PANOPA celebrates 25th  anniversary

Wilhelmshaven/Duisburg, November 1, 2014 (STAT):-– October marks the 25th anniversary that the former PANOPA Verkehrs-GmbH took on production logistics and spare parts management for Krupp Industrietechnik at a new distribution centre in the former Thyssen-Schulte building in Wilhelmshaven. PANOPA employees made sure that spare parts for Krupp truck-mounted cranes were shipped worldwide from the Kanalweg location, directly opposite the plant on the other side of the Ems-Jade Canal. Even today, PANOPA carries out materials management and production logistics for the crane manufacturer, now called Manitowoc Cranes.

In taking on this job, PANOPA, which was still a company of the Krupp Group at that time, entered the promising new market of contract logistics. Manufacturers leave spare parts and production supply to a logistics provider and concentrate on their core expertise, the manufacture of vehicles and machines. The logistic provider then locates in the immediate vicinity of the producer to be close to the manufacturing process.

PANOPA successfully developed and refined the business idea that took shape in Wilhelmshaven: global spare parts logistics, pre-carriage services, warehouse logistics, order picking, kit building, IT-controlled production supply and worldwide shipping. Rüdiger Buss, formerly head of the Wilhelmshaven branch and today CEO of PANOPA Contract Logistics, recalls: “The fact that we were right with our service package became evident just a few years later. In 1994 the transport market was deregulated. As a result, freight forwarders had to offer new services to create a unique selling proposition in a liberalised transport market. Back then, there were just 40 employees in contract logistics, now we employ 4,000 people at 70 locations all around the world.”