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Severe earthquakes hit Haiti and Japan. Uprisings in Egypt and Libya sweep President Mubarak and Colonel Gaddafi from power. The Greek financial crisis grows into a debt crisis in the euro area. Even the USA is groaning under the weight of its deficits. The longest eclipse of the sun makes the new millennium darker. Vegetarianism grows in popularity. Lena Meyer-Landrut wins the Eurovision Song Contest.

And Hermes sets its sights on new goals…

Corporate responsibility

In November 2010, Hermes organised the first “Future Forum”. The theme of “Corporate Social Responsibility – hype or the basis of corporate success” dealt with the global responsibility of companies in ever more complex social and political contexts.

Guests including Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General and founder of the Global Compact initiative, and Professor Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner for his invention of microcredit, spoke on the podium at the venue, the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg. “We wanted to know,” says Schneider, “how sustainability could be incorporated consistently into business strategy in the future. The Forum provided input on how to separate the wheat from the chaff.” There was universal agreement on the fact that consumers are increasingly demanding sustainable products. However, business should not merely react to needs but make things more attractive. “Corporate social responsibility must be the result of fascination,” Hans-Otto Schrader, Chairman of the Board of the Otto Group, claimed. This would make “invisible product quality” the badge of corporate sustainability. The second Hermes Future Forum is planned for 2012. Attending the 2010 Hermes Future Forum (from right to left in the photo): Hans-Otto Schrader (Chairman of the Board of the Otto Group), Michael Otto (Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Otto Group), Kofi Annan, Muhammad Yunus, Hanjo Schneider (Chairman of the Board of Hermes Europe) and Jochen Zeitz (Puma).

Russian roll-out

Hermes opened its first ParcelShops in Moscow as part of a pilot project in 2011. In line with the tried and tested “shop-in-shop” model, they are housed on the premises of supermarkets, photography or mobile phone chains.

This was done in conjunction with the international parcel and express services provider DPD. The pilot phase directly made way for a large-scale roll-out in 2012: in eight other cities with populations of over a million, including St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk, more ParcelShops have been opened. By 2014, the joint Hermes-DPD network should comprise 1,500 shops in 44 cities throughout Russia. Delivery times should be reduced to a few days within the region and to only one day in Moscow itself. The customer benefits from this solution in various ways: ease of access, extended opening hours seven days a week and personal notification by phone, text message or e-mail – and not by postcard, as is usual in Russia – are some of them. Experts estimate that distance selling in Russia achieved a market volume of some eight million roubles in 2011; annual growth rates exceed 30%. The main driving force behind this growth is the boom in e-commerce, which is accompanied by a growing need for new and flexible delivery services.

Green logistics

Since 2011, Hermes Transport Logistics (HTL) has been offering CO2 reporting which gives accurate information on the pollutant emissions caused by transport operations. An innovative aspect is the fact that it also includes rising and falling gradients.

Its detailed measurements provide a basis for CO2 management, which is an important selling point for our customers vis-à-vis their own customers.

New to the range: the small package

Right on time for the Christmas rush of 2011, Hermes entered a new market segment: its small package was designed for sending small items. Since small goods now make up around half of the volume of private consignments, this area of business is extremely attractive to Hermes – shoes auctioned online or a book intended for a friend can now be sent in this way.

“When designing the product, we focused on two aspects: safety and convenience,” explained Frank Iden, Chairman of the Board of Hermes Logistik Gruppe Deutschland. “This is why we assume liability of up to € 50 for each consignment.” Using the track-and-trace system on www.myhermes.de, the customer can at all times see where their package is.

In unison

Hermesworld.com is the name of the new comprehensive website set up in May 2011 which brings together all of the companies within the Hermes Group. The site contains information concerning individual services arranged by Sourcing & Products, Transport Logistics, Fulfilment and Distribution.

The main new feature is the appearance of Hansecontrol. This testing institute now also bears the Hermes brand name. As part of the umbrella brand, Hansecontrol completes the portfolio of trade-related services. With its “integrated business services”, Hermes is the only logistics supplier in the world that is able to offer solutions along the entire value chain – from goods procurement in Asia right to the delivery of packages at the final customer’s front door. In parallel to this change of name, Hansecontrol moved into new premises in the centre of Hamburg.