The Dörrenhaus forwarding company traditionally comes from road freight transport, but has developed into an all-round logistics provider over the past decades. Today the truck sector accounts for a maximum of 15 percent of sales. The majority is generated in the sea and air freight business, reports Lars Dörrenhaus, managing director of the Dörrenhaus forwarding company. When he joined the company in the mid-1990s, the focus on Asian imports began and has been gradually developed further since then. The core competencies lie in logistics services for industry, retail and large online retailers. Dörrenhaus maps the entire supply chain for its customers.

This year - on the 50th anniversary of the family business - the next development step took place for the freight forwarder from Velbert in North Rhine-Westphalia. “The decision to build something ourselves in Asia was driven by the fact that our partners there either sold out or had to stop business due to financial problems. And because we didn’t want to work with 10 small Chinese service providers, we decided at the beginning of the year to set up our own company with a closed IT system,” explains Dörrenhaus. His company was able to use the connections it had built up over two decades of business in Asia.

 

Partnership with Neele Vat

Dörrenhaus wanted to take this step with a strong partner. The choice fell on Neele Vat Logistics. The Dutch logistics company had previously acquired a stake in the Dörrenhaus forwarding company and has been working successfully and trustingly with the Dörrenhaus forwarding company for decades. So it didn't take long until both parties agreed and decided to set up their own freight forwarder in Asia at the beginning of 2021.

 

However, it should be a completely independent company: “NVD Asia is not a service provider that works exclusively for Neele Vat or us, but rather a neutral booking agent that addresses forwarding companies worldwide that do not open their own offices in Asia. but still want to ship 2,000 to 3,000 containers,” says Dörrenhaus. Dörrenhaus and Neele Vat's business accounts for a maximum of a quarter of NVD Asia's total sales.

 

Shares divided equally

The start-up already works for companies around the world. Most of these medium-sized customers simply have too few throughput volumes in Asia, so that it is hardly possible to purchase cargo space in a worthwhile way, explains Dörrenhaus: “We have around 100,000 to 150,000 containers at sea and another 3,000 by rail per year which allows us to buy cheaper and pass it on to our partners.” The amount of the handling or booking fee depends on whether you use additional features such as Track & Trance. NVD Asia also offers services in air freight.

The shares in NVD Asia are divided equally between the two partner companies. But the local management also acquired a small share. “We have always handled it that way in the past. This means that all parties have the greatest possible interest in the company growing and operating healthily,” explains Cuno Vat, Managing Director at Neele Vat Logistics. The initial plan is to continue to grow only organically and not through acquisitions, adds Vat and explains: “We prefer to look for good managers and open up other Asian countries through our own local branches.”

More agile than the big ones

The advantage over the big freight forwarders is the agility of the Asian booking agent, which has paid off, particularly during the pandemic, due to the constantly changing requirements and the ongoing shortage of loading space. True to the motto: Necessity is the mother of invention. “We have chartered our own ships, carried out our own land transport on the New Silk Road and also transported goods in combined transport by rail in Kazakhstan,” reports Denis Kronenbitter, Managing Director of NVD Asia.

In addition, there are extremely many cancellations, changes, bottlenecks or problems that always require personal involvement. This affects the workflows: “Two years ago, a file for the container transport from Shanghai to Europe had to be touched an average of six times and the container was on the way. Today we are talking about the same file, which then has to be touched 27 times.”

The shortage of skilled workers is also clearly noticeable in Asia. “Logistics is no longer so sexy,” says Kronenbitter. There are also significant seasonal fluctuations, particularly in China. He doesn't find any workers at all between October and April, but it's easier in the summer. Many Chinese would currently rather pursue the dream of earning millions as an influencer than pursue a real profession. One difference from Europe is the work ethic. “If management is leading the way and is committed, the employees will follow.

 

Big expansion plans

It was clear from the start that NVD Asia relied exclusively on locals: “We don’t want to be a foreign company in Asia. We want to be an Asian company with Western European management. That’s why we rely exclusively on local partners and employees,” emphasizes Kronenbitter. Of the 120 employees in China Asia, only two are non-Asian - one of them is himself, says Kronenbitter. NVD Asia has now opened eight offices in Asia.

 

Additional markets are to be opened up this year. First Taiwan, Vietnam and Cambodia. This will be followed by Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. However, there will no longer be any branch further west than Myanmar. Kronenbitters. “We really want to be a purely Asian booking agent and for example have no interest in going to the Middle East. We would also get too close to our partners there.

 

Quote: NVD Asia: The new booking agent for medium-sized businesses – DVZ (German)