Logistics of tomorrow
In 2018, Germany was named the logistics world champion by the World Bank. In addition to transport routes and international connections, logistics competencies such as tracking and tracing, timelines or customer satisfaction played a key role. NRW in particular contributed to the fact that Germany won this title once again. Of the top 25 largest logistics companies in Germany, nine have their headquarters in NRW, including Deutsche Post DHL, Rhenus and UPS Germany. About a quarter of all logistics centers in Germany are located in NRW. And the logistics research conducted with the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics in Dortmund is also world class. The largest European logistics research cluster, which develops the logistics of tomorrow, is run from here.
Germany is the world logistics champion – especially due to NRW
In a comparison of 167 countries, the most recent study by the World Bank in 2018 once again named Germany the most efficient logistics location on the globe, also in a long-term comparison 2012-2018. For five of the six indicators, namely transport routes, customs clearance, logistics competence, tracking, tracing and punctuality, Germany is consistently in first place.
North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in particular contributed to the fact that Germany won this title once again. NRW scores as a logistics location with its exceptional infrastructure. The densest road and rail network in Germany, two major international airports and the extensive network of waterways ensure the best connections to destinations both in Germany and abroad.
The places behind Germany were occupied by Luxembourg, Sweden, the Netherlands and Singapore. In addition, Germany also leads in the overarching ranking in the period from 2010 to 2018.
Germany has NRW to thank in particular for the most efficient logistics infrastructure in the world. The logistics industry is one of the leading growth sectors in NRW. With more than 24,000 companies, 364,000 employees and annual sales of 68 billion euros it is one of the largest industries in the state. Including the employees who perform logistical tasks in industrial and commercial enterprises, there are more than 738,000 people working in the logistics industry.
Sites for the logistics industry
In the metropolitan areas of western Europe, high-value utilizations are displacing commerce and industry. In NRW, German and international investors find what is missing elsewhere: large areas, free from contaminated sites or use restrictions, in a central location and with excellent transport links – at good rates.
About a quarter of all German logistics centers are located in NRW. Global players such as Amazon, Esprit, TKMaxx and Zalando have already settled here with their distribution centers. One important criterion for the location decision of all these companies was sufficient space for possible extensions.
One million square meters of new logistics space are created each year in NRW. Around two-thirds of all logistical investment projects are new buildings, while one-third of the projects expand or renew existing properties. In 2016, AO, Britain's leading online retailer for household appliances opened its European headquarters in Bergheim. A new central warehouse and an administrative building were constructed on an area of 84,000 square meters.
With the free commercial site portal GERMAN.SITE NRW.Global Business helps investors to find the right space for their investment project in NRW.
Fraunhofer-Institut for Materialfluss and Logistik (IML): one of the world's most renowned research institutes for log.
Fit for the future with innovation transfer
In NRW, research and industry are working together closely to develop the logistics of the future in order to cope with the constantly growing flows of goods. This know-how benefits the competitiveness of the logistics companies based here.
In the LogistikRuhr efficiency cluster, more than 160 companies, together with 12 research institutes, develop important technologies for the logistics of the future. In addition, the LogistikCluster NRW offers specific platforms for many industry topics, thereby supporting the successful transfer from research to practice. The Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) in Dortmund is home to the world's largest research facility in the field of logistics.
