Hermes strengthens its operations in China. As part of its effort to serve the rising demand for international transport to and from Asia even better than before, Hermes has now opened a local branch office. This will enable the company to render its logistics services with immediate effect, and increasingly for traders from the Far East. Its focus is on both turnkey supply chain solutions and environmentally sound sea and airfreight transportation. To facilitate this, Hermes Transport Logistics Asia was founded in Hong Kong in 2014. From now on, Hermes is looking to tap the Chinese market through its subsidiary Greater China.
China has come to be regarded and the world's manufacturing powerhouse. Given its pacey rate of growth in the past decade, China is not only a key player in Asian commerce, but also a major driver of global trade. "Companies looking to expand to and from Asia simply cannot afford to ignore China," explains Stephan Schiller, executive board member with responsibility for sea and air at HTL. The country has also become attractive for consumer goods manufacturers and for logistics as a sales market with its growing, high-income middle class comprising some 300 million people. "For our international clients, good quality access is crucial when it comes to choosing a logistics partner to handle sea and airfreight in its import and export business. This is why we are looking to be close to our clients."
The Hermes Group holds a 70 percent stake in the new Hermes Transport Logistics Greater China, with the remaining shares held by its long-standing partner Jet Speed, with its exceptional local network. The new company will be pushing ahead to win over Chinese retailing clients either requiring logistics solutions for their distance selling or looking to procure goods. HTL cannot only draw on its own portfolio of products and services but also the retail-related services of other Hermes companies. Its focus is clear: to render value-added services in globally expanding e-commerce.
With this in mind, Hermes has also strengthened its local management. Pierre-Yves Guyennon (36) has headed the new Shanghai-based company since March. A native of France, the logistics and commerce specialist had previously held positions at Militzer & Münch (M&M) and SAGA CTL, a subsidiary of France's global Bolloré Group. He has been living in China for the last ten years. "In Pierre-Yves, Hermes has found a talented expert with whom we can grow our business considerably, especially in China. We're delighted to have him on board," says Schiller.
Hermes has sparked growing interest in China thanks in part to the organisation of its traditional environmentally friendly transport. Since the beginning of the year, together with other leading logistics companies shippers and shipping companies the company has been committed to supporting an industry-wide initiative operating under the name Clean Cargo Working Group whose aim is to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions in sea freight in an ongoing process. The initiative is part of the “WE DO!” sustainability programme which Hermes has been promoting for some years to secure sustainable transport. For more information visit http://www.bsr.org/en/our-work/working-groups/clean-cargo