Marc2

On the Road – Logistics in Times of Corona

At Brüning | Logistik a lot has changed due to the corona crisis. The biggest change took place in the office, as everyone withdrew to their home office. Patrick Häberle, Head of Logistics, reflects: “My concerns were quite high, however, as to whether vehicle dispatching with different dispatchers could function without direct contact. In the meantime, this is going very well and I can imagine this model to some extent for the future of the department. The communication between the individual colleagues works excellently. It is of course a pity that we no longer see each other personally. Until that is possible again, we’ll just use video conferencing.”

When planning the vehicles, the logistics department also had to reorganise itself as quickly as possible, as transport volumes were expected to drop at the beginning of the shutdown. However, quite the opposite was the case. Many foreign haulage companies or haulage companies with foreign driving personnel initially withdrew. As a result, a great deal of freight space was lost at short notice, which could not be compensated for so quickly. In the meantime, the situation has calmed down again, which could be related to the fact that volumes in various sectors have of course slumped massively in recent weeks. The recycling companies, which are responsible for industrial waste disposal, are receiving hardly any more quantities, as a large part of the economy has come to a standstill. In other sectors, too, the quantities are gradually beginning to dwindle. As a result, not as much freight space is currently needed as usual at this time of year.

Various measures were taken to counteract these fluctuations. Brüning | Logistik is of course very closely linked to its own trading company, the Brüning | Group. The advantage is that when the figures in one department decline, often significantly more quantities are generated in another department, which makes it possible to compensate. In addition, logistics is in constant communication with the departments and tries to be able to provide support if bottlenecks arise. The most important thing is that customers are satisfied and know that they can rely on us as a group. We always try to offer a good service to our customers.

The current situation presents many challenges, especially for our drivers. Patrick Häberle enthusiastically reports about his team: “I’ve got to pay a big compliment to everyone. Every single one of them is really doing a good job out there and everyone is also thinking about the issue. One of our drivers asked if it would be possible to prepare care packages for all of them, including a mask, disinfectant and disposable gloves. That was a great idea! We are working flat out to get the individual items, which is not easy at the moment.” He adds: “Otherwise, almost everyone is quite relaxed about the situation. Personal contact is certainly limited, but in the current situation that’s perfectly fine.”

Marc Kerkau, one of our drivers, gave us a little insight – straight from the road. He describes the situation as very relaxed: “Driving is really fun, especially on the currently empty roads, even though traffic is gradually increasing again. At the beginning there were a few problems with service areas that suddenly closed down, but that has been settled in the meantime. We as truck drivers are now allowed to use sanitary facilities almost everywhere for free and also sufficient food and drinks are provided, but only to take away. Apart from that, similar safety measures and restrictions apply as everywhere else: (social) distance rules, registration only through plexiglass or foil curtains, some customers demand face masks and direct contact is avoided as much as possible.”

It’s great that everyone is so relaxed about the situation and has adapted so quickly to the circumstances. We are proud of our logistics and the whole team!

Contact