K+N to open Chile pharma logistics

Next month, Switzerland-based forwarder and logistics service provider Kuehne + Nagel’s (K+N’s) new 17,600-sq.-meter hub will serve South America’s expanding pharma and healthcare industry through dedicated warehousing. The space could eventually be expanded up to 23,300 sq. meters and will connect to K+N’s global KN PharmaChain network. The logistics hub will offer a quality-control laboratory for […]

• Charles Kauffman
• July 13, 2018

K+N flies high as first-quarter air freight volume surges

Switzerland-based forwarder and logistics services provider Kuehne + Nagel reported first-quarter 2018 net income up 11.5% y-o-y to US$191 million, as gross profit (what some forwarders call net revenue) rose 11.8% to $1.92 billion. Operating income (EBIT) for the quarter was up 12.9% to $245 million. All three of the company’s forwarding divisions (Airfreight, Seafreight, […]

• David Harris
• April 25, 2018

K+N, JD.com launch import quality-control system

China’s largest e-commerce company by revenue, Beijing-based JD.com, is stepping-up its efforts to combat counterfeiting by testing a quality control check system, managed by Switzerland-based forwarder Kuehne + Nagel, that adds item-level visibility to JD’s import supply chain. The two companies have already implemented the ‘Transfer Center’ approach at a brand manufacturer’s warehouse in Japan, […]

• Charles Kauffman
• October 24, 2017

A tale of two (Swiss) forwarders

Switzerland-based forwarding and logistics giants Kuehne+Nagel and Panalpina posted their third quarter results this week, and while the companies may be geographically close, their results are not close at all. Detailed third-quarter and year-to-date results for both K+N and Panalpina are shown in the charts at right, but here are a few comparisons from the […]

• David Harris
• October 19, 2017

Air freight success boosts K+N’s second quarter

Switzerland-based forwarder and logistics services provider Kuehne + Nagel reported second-quarter net income up 2.1%, as gross profit (what some forwarders call net revenue) rose 3.9% to US$1.81 billion. EBIT for the quarter was up 2.1% to $200 million. These low-single-digit financial numbers hide the fact that K+N’s Airfreight and Seafreight business units turned in […]

• David Harris
• July 18, 2017

A tale of two forwarders

Kuehne + Nagel and Panalpina, two of the world’s largest forwarders and logistics services providers, are headquartered in Switzerland, but while their head offices may be close, their fourth-quarter results are far apart. Despite both carriers reporting significant increases in airfreight volumes, year-over-year, in the fourth quarter of 2016, K+N reported a 12.7 percent increase […]

• Charles Kauffman
• March 3, 2017

Where will your operating margins be in 2020?

Although no CEO (that we are aware of) possesses a crystal ball capable of offering-up a precise number, most companies have at least a general target for where they would like profitability to be at a certain point in the future. Swiss forwarder Panalpina is one company, with such a target.  In an interview given […]

• Charles Kauffman
• January 27, 2017

Alibaba goes to sea

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba entered a partnership with Maersk, the world’s largest ocean container shipping line, allowing shippers to use Alibaba’s OneTouch website to book space on Maersk vessels. OneTouch, which Alibaba acquired in 2010, targets small- and medium-sized Chinese exporters and allows them to book shipments with air freight and parcel delivery services. And […]

• David Harris
• January 9, 2017