Your company has a shipment of 8 pallets with car parts that need to be transported from China to France. Normally the logistics team uses sea transport, but shipping routes have changed because of the current situation. Due to the rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope, the transit times to Europe increased on average by 30%, and also the shipping costs are rising. As the goods need to arrive on time, alternative transport modes are being considered.
Air freight emerges as the only transportation mode for this shipment to reach its destination on time. What type of time-sensitive air freight solutions are available and which steps should be taken to arrange the air freight?

Type of Air freight services

In certain critical situations, special air freight services can be the most viable and reliable mode of transport. When seeking time-sensitive air freight solutions, it is crucial to identify the service that best aligns with your company’s specific requirements. We specialize in three distinct types of air freight services handling special goods and time-critical deliveries.

Air Charter

With an air charter, an entire aircraft is exclusively rented to transport goods that require customized air freight services. This is different from a normal air freight shipment that can consist of goods from multiple companies.  Air charter provides maximum flexibility in scheduling, routing, and loading. It provides solutions for organizations that need to ship sensitive goods ( e.g. medicines, exclusive spare parts) or with limited route schedules to a remote location.

When to use an Air Charter?

It is mainly interesting for goods that have a high financial impact if not delivered in time. For example, if a car component for a production line is delayed, it can have a high financial impact when production needs to stop.  In such emergency situations, the cargo’s schedule must exactly align with the charterer’s requirements. 

Air charters can offer a cost-effective solution for transporting specific types of cargo that may not be feasible with traditional air cargo services. This includes large, heavy, or high-value items, as well as goods that require specialized handling or equipment. While air freight services are generally pricier compared to sea or road transportation, the overall cost can be balanced out through savings in areas like insurance and logistics maintenance.

Next Flight Out

As the name already suggests, Next Flight Out (NFO) is an express air freight service. In emergency situations time-critical goods will be dispatched onto the next outbound flight that is heading out to its destination. It is a premium service whereby the air freight team searches for the fastest route for the shipment. 

The difference between Next Flight Out and Air Charter is that with NFO, they will make use of scheduled flights. While with Air Charter, the flight is scheduled according to the exact needs of the company that needs to ship its goods.

Opting for Next Flight Out

Businesses in different industries sometimes have to make use of NFO. Not only for medical supplies, but also to keep production lines running, avoiding downtime. Manufacturers that miss the delivery deadline, make use of NFO to send the critical components over. When using this service, the components are picked up, and placed onto the next available flight without delay. A door-to-door service can be added to get the components to their end destination.

A car manufacturer that usually ships its pallets via Sea transport from China to the United Kingdom, was experiencing serious shipment delays due to the current Red Sea conflict. The company consulted us for Air freight solutions to make sure the car parts arrived on time at the factory, avoiding costly production stops.

On-Board-Courier

An On Board Courier (OBC), or similar used terms  such as ‘Hand Carry Service’ or ‘Personal Courier Service’, is used for the secure and fast delivery in person of high-value items or time-sensitive goods to its final destination. It mostly concerns small packages and parcels. An experienced transport team connects all stakeholders involved and arranges all necessary steps: from trustworthy courier, ticketing to airlines, customs brokers and the final mile. A dedicated courier will personally accompany the goods, ensuring safety and timely delivery. An OBC can hand-carry the cargo as a passenger on a commercial airline, ensuring a safe and unbroken chain of custody. The customs clearance process is done on priority. 

This service is not only used by the fashion industry for luxury goods but in fact, it is used for a wide range of goods, including intellectual Property documentation, medical supplies, and manufacturing components.

Considering OBC Service?

In a nutshell, OBC can be considered for time-sensitive or high-value goods that require special handling and urgent delivery. Items such as samples, prototypes, confidential documents, or supplies that require personal supervision and secure handling. Our transport team keeps the customer well-informed via real-time tracking.

OBC services do have restrictions on the dimensions and type of cargo they can handle due to safety regulations and air travel. The limitations depend on the luggage regulations per airline and should be checked per OBC request. Also the destination, and any other regulatory requirements may impact the limitations for goods. In general, 1 item cannot exceed the maximum weight of 32 kgs.

Obviously, dangerous goods and items containing any hazardous materials or liquids are not allowed. Common commodities being shipped via OBC can be aerospace parts, electronics, documents and automotive components.

A recent OBC shipment we took care of was for a manufacturer of cooling fans.

The business needed to transport 3 boxes of 12 KG each with spare parts from a specific location in Lithuania to their factory in Germany. Pickup and delivery needed to be done within a specific time frame and under high-security conditions.

Our Time-Sensitive Air Freight Solutions

Our well-trained team of air freight experts has a strong worldwide network and is connected to 300 airlines in over 120 countries. They know their way with general cargo but also specialize in express solutions for pharmaceuticals, dangerous goods, and perishables. If your company would like to know more about our air freight solutions or desire a tailored quote, please get in contact. We are happy to support you, 24/7.
Read more about air freight here.

Spot shipping, spot-buy freight,  spot rates, spot freight market… you may have come across and read about these logistic terms.
Spot shipping is when a shipper (any company that needs to have goods transported from point A to point B) books freight transportation on a one-time basis without a long-term contract. The shipper receives a so-called “on the spot” price from a carrier or other logistic service provider to transport the goods.

Unlike contract freight, spot freight is not arranged via a fixed rate, contracted volume or lane over a set period of time. Also the type of freight can be different each time. Next to different types of freight, also the rates for spot shipments can change daily as they are based upon market conditions.

In the spot market, rates have little to no contractual obligations for both shipper and carrier. For contract rates, the pricing is more stable as it is fixed over a period of time for an agreed freight volume, lane, and vehicle. So it may seem that contract shipping is better, as companies may agree on a good deal. But this is certainly not always the case.
Although the spot market is more volatile due to numerous factors, it can be more suitable or cheaper than contracted rates in several situations.

When to use Spot shipping

In what type of situations do companies consider spot shipping? Is it only for smaller companies that cannot reach the minimum freight load for contract rates? And what if your organization already has a contractual agreement? Can you make use of spot shipments in a hybrid mode?

1. Seasonal demand

If your company experiences fluctuations in shipping demand due to seasonal factors, capacity availability is key.

In many sectors, the demand is irregular and so is the need for transport capacity. In addition, the volume difference can be unpredictable, especially for businesses that deal with peak seasons. In this case, spot shipping can be ideal. Companies can adapt the transport capacity needed per shipment, and select the right vehicle type and lane. This way, they can save resources during low season and they don’t need to comply with a certain freight volume.

Benefit: Meet increased demand during peak seasons without committing to long-term contracts nor minimum freight volumes.

2. Urgent or customized transport

For exceptional or time-critical shipments spot shipping can offer a pay-as-you-go approach. Interesting for logistic needs that are not part of the contracted agreement. 

No business can predict all its logistics needs all the time, hence time-critical or exceptional shipments can occur. Many companies use a hybrid mode, in which they arrange spot shipments next to their contracted lanes. Spot freight is chosen to arrange a fast, dedicated solution within a day or even within hours. Especially for high-value goods you may require specific transportation modes, routes or carriers that fall outside of the contracted agreement. With spot shipping, they don’t need to set up a whole contract for sporadic deliveries.

Benefit: Flexibility to transport goods fast, secured and easy outside of the contract agreement.

3. Cost optimization

Dedicated routes can be expensive for irregular or short-term projects. And in certain market conditions, spot rates can be more beneficial.
It is a common perception that spot shipping is by default more expensive than contract freights. But this is not always the case. As spot rates are determined by many factors in the market and are very volatile, it can also happen that spot rates are cheaper than contracted rates. In a recent report shared by the IRU, the spot rates fell below the contracted rates in Quarter 3 2023. With spot rates, you can compare prices in real-time, and choose the option you like best.

Benefit: Compare prices and capacity in real-time and choose the best rate.

How to arrange your spot shipments in Europe

Select the right shipping partner

Experience and reliability are key in selecting a shipping partner for spot freight. It is an inefficient process for a company to check carriers for spot business one by one.  Therefore it needs to be arranged via a trustworthy shipper partner that can do the work for them.

Whether it is domestic transport or international, it’s crucial to use a shipping partner that has experience and a proven track record. Especially for high-value, urgent and customized delivery, a shipping partner must be able to act quickly and accordingly. Redspher, with over 40 years of experience in time-sensitive shipments has an extensive network of over 15,000 vetted carriers. Convenient services for spot freight shipping are offered:

> Digital Marketplace: for shippers to procure from compliant vendors, ensure the best solution and manage budgets and approvals.

> Digital platform Shipper Portal: find, compare, and book reliable spot solutions within minutes. 

> Freight forwarding services: experienced transport team for personal, tailored assistance.

As the name suggests, air freight includes all goods that are transported through airspace. In terms of the weight of the transported goods, air freight has a very low importance with a share of about 1%. However, when looking at the value of goods, this share is around 40%, which is due to the fact that air freight traffic is concentrated on particularly high-value, low-weight goods.

Type of goods for air freight

Typical air cargo items are mostly valuable items, very urgent spare parts and time-sensitive shipments, goods with short product cycles and products where fast market penetration is of enormous importance. In the event of a disaster, fast action is required. For this reason, relief goods are often sent by airfreight to the relevant crisis areas so that they reach those affected as quickly as possible.

When to choose air freight

When choosing the right mode of transportation, it is essential to weigh costs, transit time, and reliability.  Air freight is particularly popular for time-sensitive and temperature-sensitive goods. To ensure continuous availability even when demand suddenly increases, more and more companies are opting for air transportation.

Advantages

• Speed on medium and long haul routes 
• Reliability, because flight schedules are strictly adhered to
• Security, because there is relatively little transport damage and theft

Disadvantages of air freight

• Costly compared to ground transportation
• Location-dependent because transportation is tied to airports
• Pre- and on-carriage to and from the airport must be organized

Forms of air freight

Belly Freight means that air cargo is carried by normal passenger aircraft in the lower decks of the aircraft. This applies to approximately 85% of the air cargo volume.

Freighter-only, on the other hand, is a cargo-only aircraft that carries only cargo. This applies to about 15% of the air cargo volume. Cargo-only aircraft have the advantage of offering more space and capacity than passenger aircraft. This means that exceptionally large and bulky shipments can also be transported.

What to consider for air freight as a shipper

The transportation of air cargo is associated with strict regulations and guidelines. In order to avoid unnecessary delays in customs clearance and to ensure smooth handling, the shipper should have prepared and provided all necessary paperwork.

The most important documents in air freight include:

• Air Waybill: the air waybill must be prepared according to IATA guidelines and is internationally recognized as the sole accompanying document.
• House Air Waybill (HAWB): on receiving the goods from the shipper, this document is issued by the freight forwarder to deliver the goods as agreed upon in the terms. It outlines the specifics of the individual shipments within the consolidated cargo.
• Master-Air Waybill (MAWB): upon receiving the shipment, as specified in the shipping terms, the carrier issues a document to the freight forwarder, confirming their agreement to deliver the shipment to the designated location.
• Dangerous goods shipper’s declaration (DGD): key document necessary when sending dangerous goods.
• Commercial invoice: bill for the goods from the seller to the buyer.
• Packing List: provides a detailed overview of the contents of the shipment.
• Other accompanying documents depending on the regulations of the respective countries.

Redspher – above the clouds for you

Benefit from over 40 years of expertise in handling time-critical shipments. We set everything in motion for you! Find out more about the type of air solutions here.

Our team of transport experts is also available to you at any time, around the clock. Get in touch with us, we look forward to hearing from you and are ready to assist you in word and deed. 

Contact our air freight experts here

What is digital freight forwarding?

Digital freight forwarding is the practice of coordinating and controlling the shipment of goods using digital technologies. By automating involved tasks, digital freight forwarders are able to offer a more efficient and cost-effective service to shippers. Companies that need to ship goods, whether it is a regular shipment or urgent, can manage the entire booking process by themselves. They can get a view of the available loading capacity without the need of a third party. Shippers insert their transport request, receive solutions and prices within minutes, and instantly select and book the best solution.

Difference between traditional and digital freight forwarding

The main difference between traditional and digital freight forwarders is their way of interacting with both shippers and carriers. Traditional freight forwarders act as a middleman between shippers and carriers. They mainly use phone calls and emails to communicate shipment quotations, bookings and status updates. The freight forwarder compares quotations of carriers and offers the best one to the shipper. This process can be time-consuming and more prone to error. When the shipper agrees upon the quotation, the freight forwarder needs to react fast to book the transport solution. Next to that, traditional freight forwarders often rely on the manual process of creating freight documents.

Digital freight forwarders use technology to deliver a seamless customer experience and to optimize business operations. By eliminating the need for intermediaries and automating manual processes, shippers can interact directly with carriers. This enables faster and more efficient operations. Digital software systems such as freight forwarding platforms offer instant quoting, transparent pricing, and online booking. In addition, these digital tools often offer automated documentation, visibility on real-time capacity and shipment tracking. Shippers and carriers can upload and share all documents on one single cloud-based platform, providing easy access for all stakeholders.

What are the benefits of digital freight forwarding?

Digital freight forwarding can be faster and more efficient than traditional freight forwarding, and less prone to errors:

• Efficiency & fast response time: by automating the freight forwarding process can help reduce time to request, book and track shipments, as well as integrating financial systems. Quicker quoting processes, seamless documentation handling and automated invoicing improves efficiency.
• Cost reduction: less need for manual labor and time can save on labor costs. Also switching to electronic documentation and invoicing can contribute to a cost reduction.
• Customer service: be able to provide real-time and up-to-date information to end-customers about their shipments 24/7. It provides transparency in available solutions and prices.
• Visibility: real-time tracking information improves the visibility of each shipment. The shipper stays informed about each stage of the transport. The recorded data can be used for reporting and business analytics. Analyzing data can provide valuable insights for better forecasting.

Digital freight forwarding in time-sensitive delivery

When it comes to urgent and unforeseen transport needs, speed and reactivity are crucial.A digital freight forwarding platform can support shippers and carriers in overcoming logistic disruptions. If you’re looking for a digital freight forwarding platform that is specialized in handling time-sensitive shipments, check out our Shipper Portal. With over 40 years of transport experience we’ve developed a seamless platform that adapts to the custom needs of your shipments. Feel free to contact us, we’re happy to provide you with a short demo and answer any questions you might have.

Businesses and nations are looking for ways to become more resilient and secure their supply chains. The global disruptions of the past 2 years shows the fragility of offshoring. From semiconductors, to farming materials and food supplies, shortages affected all industries. In an attempt to prioritize supply chain resilience over costs, many corporations are looking into reshoring: nearshoring and friend-shoring. What do these terms imply, and will these fix the weaknesses in the supply chains?

Offshoring

It all started with offshoring in the 1960s by which companies started to transfer the operating activities (mainly manufacturing) to other countries or overseas. With this business operations model, corporations moved partly or completely their operations abroad in order to reduce costs and increase profit margins. The reason to offshore was mainly because of lower labor costs (access to larger workforce), closer proximity to raw materials and more favorable government and regulatory policies. This was the start of economic globalization in which businesses produced and bought products where costs were low. And in a world where goods can be moved faster and cheaper. Will the opposite now be set in motion due to the numerous supply chain disruptions that occurred in the past 2,5 years?

The mentioned disruptions have shown the disadvantages of offshoring – with long and complex supply chains. In order to overcome these vulnerabilities, many businesses as well as governments are trying to regain resilience via policies, incentives and by reviewing current processes. According to an article by Deloitte many businesses are looking into reshoring their critical supply chains.

What is Reshoring?

Reshoring is also known as nearshoring, inshoring and backshoring. It is the opposite of offshoring. Reshoring emerged as an alternative strategy for companies by bringing operations back or close to the core country – shortening their supply chain and mitigating risks. Shorter supply chains are easier to manage and more durable. Bringing at least part of the manufacturing back home or changing to local suppliers provides more flexibility and control. Companies are eager to increase their resilience, even if it lowers efficiency.
But not all supply chains can be reshored. For example, critical scarce resources that can only be sourced at a few locations in the world, such as lithium for batteries of electric vehicles. Or specialized knowledge and equipment for manufacturing semiconductors. And some industries are just too complex to replicate locally, such as electronics.

Friend-shoring

It is important to mitigate risks of supply chain cuts from single source countries and rebuild strategic relationships. Therefore nations seek to establish a network of trusted suppliers from friendly and stable countries (with similarity in strategic and geopolitical interests) called “friend-shoring”. By completing national supply chains with a diverse set of trusted international suppliers, nations can improve their resilience. According to an article of the Wall Street Journal countries around the world are looking for friendly supply routes. It is described as “a new kind of global trade, one that confines commerce to a circle of trusted nations”.

Are reshoring and friend-shoring the solution?

In general, changes in supply chains happen continuously. According to an article of ING, the past global events show a trend towards more self-sufficiency. Also the recent regulations, such as the Supply chain due diligence act prepared by the EU, seems to favor the concept of friend-shoring.

However, in general there seems to be a shift towards supply diversification. It has become more important to extend the amount of suppliers in different countries for security reasons. Even if it implies more costs and losing competitive advantage. 

According to the ING, there will be more self-sufficiency initiatives taken in Europe and the US for risk reduction and diversification, mainly in strategic sectors. Supply shifts from China to other Asian countries are occurring, as well as more inventory building strategies relating to the “just-in-case-model”.

What can companies do next to diversifying their suppliers?

Companies and governments can take the following steps to build resilience:

• Collect supply chain data:  gather and monitor data of your supply chain from beginning to the end to improve visibility. Evaluate the suppliers from the sourcing of raw materials until the end product or service.  This overview will help you to expose where possible weak spots lie and makes it easier to take precautionary actions. 
• Make use of multiple transport suppliers to spread the risk and secure flexibility. Cover both your regular transport needs as well as your  time-sensitive shipments. Make use of specialized time-critical transport services.
• Embrace digital platforms: to assist in digital and real-time monitoring and transparency. Digital platforms enable you to search and compare the available transport solutions in real-time. At the same time,  you can collect relevant data on your past shipments creating transparency and full visibility.
• Just-in-case inventory management: build up precautionary stocks or diversify suppliers to be prepared for times of scarcity and disruptions.  

If you are looking for an easy to use digital platform that allows you to find, compare and track transport suppliers, please check out the services of our Shipper Portal. The platform provides visibility and flexibility for your supply chain, regardless of changing strategies or global developments.

76% increase in digital transactions in Q1 2022 compared to 2021

Promoted to CEO of Redspher in the midst of the pandemic crisis, Jean-François Collenot has had to face many other challenges, be they economic, geopolitical or environmental. In this portrait, he emphasizes that Redspher’s resilience lies in its proactivity. Indeed, since 2015, the company has been able to focus on digitalization while integrating ecological issues. An adaptability that makes it today the most fluid time-sensitive delivery platform in Europe.

A logistics specialist at the helm of the executive

The appointment of Jean-François Collenot to the position of CEO of Redspher in November 2020 came as a high point in the career of this logistics expert. Indeed, Jean-François Collenot has always worked in the transport sector with an experience of more than twenty years in the field. 

He started at the end of the 1990s as a Manager at Taxicolis, then a leader in personalized urgent transport. For this group, he was in charge of the Chronopost entity as Regional Manager for the South of France. 

In 2008, when Taxicolis was acquired by Flash (renamed Redspher in 2018) in the midst of the global economic recession, Philippe Higelin, President and Founder of Redspher, appointed him Operational Manager of Taxicolis to manage the integration of the entity into the group and to manage the transition. 

For thirteen years, Jean-François Collenot was successively within the Redspher group as Country Manager France, then Managing Director of the Automotive and Industry sector for Europe and finally Managing Director of Flash for all sectors. 

His appointment in November 2020 as CEO of Redspher splits the group’s decisions into two parts: on the one hand, Philippe Higelin focuses on the strategic aspect; on the other hand, Jean-François Collenot takes care of the executive part.

A proactive vision of the logistics market trend

Jean-François Collenot has been confronted with many crises during his first years in office in addition to the Covid-19 crisis, such as the shortage of electronic components and cables, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the increase in fuel prices. However, Redspher did not wait for the crises to anticipate developments in the sector. As early as 2015, Redspher was already setting up a platform because the company was aware of the importance of digital technology for its international development ambitions. Today, 80% of orders are placed via the platform, and 50% of shipments put the shipper directly in contact with the carrier without any intervention from Redspher teams. 

Redspher’s main ambition is to become a leading company in the “time sensitive” ecosystem, i.e. to succeed in managing emergencies upstream and downstream of production, in complete confidence and transparency. This ambition is made possible by constant investment: 6% of Redspher’s net income is reinvested in Research & Development each year.

“My extensive experience in the logistics sector and my gradual evolution within the Redspher group have enabled me to deal effectively with the various crises the group has faced. However, we always keep in mind the importance of anticipating the evolutions of the sector, to lead our colleagues towards solutions more adapted to the new expectations of the carriers and shippers while having a high level of requirement of respect of the environment”Jean-François Collenot, CEO of Redspher

Environment and digitalization at the heart of the group’s strategy

In the face of today’s global supply chain challenges, the increasing digitalization of the logistics and transportation industry is giving shippers more transparency and visibility into their processes, costs and enabling them to become more resilient. This digital push is resulting in a sharp increase in digital requests and bookings for spot market shipments. 

On its digital platform, Redspher is seeing strong growth in traffic with:

• A 76% increase in transactions in Q1 2022 compared to Q1 last year
• A 21% increase in activity compared to the 4th quarter of 2021 with customers using its platform, despite the difficult economic context.

Accessible at any time, Redspher’s Shipper Portal allows shippers to indicate their shipping needs in a few minutes and receive solutions from carriers all over Europe in a very short time. In addition, they have real-time access to their transport data and the status of their shipments. At the same time, the platform on the carrier side allows carriers to offer their fleet to shipment requests matching their location and vehicles. This allows carriers and drivers to optimize their fleet capacity and avoid empty miles.

To guarantee and secure digital transactions on its platform, Redspher offers its customers and carriers:

• Real-time access to the largest transport capacity in Europe.
• Fast, efficient and transparent overview of shipping options.
• Real-time tracking and tracing of shipments

In addition to the digitalization of the sector, sustainability is a major strategic pillar for the group. With multiple certifications (ISO 14001:2015, 3rd star in the Lean & Green program and Ecovadis gold medal) the company has launched a wide range of initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of its teams but also to engage carriers on the path of ecological transition. This strategy at various levels has enabled it to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of its activity by more than 25% between 2017 and 2019. Very focused on reducing the impact of last mile delivery, Redspher intends to continue its efforts by obtaining the 4th Lean & Green star, with the objective of achieving a 55% reduction in carbon footprint by 2030. 

Gianni Maes, Chief Sales Officer of Redspher, alerts on the difficulties encountered by the carriers they connect to shippers. The sharp rise in fuel costs is not the only issue. The shortage of equipment and rising labor costs are also soaring.

How does the inflation impact the carriers you connect with shippers on the platform?

One third of the cost of transport is made up of diesel fuel costs, one third by the vehicle and its equipment and one third of the cost by the organization and the drivers. Fuel prices have increased by 27% since the beginning of the year. Due to component shortages, manufacturers have focused on their most profitable products. In the first four months of the year, we have therefore seen increases in two- and three-year rental and leasing contracts ranging from +25% to +40%. The driver shortage is not solved, so the ecosystem will have to make this business more attractive, which will inevitably have an impact on compensation levels. The further implementation of the EU Mobility Package will accelerate the challenges faced by the ecosystem.

What measures have you taken to support your shippers and carriers in the face of this inflation?

To overcome these challenges, the entire transportation ecosystem must take responsibility: shippers, forwarders, small carriers and drivers. We have two main activities: a capacity purchase and resale activity for shippers and a marketplace activity to facilitate transactions between shippers and carriers.

On the purchase for resale side, where we act as an intermediary between shippers and carriers with whom we have tariff agreements, we have taken immediate measures to help the latter cope with the increase in fuel prices. At the end of February, we switched from a quarterly model of indexing transport costs to the cost of diesel fuel to a weekly adjustment. For carriers that operate almost exclusively with our platform, we will apply an increase in their remuneration, excluding fuel. We have opened discussions with shippers to see to what extent they can take on a share of these changes. Most of them are open to these discussions.

But we are convinced that, in the medium to long term, the accumulation of current events will change business models, particularly in the express and time-critical freight market.

Have you seen any impact of the increased charges on carriers?

As soon as the first lockdown ended, we saw some small carriers disappear and others suspended part of their activity, not wanting to incur significant fixed costs, due to a lack of long-term confidence. Between the end of February and the first part of March, carriers put their drivers on leave assuming the fixed costs of renting and insuring the trucks that remained in the parking lot, generated less losses than trying to drive for clients who had not yet committed themselves to taking on part of these increases. While March was very tough, April should mark a stabilization of the situation. Several states are making efforts to stabilize or slightly reduce these surcharges. However, since there are several intermediaries between carriers and shippers, there is always a time lag. The effect of the February increases will not be seen in shippers’ prices until May.

What does the change in business model you mentioned involve?

The introduction of the mobility package, in particular, is likely to bring about a lasting change in the model. All the elements that make up the cost of transport will increase. But shippers are not ready to take 100% of these increases alone. The entire transport ecosystem will be restructured in the coming years. Small forwarders who do not add any particular value, especially for shippers, will see their activity decrease. Redspher, which was originally a carrier in the 80s, became a forwarder in the 90s-2000s, and in this context we started a transition to become a digital platform to facilitate transactions between shippers and carriers. Technology replacing the non-value added actions of a forwarder.

Original article in French language: https://www.republik-supply.fr/transport/route-fer/redspher-l-ecosysteme-du-transport-va-etre-restructure-dans-les-prochaines-annees.html

Flash Europe, internationally established provider of on-demand transport and part of Redspher, launched its own franchise system in October 2019. It is offering franchise opportunities at country level and at regional area level. In 2021 in particular, the express logistics provider’s division showed an instrumental growth. Both in a geographical expansion as well as densifying its network in existing markets. After a considerable expansion in 2020, there were 8 new franchise units added in 2021.

Redspher initiated the Flash Europe franchise system to foster geographical expansion as well as expanding the network density in its existing markets. “The project, which began in 2019 as a Proof of Concept with just nine people involved at the time, has exceeded all expectations. It is now a growing network of 18 franchise units spread across nine different countries (Russia, Ukraine, Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Czech Republic and Serbia). A total of 51 people work hard every day to develop the Flash local footprint,” says Jan Schüller, Head of Franchise. New markets that have been added in the second pandemic year 2021 are Ukraine, Serbia, the Czech Republic and Tunisia where customers are now served locally with shorter communication lines.

Local versus global contact

“Through the Flash Europe franchising network, the brand is scaling up more rapidly across several new regions and – countries. Among other things, we benefit from the local market expertise of the franchisees. It is complementary to the international and larger markets which is Flash’s original perimeter. Local customers, independently of their country, appreciate working with local contacts whereas contact persons in the larger industrial organizations value global sourcing benefits and account management for their on-demand delivery services. The continuously growing local presence enables us to achieve a coherent service standard.  Through our local presence in these regions we often offer even faster response and pick-up times,” Schüller emphasizes. 

Trustworthy entrepreneurs

“For Flash Europe Franchise, an important aspect is to find the right partners: trustworthy entrepreneurs with a passion for logistics who want to develop their business,” Schüller continues. For the franchisee, the choice of the right franchisor is of course very crucial.

“We benefit from the synergies with Flash and Redspher in terms of an established network, a considerable customer portfolio, proven IT solutions, training tools, app-controlled track-and-trace systems, stable processes developed over a long period of time and much more,”

summarizes Hakan Ertemel Master franchisee Turkey.  

“We now have the ability to participate in large tender processes, able to offer standardized solutions, but still prove our local expertise,” Ertemel continues.

With the company’s own e-learning platform Genius Academy, new franchisees can be integrated easily. It is even possible in times of Covid-travel and contact restrictions. In addition, a company-wide standardized process is guaranteed. Franchisees, just like any other Flash office anywhere in Europe, work on the same TMS system (R:tech). Over 2,000 courses were completed via the digital learning platform during the past year by our Franchisees.

Focus in 2022

The company is now aiming to replicate last year’s success and plans to establish an additional 8-10 new franchise units by the end of 2022. In addition, Flash Europe franchise aims to expand the system into three new countries being Italy, Romania and Portugal. The number of licenses are limited in the already existing franchise countries. Particularly in Central Europe, the logistics provider is actively looking for additional franchise candidates for new regions. This to increase the local presence even further.

When Philippe Higelin first joined the freight transport business Flash as CFO 20 years ago, the venture was worth about €10 million. Since then, Redspher, as the company is now called, has multiplied its revenues by 30, while profitability has gone up 300 times.

Philippe had a “gut feeling” that the company had huge potential when he joined. He knew demand was surging for urgent, on-demand transportation for businesses. A new market was emerging in premium freight thanks to just-in-time production, which meant companies were increasingly demanding that raw materials arrive exactly when they were needed.

“This was still a new thing for the transportation world, a new service,” Philippe shares. “We were working for big customers, which was really a dream. My motto was: if we work with champions, we will become a champion.”

Arrive fast, pay fast

With access to a network of 15,000 carriers, Redspher is able to serve major clients like Airbus, Volkswagen, Renault, Bosch and Continental. However, rather than owning its own fleet, it has developed hundreds of longstanding partnerships with freight handlers and other delivery agents, making its fleet lean and highly adaptable.

Redspher serves its customers, active in retail, automotive and various other industries, through a network of local offices in all EU countries and adjacent regions like North Africa, Turkey and Russia, where roughly 600 transportation professionals offer tailored transportation solutions to support production plants’ continuity while also acting as a high-quality service partner to enhance end-customer experience.

The company’s main selling point is its ability to be anywhere in Europe within a matter of hours; customers know if they need something delivered fast, Redspher has the network to get it done.

“We stick to our commitments with our partners. Maybe not offering always the best price on the market, but we pay fast and reliably, and in transport, it’s all about getting business and getting paid. It seems quite obvious that you should pay reliably, but it wasn’t a market practice 20 years ago. Since then, we’ve improved a lot in this area of the business.”

Redspher also offers its carriers support and guidance to help them become more competitive. “We helped them by growing ourselves, and now we are focusing more on directly helping our partners grow, become more efficient and achieve better performance,” he explains.

The company’s main strategy for growth is to become the go-to platform for on-demand delivery in the countries where it operates. The shift towards digitalisation, Philippe says, was initiated in the organisation two years ago and continues to be a chief priority in its day-to-day agenda.

We have an absolutely brilliant reputation in our market.

“Digitalisation absolutely reshapes our market and the competitive landscape,” he confirms. “The transformation of our market, driven by new customer pain points and changing needs that we address are reshaping the competitive landscape. Our historical competitors are not the same as our current or future peers. Becoming a platform is an amazing journey but also an absolutely huge challenge. It’s not just a matter of technology; you have to move your organisation, your governance, everything to become a platform.”

Changing yourself first

Throughout most of Redspher’s history, it has operated as a group of people supported by software. Becoming a platform essentially reverses that, putting easy-to-use tools and software front and centre, and backing it up with people. “This turnaround is absolutely the greatest challenge we’ve faced in our history,” Philippe admits.

“I’m convinced that if we are not able to succeed, then we will not continue to grow further. This is the only way to have a great future in our niche of the logistics market.” According to Philippe, changing the governance of the organisation – from a more traditional system to one that is competing with startups and technology companies – is something that starts at the very top. “To change everything like this, you first have to change yourself. You have to be the head of the transformation and have a great vision for the future,” he says.

“Be really involved in the transformation. You cannot delegate it to a committee or to a manager. That’s the most difficult thing: to ask yourself, ‘What is your future? What is your role here?’”

Working at Redspher has already changed Philippe as a leader. His background is in banking, where he learned a more rigid, hierarchical managerial style. Here, he was able to add value with that structured and disciplined approach while also learning colleagues to be more creative.

“The transportation world was, comparatively, really old-fashioned, paper-driven and informal. It was a big shock,” Philippe recalls. “I brought some more structure to the group and the group taught me how to be more of an entrepreneur and less of a manager.”

Frugal innovation

To support entrepreneurial spirit within the company, Redspher offers its staff the opportunity to become shareholders. A fifth of them now own stock in the company, and they are regularly encouraged to behave like entrepreneurs.

Digitalisation absolutely reshapes our market and the competitive landscape.

We give staff a stake in the company’s success and push for new solutions without racking up costs. Redspher is ensuring it stays nimble, reliable and competitive as it undergoes a major transformation. That, in turn, means it remains prepared for the unpredictability of an increasingly dynamic market.
“We want to do more for our customers with fewer means,” Philippe says. “That’s something that has helped us bring innovative solutions to our customers while being more competitive. In the transport market, competitiveness is something that is absolutely key and is desired by our customers.”