How important are the logistics tools or new technology for industrial revolution?

Automation and mechanization of material flow have a huge impact on material handling in terms of speed, accuracy, reliability and flexibility as well as more independence from labor. For Interroll, predominantly acting as a subsupplier, we realize that quality equipment is needed by our partners to make a difference, since it has a direct impact on tangible benefits for their customers. This is, why the Interroll brand is well-known globally. In addition, for specific industry requirements like the food processing industries, we are actively involved in developing hygienic standards when used in applications.

Overall key logistics tools:

- provide perfect links between production and distribution

- should be of modular structure with decentralized intelligence that easily adapts to new layouts

- excellent quality to provide the highest uptime of the system

- equipment with minimal carbon footprint

- match or exceed industry trends and standards.

These aspects apply to various degrees depending on the specific application request, since there is no “one size fits all”.

What are your company’s targets and investments going to be for the next 2 years?

The principal overall objective of the global Interroll Group is to achieve sustained, above-average growth in sales and earnings. We aim to establish ourselves as the leading player in specific target markets and product groups and to achieve our strategic goals by establishing clear market positions. We also want to take the lead in terms of innovation, operating our own global sales platform, and delivering a high level of productivity and pursuing an investment policy focused on the long term. It is also crucial to maintain our reputation as an attractive partner for our customers throughout the world and as an employer that prides itself on a highly motivated and high-achieving workforce.

The Interroll Group supplies key products for unit-load handling, internal logistics and automation in specific target markets such as food processing, airport logistics, postal services, distribution and other sectors. We make use of our own global sales network to maintain close contact with system integrators, multinationals, regional plant manufacturers, engineering firms and end users to analyze the precise requirements of each customer group. The solutions we provide to meet the everyday logistical challenges faced by our customers are based on key Interroll products that are supported by a common global platform. An important element of our strategy is our commitment to developing and then refining intelligent products that allow our customers to save space and energy and that deliver a fast return on investment.

For our Thailand operations we are very happy since we have achieved successful growth. Furthermore, the Interroll Group is strongly committed towards more investments into this region, pushing our application engineering know-how as well as further building out our service structure to enhance our service commitments.  Supported by local production and based on our experienced team with more than 60 people in Thailand, our country management is very confident of strong growth.

How does the company offer benefits to its customers?

Whether global or local, big or small, all our customers benefit from the combined know-how and applications experience built up by the global Interroll Group over a large number of reference projects. Our development and production centers transform this critical knowledge into innovative, market-leading solutions for over 23,000 customers around the world who can be assured at all times of gaining above-average benefit from those solutions; the fruit of innovation from all over the world. Interroll’s globally networked service portfolio makes it unique in the market for internal unit goods handling, logistics and automation.

For example, one clear benefit can be seen from the distributing organization for Red Bull in Thailand, serving the Asian market. It relies on Interroll Dynamic Storage solutions. Based on highly efficient pallet handling, another major order has recently been placed for an additional 12,670 pallet places.

What is your view on current business competition & trends?

Our future growth strategy is geared towards meeting clearly identified market trends that offer potentially attractive sales opportunities. These include:

• continued growth in passenger numbers in international air travel, requiring expansion in airport handling capacity (baggage conveying systems) and security technology (in-line screening of baggage and freight)

• strict hygiene regulations in the food processing industry, which are being adopted by an increasing number of countries and a call for premium-quality conveyor drives such as Interroll Drum Motors

• increasing liberalization of postal markets and the regionalization of courier/express/parcel service operators, who are investing in distribution and new sites in order to establish a local presence near their customers

• further decentralization of distribution centers for a wide range of goods in order to speed up delivery times

• increasing product variety and shorter product life cycles demand greater flexibility and customization in the order/picking of goods.

What are the challenges faced by the logistics industry and supply chain?

First of all, the markets do not only grow due to the increase of population worldwide. In our target markets for unit handling, end-customers ask for faster and more individualized supplies with less quantities per batch so that the number of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) increases substantially. From a supply perspective, this will require more professionalism in unit handling by manufacturers towards being “fast to market”, combined with high efficiency as a cost saving driver.

This means, the logistics and supply chain will have to create even more of its own value for the manufacturers’ products and solutions. In conclusion, this will demand core competencies that will either be looked after inhouse or be handled by third party logistics, which is becoming more and more popular. Based on the ongoing market dynamics, manufacturers not only have to consider their logistics costs, but to strategize their logistics approach as a value driver for their customized products and solutions. At the same time, products’ life cycles will shorten and require a flexible material handling approach, ending in requirements for shorter investment payoffs as well. Of course, the level of requirements usually differs with the maturity of businesses and countries, but they all have the same direction.

For the Interroll Group, we are positioning our portfolio on products and solutions to demonstrate true benefits for these dynamic market challenges, resulting in a shorter return-on-invest.