Dachser founds Enterprise Lab at Fraunhofer IML

Kempten, Dortmund, October 17, 2017. As of October 1, 2017, Dachser logistics experts and Fraunhofer IML researchers have joined forces to work together on research and development projects


Dachser entered into a tight-knit research partnership with the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML. At the newly created ‘Dachser Enterprise Lab’ in Dortmund, Dachser employees will be working together with researchers from Fraunhofer IML on specific research and development projects that flow into Dachser’s two business fields of Road Logistics and Air & Sea Logistics. The team’s aim is the targeted (further) development of pioneering technologies for across-the-board application in practice.

“For many years now, collaboration with a range of universities and development partners has been a mainstay of our corporate strategy. The Dachser Enterprise Lab adds key competencies to our internal research and development capacity, and gives us flexible access to specialists,” says Dachser CEO Bernhard Simon. He points out that Fraunhofer IML possesses outstanding expertise, state-of-the-art laboratories, and a wide range of motivated and creative researchers. When coupled with the longstanding experience of Dachser’s logistics experts, he believes that this will further accelerate the company’s rate of innovation.

“We have set up our Enterprise Labs to transfer research results over to products or new business models as quickly as possible. By embracing new and interdisciplinary forms of collaborative development that shorten the distance between us, we can achieve a high degree of exchange between research and industry,” says Prof. Michael ten Hompel, managing director of Fraunhofer IML. “It puts us in a position in which we can flexibly and speedily put new technologies, trends, or business strategies into practice, and efficiently determine our priorities. This is an enormous competitive advantage for a globally connected logistics business such as Dachser, with its complex networks and data structures. Our new Enterprise Lab together with Dachser sets a clear benchmark in collaborative logistics and technology development.”


About the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics:

Fraunhofer IML is said to be first address for all questions with respect to holistic logistics, its employees work on all fields of internal and external logistics. At the Institute, founded in 1981, there are at the moment 260 employees as well as 250 post-graduates and students, supported by colleagues in workshops, laboratories and service areas.

Made-to-measure arranged teams create cross-industry and customer-specific solutions in the area of materials handling, warehouse management, supply chain management, simulation supported business and system planning and also traffic systems, closed loop economy, resources logistics, building logistics and e-business. Not least, the Fraunhofer IML is acting as general coordinator for the multi-institute central theme »Internet of Things« within the entire Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. If necessary, Fraunhofer IML can draw on 24,000 employees in 67 institutes of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.

Further locations beside Dortmund are Frankfurt/Main, Hamburg, Prien at lake Chiemsee, Lisbon and Beijing.

 

About Dachser:

Dachser, a family-owned company headquartered in Kempten, Germany, is one of the leading logistics providers.

Dachser provides comprehensive transport logistics, warehousing, and customized services in two business fields: Dachser Air & Sea Logistics and Dachser Road Logistics. The latter is divided into two business lines, Dachser European Logistics and Dachser Food Logistics. Comprehensive contract logistics services and industry-specific solutions round out the company’s offerings. A seamless shipping network—both in Europe and overseas—and fully integrated IT systems provide for intelligent logistics solutions worldwide.

Dachser employs some 27,450 people at 409 locations worldwide, and is represented by country organizations in 43 countries. In 2016, the company generated revenue of 5.71 billion euros and handled a total of 80 million shipments weighing 38.2 million metric tons.

For more information about Dachser, please visit www.dachser.com