Ranked in the Top 30 Global Third-Party Logistics Providers (3PLs) and headquartered in Osanbrueck, Germany, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics provides a host of solutions to customers across multiple sectors including automotive, healthcare and renewables.
Within the automotive sector, Hellmann is using the ParceLive tracker to monitor the condition, security and location of high-performance German Sports cars that are transported from Bremerhaven, Germany, eastwards to the southwestern Chinese metropolis Chongqing. The cars are transported via a 11,000km long railway line that leads eastwards across Poland, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan until they eventually arrive at Chongqing. With the journey duration lasting 16 to 18 days, it is vital that Hellmann has full transparency over the supply chain to ensure that they are informed of any delays and possible impacts caused to the cars.

ParceLive was introduced to Hellmann’s supply chain operations as the German sports car manufacturer deemed it a requirement for there to be total visibility across the entirety of the journey from Germany to China. As the cars themselves are already built and are not being transported as separate parts to be constructed elsewhere, it was vital for the German car manufacturer to receive real-time alerts on the whereabouts of the cars. The ParceLive trackers are attached to the inside of the container that hold the cars on large wooden pallets during transportation. If any damage was to be inflicted upon the cars in transport, Hellmann would have the ability to locate exactly where in the world this shock or impact took place which would then allow them to take the appropriate action to stop this from happening again.

With a large commercial base of German car buyers in China, tracking the speed of delivery is another necessity for Hellmann to monitor. As a proportion of the cars that are being transported to China are travelling via train and not sea, expected delivery times have reduced from 50 days to approximately 20.
Tracking the efficiency of this new supply route via train is therefore hugely important for customer satisfaction. Through the application of ParceLive, shippers and logistics suppliers can identify where delays and issues are happening. This then allows them to report-back to customers in real-time. The ParceLive service enables each individual asset to become its very own customer service agent.
As a result of using the ParceLive tracker for the transportation of the high-performance sports cars, Hellmann has access to live and accurate data providing them with the opportunity to give added value to their service, differentiating themselves through enhanced service delivery.
We decided to use ParceLive as it is affordable and easy to attach to the containers. The tracker has proved to be extremely useful and that’s why we continue to use it. We’ve tried other trackers but none match the benefits of using ParceLive.
Henning Pottharst, Product Manager at Hellmann Worldwide logistics.