Mondi: Time is Key in Logistics – the Hidden Champion in Papermaking
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"The expectations are clear, but a lot of processes entailing logistics and collaboration with partners and corrugated customers play a part in satisfying them," explained Florian Stockert, sales director, Containerboard, Mondi Europe & International.
One of Mondi’s customers with exactly these requirements is the Model Group, Germany, an international developer and producer of intelligent, high-quality solid and corrugated displays. It places its faith in Mondi as a reliable partner capable of meeting these challenges.
"We have been working with Mondi who is a trusted partner of ours for years and are very satisfied with its excellent product quality, specifications that meet our customers’ demands, logistics, and service. Our needs ultimately reflect those of our customers—we want high-quality products that satisfy our needs and are delivered on time. With Mondi’s strong support, we seek to maintain the cycle of activities that keep our customers happy every day," explained Katja Giesen, paper merchant at Model GmbH.
Mondi is one of Model GmbH’s top five suppliers of containerboard grades. One of the products used by the packaging group is Mondi’s ProVantage Komiwhite, a white top kraftliner produced in its Syktyvkar mill in Russia. Transporting the paper reels from the Komi Republic in the far north to Mondi’s logistics hub in Hamburg, and finally to Model GmbH, is a task that is performed with great agility by Mondi’s logistics team and sales force. From the mill to the logistics center in Hamburg, Mondi’s ProVantage Komiwhite travels by train, ship, and truck.
Hendryk Mackowiak, branch manager of the logistics company Pohl&Co., which has been overseeing logistics at Mondi’s Hamburg Terminal since 2011, understands the challenges presented by long-distance logistics for international players such as Mondi, "The perfect logistics set-up and mix is crucial for companies like Mondi that have production sites all over the world and sell to international customers. Delivering products undamaged and on time is not always easy, especially when operating globally. Mondi is a prime example of good logistics management and constantly challenges us to develop even better solutions for its customers’ success. The choice of location for the main logistics hub is a crucial one, and Hamburg is ideal. Appropriate most modern equipment and state-of-the-art IT solutions also make a critical difference and can enhance our customers’ ability to monitor stock and handle goods efficiently and with flexibility."
Since 2012, Mondi has been offering a new and unique service for its German, Austrian, and Suisse customers through its Hamburg Terminal. Together with Pohl & Co., Mondi developed a self-pickup option to address customers’ logistical needs. "When talking to our customers, we discovered that there is demand for joint logistics solutions that offer flexibility and optimize supply chain management. This is what prompted the development of a self-pickup option in Hamburg. Model GmbH is one of the first to combine this option with ‘normal’ logistics support," explained Torsten Fleck, head of sales region, Germany and Switzerland. The advantages of self-pickup lie in the optimization of cargo routes, which transforms transport operations into a closed loop. After unloading consignments on customers’ premises, Model can direct the delivery trucks to pick up raw materials from the Hamburg Terminal on their way home, thus saving time, extra journeys, and the cost of deliveries to its converting plants.
"Many of our customers are located in the north of Germany or Denmark. To avoid idle runs and optimize our transport cycle in the future, we will be picking up paper rolls in the port of Hamburg, which improves flexibility and logistics for us as well," said Katja Giesen, a paper merchant at Model. Model has been using ProVantage Komiwhite for its unique box solutions for many years. Giesen explains why this grade suits Model and perfectly satisfies its customers’ needs: "We value the converting benefits, quality, and branding options provided by ProVantage Komiwhite. We use this grade mainly for packaging solutions for fruit and vegetable suppliers, e-commerce, and the food industry in general. Modern packaging has to be more distinctive on the shelf, sustainable, if demanded made of 100% virgin fiber, and certified. ProVantage Komiwhite helps us to meet all of these needs."
Torsten Fleck, Mondi’s head of sales in Germany and Switzerland, and Model GmbH’s sales partner, highly values the customer relationship and sees Model as an ideal sparring partner for Mondi in many respects. He noted that "Model GmbH is a long-standing customer with which we have built a trusting and collaborative partnership. I personally appreciate its experience and the frank feedback it gives about our paper and service. Model was also one of the first customers to recognize, following the modernization of our PM 21 in Syktyvkar, that ProVantage Komiwhite is a match for our premium White Top Kraftliner ProVantage Baywhite, which is produced by the Richards Bay mill in South Africa. Using both grades gives Model the advantages of both availability and reliability. They can use both qualities—if one of the grades is not available, typically because of, for instance, bad marine conditions, the other quality can still be supplied because it takes a completely different transport route."
