. When were the sites last audited? How important is the site to the success of the company? By selecting which sites will the risk of quality loss be minimized? The local Quality Manager supports local management in the implementation, administration and improvement of the Quality Management System (QMS). At the same time, the team carries out audits at sites in other countries of the region. For example, a colleague from France goes to Morocco or vice versa – after all, no one should audit themselves.

Here at headquarters, we coordinate what is to be audited where and by whom. Depending on what exactly we want to check, the auditor examines various processes. Do they meet customer requirements? Are they compliant with ISO 9001:2015? The results then end up at my desk, and I analyze them in collaboration with the local Quality Manager.

Could you please briefly describe your professional background? Which functions did you go through at Militzer & Münch?

I majored in economics and business administration. My first point of contact with Militzer & Münch was my traineeship starting in June 2017. In Frankfurt, I was assigned to the airport, in Stockstadt, I became familiar with our road transport division, and finally, in St. Gallen, I got to know our holding company. From August 2018 to January 2022, I was Executive Assistant to the CEO and Executive Assistant to Group Management, respectively. Then, I was appointed Executive Assistant to the Board of Directors of TransInvest Holding AG. Since October 1, 2021, I have also been Group Quality Manager. In cooperation with the Institute of Supply Chain Management of the University of St. Gallen, Militzer & Münch organizes the Talent Management Program to promote our in-house prospective managers, and I am participating in this program this year. I am certified in the areas of project and environmental management, and I am also currently qualifying as a Chartered Financial Analyst.

What fascinates you about the logistics industry?

Our team consists of many generalists, who are also specialized. All forwarders need to be knowledgeable in a wide range of areas: They have to understand the market, know import and export flows, keep an eye on the infrastructure and the political climate of many countries. At the same time, they are specialists in their field – road transport, airfreight, sea freight or project logistics. Every day brings new challenges in an international context. The topics and tasks we deal with are always a new and exciting experience.

Ningbo, August 1, 2022. Ningbo, a major port and industrial hub in east China’s Zhejiang province, is the newest location for Militzer & Münch in China; the Ningbo branch office was opened on August 1. In line with the M&M growth strategy, M&M China is now also present in one of the economic centers southeast of the Yangtze River Delta.

The new location will help to improve the M&M network and presence in the area and aims to enhance local sales and to consistently provide diversified and high standard services to our clients.

Under branch manager Sherry Xie, the new location offers the full range of M&M services. Sherry Xie has 17 years of experience in the freight forwarding industry; she is regarded a specialist for the Middle East route, and will focus on developing the Middle Eastern, European and Southeast Asian market.

… and a new Director South China

Carl Gao, previously Branch Manager of the Shanghai office, has been appointed Regional Director South China to support business development in the region, which comprises the M&M offices in Shanghai, Ningbo, Chongqing and Shenzhen. The new function improves the management structure of the Chinese country unit.

A successor at the helm of the Shanghai branch will be appointed in the near future.

Germany is Poland’s most important trade partner, and for Germany, the partner country also ranks in the top five. Economic analyses predict that this trend will intensify in the future. Since summer 2021, the two Militzer & Münch country units have therefore strategically stepped up their cooperation in the road transport segment.

The focus is on the transport of part loads (LTL) – mainly imports from Germany to Poland. On customer request, Militzer & Münch also transports the goods as groupage. In this case, the logistics provider delivers the consignments to one of three conveniently located transshipment warehouses in Poland, and consolidates the cargo there, if needed.

While the local Militzer & Münch team takes care of coordination, organization, and customer service, partner companies handle the nationwide distribution.

Sales are increasing

“We work with partners which we select for each shipment via a scheduling software. In order to save resources, we pick up additional loads on the way, plan our transports together, and try to concentrate the coordination in the receiving country,” says Thomas Winter, Managing Director of Militzer & Münch Germany. He predicts a positive development: “The teams have always been able to react fast; they always found suitable solutions for our customers – we have received some good new orders. We are already noticing a perceptible increase in sales. I definitely see a positive development here for the future!”

By plane from Belgium to China: M&M air sea cargo GmbH ensured an urgent transport of large ship parts with an unusual loading strategy.

A Bremen-based company, an existing Militzer & Münch customer, had manufactured two hull elements, weighing about ten tons in total, exclusively for a shipyard in Shanghai. The shipyard needed the structural elements on a certain day in order to be able to flood the dock after their assembly and to start the final shipbuilding work on time. For the tightly scheduled delivery, air freight was the only option.

“Safety first” applies in the air

In order to ensure safe transport, the team from M&M air sea cargo GmbH had the two five-meter-long, three-meter-wide and over two-meter-high components picked up by low-loader in northern Germany and transported to a company specializing in packaging.

With the components secured with lashing straps on custom-made wooden flooring, the cargo was then trucked to Liège, Belgium. From there, onward transportation was by air. The ship elements thus reached their destination (a distance of 8,963 kilometers) in just over eleven hours instead of the 35 days minimum by the significantly longer sea route. For the Militzer & Münch team, the order ended at Shanghai airport – import customs clearance and delivery to the shipyard were handled by the consignee’s freight forwarder.

“For us, this was a rather unusual shipment. Nevertheless, everything went smoothly and we were able to meet all deadlines,” says Santino-Emanuel Hormuth, Branch Manager M&M air sea cargo GmbH Frankfurt. “The team did a great job.”

Katja Jooß betreut das Controlling sowie die SAP-Entwicklung in der MMcom-Niederlassung im bayerischen Hof. 2021 feierte sie ihr 25-jähriges Dienstjubiläum. Im Interview berichtet sie, wie sich die Arbeit im vergangenen Vierteljahrhundert verändert hat, und was ihr an Militzer & Münch sowie der Logistikbranche gefällt.

Frau Jooß, bitte beschreiben Sie kurz Ihren beruflichen Werdegang. Welche Funktionen haben Sie bei Militzer & Münch durchlaufen?

Ich habe zunächst eine Ausbildung zur Speditionskauffrau gemacht. Anschließend bin ich in der Verwaltung geblieben und war dann einige Zeit im Controlling tätig. Ich übernahm dann nach und nach die Verantwortung für die Entwicklung und Pflege unseres SAP-Systems. Dazu gehören die Benutzer- und Berechtigungspflege, der Anwendersupport in Deutschland und Dubai sowie Supportaufgaben im Controlling. Das ist seit über 20 Jahren ein ständiger Lern- und Entwicklungsprozess, da sich im SAP-Bereich immer wieder neue Projekte, gesetzliche Vorgaben und Herausforderungen ergeben.

Wie hat sich Militzer & Münch in den vergangenen 25 Jahren verändert?

Als ich 1996 anfing, waren Computer noch eine Seltenheit. Im ersten Ausbildungsjahr hatte ich wenig Kontakt mit einem PC. Damals wurde eher mit Akten gearbeitet. Ich war zum Beispiel dafür zuständig, die abweichenden Zeiten der Mitarbeiter, die sich mit Lochkarten im Zeiterfassungsgerät „einstempelten“, nachzupflegen. Das war ein großer Kasten mit einem Ziffernblock zur Eingabe und einem kleinen Bildschirm – heute ist das fast nicht mehr vorstellbar. Alles ist digitalisiert, und die Militzer & Münch-Landesgesellschaften und Büros sind weltweit eng vernetzt. Kunden können ihre Transporte in Echtzeit nachverfolgen. Militzer & Münch ist zu einem modernen Unternehmen gewachsen, aber trotzdem bodenständig geblieben.

Was schätzen Sie an Militzer & Münch?

Das Umfeld, die Arbeitsbedingungen, die Kollegen und die Chefs stimmen einfach. Es gibt neben den gleichbleibenden Aufgaben auch immer wieder neue Herausforderungen und Projekte. Ich kann selbstständig arbeiten, habe aber trotzdem immer die nötige Unterstützung. Militzer & Münch ist ein bodenständiges Traditionsunternehmen. Das passt zu mir.
Wir haben hier in Hof schon seit 25 Jahren Gleitzeit. Hinzu kommt die Möglichkeit, im Homeoffice zu arbeiten, für die ich sehr dankbar bin. Dadurch sind Arbeit und Familie auch während der Zeit im Lockdown gut vereinbar gewesen.

Was fasziniert Sie an der Logistik-Branche?

Ohne Logistik bewegt sich nichts auf der Welt. Es beeindruckt mich, wenn ich im Intranet unsere Sondertransporte verfolge. Wie zum Beispiel große Maschinenteile oder sogar ganze Anlagen von einem an das andere Ende der Welt bewegt werden und wie die einzelnen Militzer & Münch Gesellschaften dabei Hand in Hand arbeiten, finde ich faszinierend.

Was machen Sie in Ihrer Freizeit?

Ich bin verheiratet und habe zwei Kinder. Mein Mann und ich gehen gerne in die Natur, wandern und unternehmen viel mit den Kindern. Auch Reisen und Skifahren stehen ganz oben auf unserer Liste. Hier in Hof ist es sehr schön, wir können im Sommer im Mittelgebirge wandern und im Winter Ski fahren. Alles ist in kurzer Zeit erreichbar, es gibt einen schönen See und auch kulturell hat die Region viel zu bieten. Darüber hinaus bin ich seit vielen Jahren ehrenamtlich in der Leichtathletik tätig – früher aktiv und heute als Abteilungsleiterin, Trainerin und im Vorstand.

The M&M organizations in Bulgaria and Latvia were honored with the CargoLine Quality Award 2021 for their excellent and reliable service in the CargoLine groupage network.