Lena Watermann is Head of Value Added Services and has been part of Nagel-Group for 12 years. As a dual student, she gained insights into different departments of the Borgholzhausen branch and the headquarters. With the takeover of an extensive VAS business by Nagel-Group, Lena Watermann accompanied various phases at an early stage – from calculation to planning phase and till the final GoLive. As a Project Manager, she was constantly confronted with new requirements in the VAS sector and got to know different facets within this sector.
Today, she reports on the current challenges of her field of responsibility and how the topics of digitalisation and Green Logistics are affecting the VAS sector.
In the Value Added Services division, you are responsible for all “value added” services in the area of Contract Logistics. Which VAS are particularly in demand? What are the current trends in VAS?
We pack assortment boxes for many customers, which gives them the opportunity to offer numerous product variants to the consumers in a small space of a retail shop.
Moreover, the construction of displays is currently in demand in order to present the products to the end customers in an appealing way and to differentiate from the large product range.
It can be recognised that the range of articles is becoming more diverse. This is reflected in both, more complex sorting and smaller batch sizes.
The ever-advancing digitalisation is also getting perceptible in logistics. How is this reflected in the VAS sector?
When using (complex) automation solutions, we rely, among other things, on the aspect of digitalisation in order to control plant components and have them communicate with each other as well as with our warehouse management system.
Furthermore, we are gradually trying to digitise paper-based processes (e.g. by means of apps). In this context, we have recently started using an app to document quality controls at one site.
Of course, sustainability with regard to Green Logistics is also becoming more and more important for customers. What are the possibilities in this respect for the VAS sector?
One ecologic-oriented approach for more sustainability is reducing cardboard waste.
Often the cardboard boxes in which the goods are sorted according to type and prepared for the packaging process have to be disposed of in whole or in part, as they cannot be reused as basis for an assortment box or a display.
In this case, there is an opportunity to develop solutions in cooperation between the customers and us as a service provider in order to reduce waste, e.g. by implementing the (partial) reuse of the original cardboard box or the use of reusable containers for delivering the sorted goods. This ecologic-oriented example saves resources and at the same time reduces the costs for additional cardboard and waste disposal.
How will VAS advance in the near future? What challenges will Nagel-Group have to face in the future and how can they be solved?
Due to the high variety of products that consumers are confronted with, it will also be crucial in the future to differentiate from the crowd by using diverse VAS, such as appealing packaging and presentation of one’s products, as well as e.g. the use of promotional materials.
As our customers’ products usually have to be handled in a very flexible manner, this often involves manual processes combined with a high level of personnel deployment. Unfortunately, we are currently confronted in many areas with a lack of personnel, so one of our tasks is to find solutions for automated processes where possible and sustainable in the long term.