LOGISTIK HEUTE: What prompted you to switch to Metroplan as Managing Director?
Thomas Wolf: In the course of my previous professional positions I have always been highly specialized. Initially I worked at Lidl with a large international network tailored to store replenishment. In recent years I worked at Zalando on a logistics use case that addressed the specific needs of a fashion platform and its customers. I was involved with both very manual systems and highly automated solutions. And now I would also like to work in the broad spectrum in between. This fundamental idea significantly contributed to my decision to switch to Metroplan. In addition, there were the personal conversations I had with Friedrich Wilhelm Düsing, the managing partner of Metroplan. These convinced me that I am in the right place here.
What would you like to contribute to the company?
I come from companies that operate within certain structures and demonstrate a high degree of organization. In a consulting firm like Metroplan, one is considerably more agile and dynamic — especially because one must continually adapt to the different requirements and topics of its clients. On the one hand, I will adjust my approach to this dynamism, and on the other hand I want to bring my experience with corporate structures and the knowledge based on that into my new role.
That will further improve the products for our customers.
You have extensive experience in the fashion and food sectors. What challenges are these areas currently facing from your perspective?
Both for the companies in these two sectors as well as for end customers, the volatility we have felt since the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the biggest challenges. In many industries, one found themselves in a situation where there had previously been almost only growth and a certain degree of predictability. Then came this disruptive moment. Since then, in my view, both individuals and companies are increasingly finding it difficult to plan beyond short periods. And that naturally leads to a certain reluctance to invest on the part of retailers and industry as well as to the willingness of end customers to spend. One needs a much higher degree of flexibility because companies can predict customer behavior less and less. That means retailers must today adapt much more to the spontaneity of consumers.
What does that mean exactly for grocery retail companies and the fashion segment?
Primarily, you have to be able to cope with the fluctuations arising from this volatile situation. In the food sector, these fluctuations are somewhat smaller because there is a basic need for the products. On the other hand, margins are smaller as well, so even small fluctuations
can have a noticeable impact. Fashion items are not essential for life, but they address customers' fashion and trend needs. The current challenge here is to motivate customers to express their personality through fashion items and to live it, despite the environment.
What trends and developments do you see currently shaping these two sectors from your perspective?
Currently it is very important to make logistics concepts more flexible—especially in European networks. Automation plays a major role in particular. Because even very flexible concepts that are manual are hardly feasible anymore; space and personnel are limited resources. Especially if you want to go close to your actual end customers, technical solutions help. These are sometimes associated with high investments. In some cases, efficient technical installations can also be very rigid in their design. Through the technological leaps of the past years, however, these challenges can be mastered—for example through the use of robotics solutions. They offer a certain scalability that allows logistics concepts to be implemented step by step and to be optimally utilized at their respective expansion stage. This reduces financial risk while not limiting highly efficient automation.
Will the way you plan and implement projects for your clients in the future change as a result of these developments?
From my point of view, the timing of the planning and implementation phases will
change in the future. It will take longer to develop a logistics strategy together, and the implementation and later expansions will proceed much faster, closely aligned to demand. It will also remain important to continuously validate data and adjust logistics concepts as needed on that basis. Because that is the advantage of digitization: instead of a plan that, after implementation, is cast into a fixed form, you can, thanks to modern technologies, reconfigure the whole thing as needed. That also means that during the implementation phase you must repeatedly perform a check: Is the system capable of handling the tasks in its current state, or must you adapt it to new conditions.
Besides technological means and a good plan, what else is crucial for a logistics project to succeed?
One must never forget: A logistics concept and also the corresponding network never stand alone. Both are always linked to the customers and the products of a company. For Lidl, for example, logistics is a guarantee of the freshness and quality of the goods, and at Zalando a partner to give expression to its brand personality. And likewise this area should be understood: not as a pure cost block, but as an opportunity to place products on the market and to meet customer requirements as best as possible.
The interview was conducted by Sandra
