Dear reader
We are approaching the end of the year and look back on 2020 as a very special year influenced by COVID-19 and the massive worldwide consequences.
In FREJA, we have also had difficulties because of COVID-19, as the accessibility to the international markets has been challenged and has been constantly changing. We have had focus on readjusting and adapting to the situation in order for us to be able to maintain the security of supply and to service our customers in the best possible way, during the course of the pandemic.
With this newsletter, we would like to share the latest news from our world of transport and logistics. We give you insights into how you can optimize your business by doing digital integrations with FREJA, and you can learn more about our 4PL Team, which offers to analyze your supply chain.
In one of the articles, we outline how the new Danish cabotage regulations will affect the haulage in Denmark and impact the environment. We are very proud to present FREJA’s new brand film that puts focus on the FREJANs. You can watch the film in our newsletter.
Finally, we look forward to the merger between FREJA and SDK*, which will bring together about 1,300 employees and position us as an even stronger player in the international transport and logistics market in 2021.
With these words, I thank you for your cooperation in 2020, and I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
*the agreement is conditioned upon the approval of the relevant competition authorities.
Major merger in the transport and logistics industry
Recently, FREJA Transport & Logistics Holding A/S and SDK A/S, owned by USTC, announced a merger that will consolidate two large family-owned companies in the transport and logistics industry. SDK and FREJA will bring together approximately 1,300 people and carry an annual turnover of more than DKK 5 billion.
The announced merger between FREJA and SDK, which is owned by the USTC Group, will create a new force in the transport and logistics industry, strengthening the combined market position and paving the way for future growth.
Pending approval from the relevant competition authorities, SDK A/S will become a 75% shareholder in the newly merged company. The remaining 25% ownership will be held by the current majority shareholder and founder of FREJA, Jørgen Hansen, along with the management team.
Long-term commitment
Handing over a large part of his life’s work has not been an easy decision. Therefore, it was crucial for Jørgen Hansen to find a business partner that stands by the same long-term values and commitments that FREJA was founded on.
“Since I founded the company in 1985, it has been our ambition to grow the business and expand our reach. I am very proud to find our company in a situation where we will become part of the USTC Group by merging with SDK. Our family values align with the values of the Østergaard-Nielsen family, and I have full confidence that the new ownership is a perfect fit,“ says Jørgen Hansen.
Reaching more customers
The SDK Group is owned by the Østergaard-Nielsen family and has a long history in transport and logistics. The company was founded in 1876 under the name Julius Mortensen Shipping. Many years later, it became the first company that USTC owner Torben Østergaard-Nielsen acquired.
USTC is a global conglomerate with more than 2,500 employees, covering more than 100 offices in 33 countries and headquartered out of Middelfart, Denmark. In the last fiscal year, USTC reported a turnover of DKK 76 billion.
“We have been looking for a strong company with equal values to join forces with to achieve our long-term goals. This merger will create a platform for further growth, both organically and by acquisitions. When the merger is finalized, we will be better positioned to compete in the market through scale and by combining existing competencies and knowledge from our experienced and valuable employees in both FREJA and SDK’s logistic companies”, says Søren Gran Hansen, CEO of SDK.
The CEO of FREJA, Ulrik Rasmussen, also welcomes the merger and is very aware that this move puts the joint company in a great position to approach customers with an even better service, quality, and a broader portfolio.
Experienced leadership
The merger will result in changes in the company structure. All of FREJA’s current business units will merge with SDK’s logistic activities into a new entity called FREJA Transport & Logistics. As a consequence, the majority of the current SDK logistic activities will be rebranded to FREJA, carrying on the well-known and respected brand within the industry. All other SDK activities within shipping, agency, chartering, stevedore, and cruise will continue unchanged under the SDK brand and will remain under the full ownership of the USTC Group.
The current CEO of SDK A/S, Søren Gran Hansen, will continue in this role as well as taking on the role of Chairman of the Board for the new entity FREJA Transport & Logistics. The founder of FREJA, Jørgen Hansen, will join the SDK A/S Board of Directors and bring with him invaluable experience and industry expertise. Ulrik Rasmussen, who is currently the CEO of FREJA, will continue as CEO of FREJA Transport & Logistics.
FREJA Transport & Logistics will have offices in seven different countries, namely Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Poland, Holland, and China.
The agreement is conditioned upon the approval of the relevant competition authorities.
The transaction price will not be disclosed.
New Danish cabotage regulations with large impact on the environment
Cabotage is a term used for domestic transports carried out by a means of transportation based in another country. Cabotage may take place by all means of transportation, such as ship, plane – and in our case – truck. Cabotage has been used for many years but in 2021, new legislation is expected to be passed in Denmark. This will have significant consequences compared to the situation we have today.
Among other things, the new Danish initiatives include a requirement that drivers of international trucks will be paid according to Danish salary standards, and in case a driver is stopped at a checkpoint, he must be able to present documentation in form of an employment contract and pay-slips. Furthermore, all foreign haulers must sign up in a Danish register, and prior to any transport, the foreign hauler must list: loading and unloading places, the truck’s registration number, personal data of the driver, and the planned route. Unfortunately, we predict that this will impose large administrative burdens on the foreign haulers, and they will refrain from driving cabotage in Denmark.
That being the case, the consequences will be that we will not be able to use foreign trucks for collective loading at a customer. In FREJA, we are used to optimizing our loads and making the best possible use of our capacity by asking one driver to collect all goods from a customer and afterward consolidating the goods at our terminals before the transport to the various export markets. This procedure saves empty driving, and we avoid an unnecessary burden on the environment.
When the new legislation becomes effective, we will see a poorer utilization of foreign trucks, more trucks will need to collect goods from the customer, and all in all, we will have to drive more kilometers. Even worse, we will ruin the efforts we have taken over many years to reduce the environmental impact from our trucks, and altogether it will affect the costs for the part of the transport which is made in Denmark.
In FREJA, we hope for a more practical solution than the one which is now outlined – for the benefit of FREJA, our customers, and not least the environment.
Improve your business with digital integrations with FREJA
Freight buyers often spend much time on manual tasks such as booking transports, tracking shipments, and handling invoices, but what if you could save time and resources by automizing all of these processes?
FREJA can easily help you to become more efficient. We can facilitate sessions to identify potential business processes that via integrations with our systems can improve efficiency. The potential is big, as it allows you to reduce or eliminate manual tasks.
If you are using a TA system such as Unifaun, Consignor, CargoFlux, or LogTrade, or your IT system is capable of sending and receiving shipment data and invoices in another file format, we can integrate the systems.
We have plenty of experience with customizing EDI/API solutions to fit our customers’ IT systems, and we always strive to find the best solutions. We can use the file from your IT system for booking creation, and we can deliver status files or invoices in your preferred format through EAN networks. We are strong in standards and experts in customization.
If you have outsourced your logistics to FREJA or another a 3PL or 4PL provider, you can also benefit from doing IT integrations with us. When you place your goods in our warehouses, we can integrate our systems with yours and receive the master data and the sales and purchase orders automatically from you, and then return the exact data you need. Your system will always be up to date with the figures in the 3PL system, and you will save a lot of time and eliminate errors in the different processes. The possibilities are endless, and we can make a tailored solution that covers your needs.
If you have EDI competences and already have some kind of EDI in flow, then let us connect our systems.
If you do not have EDI but want to identify the digital potential in your logistics processes, then let us assist you. We are experienced consultants, and we are already helping several customers on their digital journey.
If you want to know more about how we can help you optimize your business through integrations, do not hesitate to contact our IT Integration Manager, Henrik Dejgaard, on hde@freja.com to discuss the possibilities.
How fit is your supply chain?
When was the last time you measured the fitness of your supply chain?
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies have learned how important it is to have a strong and agile supply chain. We experience that there has been an increased focus on supply chain optimization and making purchases in or closer to Europe to secure the supplies of the future.
It can be a difficult and exhausting task to check how healthy and strong your company’s supply chain is. FREJA’s 4PL Team offers to do analyzes as an advisory board. This way, you can get a quick and standardized fitness report of your supply chain and thus make it easier for you to adapt your supply chain to external factors. This way, you ensure that you maintain your competitiveness.
By analyzing data, it is possible to map all shipments arriving at, and departing from, your locations and thereby determining the performance of your supply chain at its current state.
Do you know how many kilometers it takes to keep your company’s supply chain rolling?
Using the current state as a baseline, FREJA’s mathematical models will optimize the performance by considering different scenarios, such as the number of warehouses and their location to minimize the traveled distance.
By comparing the future scenarios to the current state it is possible to determine which improvements can be made – and surely there is money to be saved on supply chain optimizations.
Why even bother?
Doing a regular check-up of your supply chain, makes you better equipped to handle unforeseen situations. Reducing the traveled distance can minimize the carbon footprint and costs, as well as improve lead times. We, your customers, and the world would high five you for such accomplishments.
What is next?
Use your newly acquired knowledge to lower your costs. Get in touch with Kenneth Sandgaard for a quick chat about your supply chain’s fitness level.
FREJA’s new brand film with focus on the FREJANS is out now
FREJA is proud to present our new brand film that puts focus on the FREJANS. At FREJA, we strive to be the most personal transport and logistics company, and we wanted to highlight this in our new brand film.
“At the beginning of the year, we started the production of the new film, and we wanted our customers, partners, and suppliers to know who we are and what we stand for. For this reason, it was only natural for us that our colleagues were the stars of the film, and that we should not use any actors. FREJA’s employees help us differentiate ourselves from the competitors, so the film should be starring the FREJANs” says FREJA’s Group Business Development Director, Nicolai Præstholm.
Nicolai continues: “What you see in this film is real – it’s our employees, it’s our colleagues who are in daily contact with our customers, it’s FREJA. Our founder, Jørgen Hansen, has always said that “transport is a people business”, and it is with this starting point that the material is made”.
In addition to the brand film, we also present a film that introduces our pharma & healthcare service, as well as a film that gives a humorous insight into what it is like to work at FREJA.
You can watch FREJA’s new brand film here: