ECH EuregioCargoHub in Schüttorf has started operation as planned. The two forwarders SLK logistics in Schüttorf and Nellen & Quack – The Green Line in Gronau have relocated their entire general cargo production to this joint venture with a 30-member team for handling and dispatching.
The new terminal directly at the Schüttorf motorway junction of A 30 and A 31, offers 50 loading bays and 4,350 m² of throughput area.
Through ECH EuregioCargoHub GmbH the two neighbouring haulers Nellen & Quack – The Green Line and SLK Logistics pursue a new concept of outsourcing general cargo shipping – General Cargo Shipping 4.0. As a production company the ECH EuregioCargoHub assumes for the two parent companies operative cargo management including local transport, throughput and cargo lines. Both companies remain independent and also partners of their respective cargo alliances: SLK Logistics is a member of the S.T.a.R general cargo network; Nellen & Quack – The Green Line is involved in the 24plus logistics network.
Both forwarding companies from the Euroregio had recorded growing shipping volumes in their cargo business and could share investment costs through their joint production company. In addition, the joint venture enables improved utilization of local and long distance traffic.
“We call this concept ‘General Cargo Shipping 4.0’”, explains Uwe Brehm, CEO of Nellen & Quack – The Green Line: “Cargo Cargo Shipping 1.0 was the official rail freight forwarding, 2.0 was to establish own long-distance transport, 3.0 the organisation in cooperations – and now level 4.0 outsourcing the entire cargo production. ”
A condition for the functioning of this outsourcing model is seamless data integration of the production company. ECH EuregioCargoHub GmbH was supported by the IT service provider active logistics GmbH as a partner for development and implementation. This way efficiency of cargo flows could be increased, and the ability to provide customers with information was improved.
ECH acts as a service provider for the two parent companies, but also as a neutral partner to handle mail volumes of third forwarders professionally. Since the start of the throughput centre, the forwarding alliance ‘24plus logistics network’ has been operating transportations to East Frisia via the ECH.
“Our new outsourcing concept has met some interest among industry experts,” says Ingo Boll, managing partner of SLK Logistik Internationale Speditionsgesellschaft mbH. “We have interesting conversations and expect that in the near future more cargo forwarders will use the ECH as a hub for the delivery or as a gateway for long-distance transport throughout Germany and Europe.”
The distribution area of ECH EuregioCargoHub GmbH covers the entire German-Dutch communal association Euroregio, which stretches across the Münsterland, south-western Lower Saxony and the eastern Netherlands, and beyond to the North Sea coast. In addition, the ECH is connected via hub lines and numerous direct services to the networks of the cargo alliances S.T.a.R. and 24plus logistics network.
