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Mar 29, 2021 at 5:30 PMAcito Logistics GmbH demonstrates flexibility for its customers, the manufacturer of medical masks, A+M in Schopfheim. When transport from China to Europe needs to be quick but cost-effective, the so-called New Silk Road offers an alternative. It is faster than conventional sea freight (even without congestion at the Suez Canal) and significantly cheaper than air freight.
(Schopfheim/Efringen-Kirchen) In Hangzhou, the capital of the Chinese province of Zhejiang, which forms the southern end of the old Imperial Canal that starts in Beijing, the sun rises. The driver of a Chinese freight company is on his way in his truck to load a machine for mask production (including FFP 2 masks) for the Schopfheim company A+M. The machine is urgently needed in Schopfheim.
Due to Corona and Chinese New Year, a Challenge
The driver has been commissioned by Sarah Saller, team leader at Weiler Acito Logistics. She organizes and coordinates the entire transport chain. In times of Corona, extremely high transport volumes, and not least due to Chinese New Year, this is a special challenge.
In the early morning, the four boxes weighing around 2000 kg are loaded and routed to a consolidation container bound for Hamburg. After the Chinese export customs clearance, the container rolls by train along the New Silk Road. Via Kazakhstan, Russia, and Poland, it arrives in Hamburg after 19 days. After completing the German customs clearance in Hamburg, the boxes arrive in Schopfheim at seven o’clock on a Saturday morning with an extra chartered vehicle due to the urgency and are handed over to A+M.
Time Savings via Silk Road = 20 Days
A journey by sea would have taken 40 days. Shipping by air freight would have been several times more expensive. Production starts immediately after the installation of the machines, and all parties involved can safely breathe in and out. Under the motto “think global, act local,” this is an excellent example of local collaboration between two young medium-sized companies from the region on a global basis. Competence in masks meets competence in logistics.
Photo: © Acito – Stefan Kurz / Image Caption: From left: Managing Director Michael Hitz (A+M) and Key Account Manager Stefan Kurz (Acito) during the commissioning of the machine.
