Neu-Isenburg, April 4th, 2006 – The company time:matters GmbH (Neu-Isenburg, Germany) completed the 2005 financial year with strong growth in sales and consignment volumes. The business focuses on urgent and customer-specific logistics services. In the view of the wholly-owned subsidiary of Lufthansa Cargo AG, one of last year’s milestones was the establishment of the Special Service Desk (SSD) in Frankfurt am Main. This is staffed by experts with long-standing experience of the logistics and forwarding sectors, and is capable of solving particularly complex or highly urgent logistics problems. Because of the tight deadlines involved, solutions often have to be found within only a few minutes. If needs be, companies can call upon fast and individual assistance under the international consultancy and service telephone number +49 (0)700-timematters (+49 (0)700-84 63 62 88). time:matters GmbH is also expecting a decidedly positive performance in 2006, with sales growth in the high double digits. “The focus on customer-specific solutions, our ability to provide individual service and the fact that our competence centre can be reached around the clock is enjoying growing demand,” says Franz-Joseph Miller, Managing Director of time:matters GmbH, with satisfaction.
Since being spun off from Lufthansa Cargo almost five years ago, time:matters has generated average annual sales growth in excess of 30 per cent. Last year the special logistics service provider saw strong double-digit growth rates in particular at Sameday Services. This transports consignments predominantly via rail and air. Sameday consignments within Germany are possible in four hours, and between major EU business centres in eight. This capability represents an important component of the customer-specific individual solutions. Around 25 new customers are acquired every week, in particular also via the Special Service Desk. In total, time:matters transported around 470,000 individual packages in 2005, 12 per cent more than in the previous year.
Wolfgang Schmitz, Senior Vice President Corporate Development of the parent company Lufthansa Cargo AG and Advisory Board Chairman of time:matters GmbH, analyses the situation as follows: “The company has positioned itself very successfully in the market as an expert for courier, sameday and emergency logistics. Demand for tailored solutions with respect to special logistics challenges is continuing to grow strongly. Our focus enables us to address this market optimally, and means we can fully exploit the enormous growth potential of this logistics segment.”
In addition to the Special Service Desk and the associated focus on individual logistics solutions, time:matters sees its international activities as the primary engine of growth. Demand in Asia has developed particularly strongly. In Europe, the extension of Sameday Services coverage to new EU countries is proving particularly successful. Within the framework of the further internationalisation of the company’s activities, time:matters has set itself the objective of becoming the European market leader for independent emergency and special services within the coming years.
Stefan Delacher, a member of the Executive Board and the Executive Committee at the logistics group Thiel, and external member of the Advisory Board of time:matters, explains: “Seen from outside, time:matters has developed over the course of the past four and a half years into a recognised authority for urgent and emergency logistics. The quality and stability of its processes are significantly higher than the average for the sector. Its focus on individual customer problems is considered exemplary. This position represents a solid foundation for further growth through internationalisation, which is bringing the core competency of time:matters to ever more countries.”
Last year time:matters also continued to expand its business activities with forwarders. In general terms, the services rendered by time:matters in this conjunction are not merely provided directly to customers. Instead, logistics companies also deploy these as part of their spectrum of services. The co-operation with time:matters, means customers can be supported in logistics emergencies. This helps strengthen customer loyalty, without the service provider having to maintain a dedicated emergency logistics department. “We profit from the fact that many companies are keen to concentrate on their core and volume business activities,” confirms time:matters Managing Director Franz-Joseph Miller: “Logistics service providers are increasingly coming to recognise that – for reasons of customer loyalty – they cannot simply ignore the subject of urgent and emergency logistics. However, they also realise that they do not necessarily have to cover these needs with their own resources. And this is where we come in.”
