Access my space
Our members are recruitingBILLET OF THE WEEK
By Frédéric Vallet, President of DB Schenker France
Let's focus on the collective
Only a common approach can master the current emergencies
Piotr Zborowski is the president of DB Schenker Poland. For the past ten days, he has been rapidly setting up a reception unit for the 90 Ukrainian employees and their families who want to cross the border. This unit helps them with accommodation, food, clothing and administrative matters. His initiative was supported by a whole ecosystem of Polish associations and volunteers.
In the Ukraine, one day after the Russian invasion, local DB Schenker employees were given salary advances so that they could withdraw the last available banknotes from ATMs. In Russia, where we have about 1,000 employees out of 77,000 worldwide, salaries are being paid even though the flow of goods has stopped for the time being, apart from pharmaceutical products.
What if it were us? Of course, these solidarity actions are not limited to those of DB Schenker, but they encourage us to question our own social responsibility and sometimes our individualism.
They also show that, in such a complex situation, it is urgent to act in real time and together, on the solidarity front as well as on the professional front.
Like other companies, DB Schenker France has set up a cross-functional crisis unit with the sales department, the legal department and its business experts... The current situation is so complex that we have to make arbitrations every day, such as authorising a subcontracted carrier, already in Ukraine, to unhook its trailer, leave the freight there and return to Poland with the tractor. It is up to us to coordinate the legal consequences with our customers, while pointing out that the priority must remain the safety of the employees.
The latest information, that which is "real" and written, beyond the announcements in the media, is very difficult to decipher, particularly concerning sanctions. Industrialists, transporters and logisticians sometimes only have a partial vision of the current puzzle and the potential risks. Let's talk to each other, let's exchange ideas between professionals! Let's also talk to our teams to show that it has never been so important to give priority to the collective and solidarity.
HIGHLIGHTS
Logistics impacted by fuel increases
Even if at the beginning of this week the price of petrol at the pump should fall slightly (compared to last week's surge), it is clear that the next few months will be painfully affected by fuel increases. The cause, of course, is the conflict in Ukraine and its consequences on the availability of energy resources and certain raw materials. Last Wednesday, Bruno Lemaire compared the current energy crisis to the 1973 oil crisis. This is a very worrying situation for households, but also for companies, which will have to reconsider their logistics costs in the light of this new situation. Indeed, a violent and lasting rise in the price of a barrel of oil would weaken the financial equilibrium of many companies, particularly in the transport sector, but also in other sectors of activity. Thus, certain industrial groups will be obliged to drastically review their expenditure, with measures that could go as far as calling into question certain national or distant locations, established on the basis of transport costs that are now obsolete. But if we want to qualify this gloomy picture with a touch of optimism, we could also say that the circumstances, as dramatic as they are, will necessarily force the economic world to question its energy choices and invite it to accelerate the implementation of a more virtuous and less energy-consuming transition.
NOT TO BE MISSED
Hydrogen for freight transport
On February 16th, France Supply Chain and France Hydrogène informed the actors of the logistic chain about the perspectives of the electric truck with hydrogen for the transport of goods. You can find the replay of the conference and the answers given during the exchanges on our website.
Events
Find all the events around the Supply Chain.
