39-40/2014 Sustainable development 
Sustainability is a very fashionable word – and it is well past its prime. But outside the field of ecology – where it is quite overused – we need the concept more than ever. In an era in which corporate decisions are based on quarterly reports and managerial accounting’s... more
37-38/2014 Changing track
The engine driving economic growth has crossed the seas to another continent. The rather stagnant euro area led to the promotion of key emerging economies as beacons of hope for a recovery – but only until first their growth and then their exchange rates buckled under pressure.... more
35-36/2014 Tabula rasa
Summertime is holiday time. But what is sometimes described as the happiest time of the year evokes ambivalent emotions for some of us. Of course we look forward to relaxing days away from the office – but the expectation of an overflowing e-mail inbox awaiting us upon our... more
31-34/2014
After our celebratory July we’ve probably all returned to a rather more mundane August. We would nevertheless like to take this opportunity to look back briefly and thank all of you for the many kind words of support and encouragement that you shared with us on the occasion of... more
27-30/2014 A journey through time
It’s not easy to heed the oft-made call to look beyond one’s everyday horizon. The immediate challenges facing us in the logistics industry are so substantial that we (have to) remain in full thrall to our daily business duties. Nevertheless, the day inevitably comes when we... more
23-26/2014 The present and the future
Sometimes it is rather difficult to concentrate on matters in hand when we are faced with human tragedies, such as the ones taking place in Iraq, Ukraine and Nigeria today – to name just a few. But life nevertheless goes on – as banal as that may sound – and in this life it... more
21-22/2014 Don't disturb!
Have you got a minute? – I am guessing that this question will cause you some irritation. Time, even just a minute – who on earth has any spare time? No matter whether you are the chief executive officer of a large corporation, or your job is to support operational processes in... more
19-20/2014 The urge for something new
The urge to experience something new drives the world forward. An entire religion has grown up around the term innovation, and the so-called early adopters – those of us who always have all of the latest updates and the newest apps installed – are its disciples. Biology plays... more
17-18/2014
There are still several weeks to go before the football World Cup kicks off in Brazil, and yet the World Bank has reported that «Germany is world champion again» – of the logistics world. The bank’s logistics index assesses the ability of a country’s infrastructure to perform... more
15-16/2014 Tour d'horizon
At the beginning of the year I resisted the temptation to quote the massed choir of analysts and self-proclaimed prophets on this page, all of them seeking to predict the future development of our industry. All these weeks later I have now given in to the urge. Study after... more