11-12/2016 Riding the tiger 
Winston Churchill’s famous words – our policy is to wage war by land, sea and air – is a very commendable approach for the leader of a nation at war on his first day in office as his country’s prime minister. It can also be used by logisticians today, however. The industry’s... more
09-10/2016 Between heaven and hell
It’s rather rare for freighter aircraft to make the headlines of the daily newspapers, but a few days ago this was the case. In this example, however, the industry would probably have preferred no publicity at all to the bad publicity that it got. The story, you may have read... more
07-08/2016 Equal opportunities
In the end the announcement came as a surprise: the state-owned Chinese corporation ChemChina wants to take over the Swiss seed and agricultural chemicals company Syngenta for EUR 43 billion. ChemChina said that the move – the most expensive purchase abroad by a... more
05-06/2016 A measured future
The beginning of a new year usually also triggers a spate of gazing into the crystal ball, which in turn produces a plethora of predictions and hypotheses of how business will develop in 2016. Only one aspect thereof can be considered a fact so far, however: the optimists are... more
01-04/2016 Opening a new chapter
The new year has started with a degree of continuity that may not be to everyone’s taste. I have to admit, though, that anyone who wanted to paint a bleak picture already found plenty of prompting in 2015, and does not have to find a new hobby at the beginning of 2016 either.... more
49-52/2015 Change welcome!
There are words of wisdom that can sometimes be rather irritating. One of these is the sentence «nothing is more constant than change». It is so tiring precisely because it always stays true. The question remains whether we should allow ourselves to be inundated by change, or... more
47-48/2015 Turbulent times
I don’t think anyone will deny that we live in turbulent times. In this context the key question once again rears its head, as it has done so frequently before in similar situations – do politics influence business; and if so, to what extent? It is not only the very serious... more
45-46/2015 A lesson or a fairy tale?
Not even Akbar Al Baker, who is rarely embarrassed about making huge statements, would have expected such a steep take-off: while we witnessed two-and-a-half years ago within the framework of the World Cargo Symposium held by Iata at the very same location how the head of Qatar... more
43-44/2015 New bondings
«The timing is never ideal», Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said recently, referring to his line’s planned initial public offering at the end of October. The question of whether an ideal moment as such exists in general is probably open to discussion. What is a fact,... more
41-42/2015 Paradoxical, but true
There is no sphere of life without contradictions, and the business world has to live with them too. Observations from modern everyday life – larger houses for smaller families, wider roads but more one-way streets, more comfort but less time – apply to companies too. Greater... more