When it comes to integrating ground and ocean freight operations, Vuosaari is one of the best locations in the whole of Finland. Unloading of maritime containers can be done directly from ships to the ground freight terminal for handling. This has created significant benefits in terms of time and money saved. In early 2017, Kuehne + Nagel relocated its ground and ocean freight operations to a 4,600 m2 Logicor logistics centre in the Vuosaari harbour area.

”Our customer solutions have high volumes in both sea and land cargo. Thanks to the excellent location, the new facilities optimise not only our own operations but also the supply chains of our client companies, as freight no longer has to be transferred between terminals. In practice, our containers are unloaded from ships directly onto wheels,” explains Matti Toivanen, Managing Director at Kuehne + Nagel in Finland.

Continuously improving agility and efficiency

Today, the management of cargo flows is typified by the principle of continuous improvement.

”Our clients find it increasingly important to be able to perform services in the logistics chain as smoothly as possible. This helps them to improve both the price competitiveness as well as customer experience,” explains Olli Ahopelto, Asset Manager at Logicor.

Location is naturally one of the most crucial considerations when selecting new facilities, but other elements are also needed to ensure the continuity and agility of operations.

”We transport an enormous number of containers around the world. Our priority is to find partners who are able to support our operations over the long term by offering the possibility to rescale our facilities or their functions according to our needs, even outside Finland. In this respect, Logicor is an outstanding partner, possessing an extensive portfolio of logistics and warehouse facilities across Europe," says Toivanen.

As the client expands, so do the facilities

Kuehne + Nagel sees room for expansion particularly in the added-value services related to deliveries, such as warehouse logistics.

”As I see it, Logicor operates in a distinctly proactive and customer-oriented way. They truly understand the demands of our business operations and, already within a few months, have demonstrated the ability to react quickly to requests for changes or expansions to the facilities. Discussions on the expansion of our facilities are already ongoing,” says Toivanen with a smile.

Toivanen has received positive feedback on the facilities and their functionality from the personnel at Kuehne + Nagel's logistics centre in Vuosaari. Based on the customer feedback the new terminal has also fulfilled the customer expectations.