In the course of its customer event on the 7th of May 2010, Kuehne + Nagel HafenCity received the award “Ausgewaehlter Ort” (“Selected Landmark in the land of ideas”) for its logistics information platform, KN Login.
It is the fifths time already, that the initiative “Germany – Land of Ideas” -in cooperation with “Deut- sche Bank”- has arranged the yearly competition “365 Land- marks in the Land of Ideas”. This biggest series of events in Germany is under the patronage of the German federal president, Horst Koehler. Kuehne + Nagel is winner in the category ‘Economy’ based on its contribution: “Supply chain via mouse click – an online logistics tool ensures maximum
transparency in global trade flows."
A multitude of customers accepted the invitation of the German management board and attended the award ceremony in the HarbourCity office of Kuehne + Nagel. After a champagne reception and the welcoming of the guests, the official part of the event started with a couple of presentations and customer statements about KN Login.
Klaus Arnz, Head of Customer Solutions Central Europe, started the presentations with a brief review of the history of the development and the success story of KN Login. Silvia Prinz, purchasing agent at Graupner Modellbau, gave a presentation about the successful integration of KN Login in her import division. She highlighted the active support regarding supplier control and “always knowing which product is on its way” as key advantages. The second customer presentation was held by Juerjen Schuerer, Supervisor CLAAS Manufacturing Logistics. Mr Schuerer impressively demonstrated the challenges caused by the lack of transparency in regards to the sourcing and logistics processes for parts from India to Europe, prior to the implementation of KN Login. After the successful implementation of KN MMS (Kuehne + Nagel Material Management Solutions), the customer CLAAS has gained full transparency of the supply chain. Mr. Schuerer concluded his presentation with the statement: “KN MMS shows the way into the future – replace stock with information.”
Following the presentations, the award ceremony took place. Frank Schriever, Supervisor Hamburg, PWM, Deutsche Bank, handed over the award to Hans-Georg Brinkmann, Regional Manager Central Europe, and Horst-Joachim Schacht, Global Seafreight Manager. Mr Schriever stated: “In an increasingly complex world of global trade flows, transparency is an important asset. Customers and partners of Kuehne + Nagel alike benefit from the innovative system KN Login. Furthermore this logistics information tool is an evidence for the innovative power in Germany.”
Hans-Georg Brinkmann commented: “We are delighted to be the winner of this prestigious award. It is recognition and incentive for us at the same time, it encourages us to continue using our innovative power and generate many further trendsetting ideas for customer-oriented services.”
After the award ceremony, the participants enjoyed the pano- ramic view of the harbour and the city of Hamburg during their lunch in the sky lounge located on the 11th floor of the Kuehne + Nagel building. Suited to the occasion of the 821st Hamburg Harbour birth- day, the participants finally en- joed a three-hour boat trip on the Kuehne + Nagel barge, “MS Naku”.
Thank you very much to all involved parties for this successful event!
Background information “competition 365 landmarks”: Out of more than 2,200 applications received from companies, research institutes, art and cultural institutions, community and charity projects and initiatives, a panel of 18 judges chaired by Prof. Martin Roth, General Director of the State Art Collections in Dresden, and Prof. Michael Hüther, Director of the Institute of the German Economy in Cologne, chose the winners in seven categories. As ambassadors for the Land of Ideas, they demonstrate the multifaceted potential of Germany as a place of innovation.
