The forwarding agency Hammer from Aachen has been a partner of Krone for decades. Since 2016, the innovative company has also been relying on telematics from Werlte.
W
e have very good customer advisors who virtually don't know the word 'no'”, says Tim Wilhelm Hammer, managing partner of Aachener Spedition Hammer, explaining the recipe for his company's success. “Our customers appreciate very much that we are always available for them and that we always react flexibly and take care of their concerns. You need excellent equipment and then service is everything.”
“We offer everything from a single source and shape the growth together.”
Tim Wilhelm Hammer, Managing Partner of Spedition Hammer
MODERN LOGISTICS MANUFACTORY
Hammer, a family business from Aachen, is managed in the third generation of the owners. The forwarding agent was founded in 1946 by Tim Hammer's grandfather and has developed into a partner for integrated supply chain management over the years. “We are not concerned with mass and unit costs”, says Wolfgang Tim Hammer, the son of the company founder and father of Tim Wilhelm Hammer. “Every customer has a different requirement profile – we take that seriously and respond to it. We see ourselves as a modern logistics manufactory that consistently walks the path together with the customer, and we always take that extra step.” For Tim Wilhelm Hammer, this closeness and commitment to the customer are also very important: “We offer him everything from a single source and shape the growth together. He always has a permanent contact person and fair dealings with each other are a matter of course for us. We always strive for long-term cooperation – some partners have been with us for more than four decades.” The same goes for Fahrzeugwerk Krone, trailers from Werlte have long been part of the Hammer fleet, which comprises a total of 130 vehicles and 220 trailers. Krone telematics has been on board since 2016. “At that time we ordered 156 new vehicles in Werlte and immediately equipped them with the technology”, explains Stefan Küpper, Managing Director of Hammer Road Cargo GmbH. “The most important requirement of our customers is the reliable tracking of every single vehicle. This is what the system allows us to do in full.”
“We're not about mass and unit costs.”
Wolfgang Tim Hammer, son of the company founder
HIGH STABILITY OF THE SYSTEM
In the case of refrigerated vehicles, temperature control is an additional requirement: “Reliability is also the most important requirement here. We also use telematics in this area to track the goods, but above all for seamless monitoring of temperatures”, says Küpper. “We forward the data to our customers, which is a smooth and easy process with the Krone system.” For him, the stability of the system is the most important feature. “Krone Telematics really runs very reliably, we have experienced very few failures – and if so, they were quickly repaired.” The networking of tractor and trailer is another very important topic for Hammer. “If the driver has direct access to the data and is therefore always informed about the status of the trailer, this is ideal for us”, says Stefan Küpper. “Krone is already going down this road with many partners, and we look forward to expanding this even further.” Hammer himself is also future-oriented. “We are currently very busy digitising our company”, explains Tim Hammer. “The in-house systems will be completely modernised, including the integration of a new freight forwarding system. That means a lot of changes, but we are investing consciously in the future because we have a long-term strategy and want to keep pace with the industry.”
“The system enables us to reliably locate each individual vehicle.”
Stefan Küpper, Managing Director Hammer Road Cargo GmbH
RESEARCH PROJECTS WITH PARTNERS
This also includes involvement in research projects carried out jointly with federal ministries, of the EU and the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH). Hammer, for example, is a matriculated partner of the RWTH Smart Logistics cluster, which looks at value chains from a comprehensive perspective. “Here we are dealing with a whole range of topics in order to develop new, practice-oriented and sustainable solutions and competencies and, for example, to sound out the possible uses of new technologies such as blockchain”, says Tim Hammer. Of course, he never loses sight of the basic requirements of everyday transport, where the vehicles have to be used reliably every day. The forwarding agency Hammer therefore operates among other things an own workshop to be able to maintain their trailers well. “Here we work very well with the Krone Spare Parts Centre – this really makes ordering very easy and delivery fast and reliable. Because the most important requirement remains the same, the wheels have to roll.”
TELEMATICS
• the trailer in view at all times: Live data transfer of position, condition or temperature of transport, simply check online • complete documentation • optimal control and even access to refrigeration machines via 2-way communication • important tool for quality assurance • tailor-made to the individual requirements of the customer • relieves the worry, saves money, time and nerves
