Network Cooperation IDS Logistics Continues on Success Course

The network cooperation IDS Logistics has continued its success course in 2020. Revenue grew by 4.3% to €2.43 billion, and the shipment volume increased by 4.1% to 15.3 million. The share of B2C business rose from 13% in 2019 to 19% in 2020. Digitalization further optimizes processes and enhances service quality.

(Kleinostheim) IDS Logistics GmbH has navigated the Corona year well and continued its growth trajectory unabated in 2020. The largest German groupage cooperation increased its revenue by 4.3% compared to the previous year to €2.43 billion and transported 15.3 million shipments. This corresponds to an increase of 4.1%.

“Since 2013, IDS has been growing continuously in both revenue and shipment numbers. The main drivers of growth in 2020 were primarily the national transports. The booming construction and DIY sector, as well as the significant increase in online retail due to the pandemic, contributed significantly to this positive business result,” says IDS Managing Director Michael Bargl with satisfaction.

Shipments in the national business rose by 5.1%. The B2C business significantly contributed to this with a growth of 42%. In Germany, IDS partner companies moved 3.32 million tons of goods, which is about 2% more than the previous year. Overall, the average weight decreased due to the generally lighter B2C shipments. Despite temporary border closures and disruptions in supply chains at the beginning of the Corona pandemic, as well as uncertainties in European and global trade, IDS was able to maintain the previous year’s level in international business.

Digitalization and Process Optimization

To further optimize the processes in shipment dispatch and receipt, IDS has developed a fully integrated shipment processing software and implemented it for all 50 IDS depots. Employees can view and immediately edit all relevant information on a monitor page, whether shipment data, status information, ticket system, correction database, or mail system.

“This saves time, reduces errors, creates transparency, and ensures even better and faster shipment processing. Through the new system application, our customers and shipment recipients can also see at a glance where their shipment is currently located,” explains Michael Bargl.

Additionally, in 2020, IDS began equipping all 4,800 swap bodies with GPS solar modules. Combined with the establishment of a new main transport management system, this creates transparency about arrival times of transports between the IDS depots and to the IDS hubs, allows valuable freight to be tracked securely, and helps optimize transport processes. This also includes real-time dispatching, downtime analyses, and delay warnings.

This is particularly interesting for private recipients. In the future, they will receive an email when their shipment goes out for delivery in the morning. Furthermore, they will be informed online about all conceivable delays in the transport process, so they no longer have to keep the already announced delivery time window free. This saves the recipient uncertainty and the hassle of inquiring about their shipment. Further optimizations are planned for 2021.

Optimistic Outlook

“Overall, we expect a further increase in volume in the B2C segment for the current business year. However, we also see an upward trend again in the B2B business. In the export sector, we expect a rather restrained development – not least due to Brexit and simmering trade conflicts,” explains Michael Bargl his expectations for 2021.

In the current business year, IDS aims to continue driving its digitalization projects forward, further increasing the attractiveness of the network for drivers, and developing concrete responses to the energy transition.

Numbers and Facts

 
Photos: © IDS