Over in the Far East, international transport and logistics company Gebrüder Weiss is offering dedicated e-commerce solutions for some of China’s most prestigious baijiu brands. Made from fermented sorghum or other varieties of grain, baijiu is considered China’s national drink and is one of the world’s most popular spirits. Premium baijiu brands are considered luxury goods and a status symbol in China.

“We have set up a warehouse in the western Chinese city of Chengdu, complete with its very own team, and developed a logistics solution designed to meet the specific requirements for high-end spirit brands,” remarks Yongquan Chen, General Manager of Gebrüder Weiss in China. Gebrüder Weiss operates 19 branches in the Greater China region.

The company’s services include storage, packing, delivery throughout China, insurance options, shipment traceability, and professional customer service. As soon as a customer orders these products through any of China’s numerous online retail platforms, the relevant data is sent straight to Gebrüder Weiss for order fulfillment. The goods are then collected from the warehouse, inspected, provided with a code, and packed up before being shipped to the end customer by truck or air freight. Many of these famous spirits are produced in the area around Chengdu, a major metropolis in the province of Sichuan. Chengdu is the most modern and economically important city in Western China and serves as a key transport hub. Gebrüder Weiss has been running its own location here since 2006.

Gebrüder Weiss provides its services to baijiu brands, including Quanxing, Fenggu, Jiangkouchun, the Sichuan Liquor Group (Chidu), and Xiaojiaolou. “Gebrüder Weiss’ services have improved our logistics and reduced the amount of damage to our products during transport,” says Wang Xikai, Head of E-Commerce at Quanxing, “This has enhanced our customers’ shopping experience and is helping us to hold our own amid the tough competition in e-commerce.”

Premium spirit brands face a host of challenges when it comes to e-commerce and warehousing. “If the spirits themselves and the packaging are not professionally managed and tracked, this allows fake products to break into the market, which damages the brand’s reputation and undermines customer confidence,” explains Yongquan Chen. Flexibility, quick response times, and reliable customer service are crucial for enabling brands to adapt to changes in consumer structure and consumption patterns.

Traceability guarantees authenticity
Ensuring traceability throughout the process is essential: High-end baijiu products are expensive, and customers absolutely need to be able to trust that they are true originals. “The authenticity of any returned products needs to be verified too,” points out Yongquan Chen. “Our tracking and management system with unique QR codes and corresponding order numbers guarantees this.” The warehousing system assigns each order parcels or gift boxes in the right size. The customer service team is quick and professional in dealing with any after-sales issues, such as overdue orders or changes of address.

The start of July saw Thomas Niederer (51) step into his new role as Switzerland’s Country Manager for Land Transport at the international transport and logistics company, Gebrüder Weiss. He succeeds Oskar Kramer (64) who is retiring after some 45 years with the company. “Oskar Kramer’s many decades of hard work and dedication have been pivotal in making our company the success it is today, especially in Switzerland. Over recent years he has made a significant impact for us, initially as Branch Manager and more recently as Country Manager Land Transport,” says Wolfram Senger-Weiss, Chief Executive Officer of Gebrüder Weiss, praising Kramer’s service to the company. Kramer has also demonstrated outstanding dedication to the needs of the industry in Eastern Switzerland through his role as Section President of Spedlogswiss, the association of Swiss forwarding and logistics companies, since 2011.

His successor Thomas Niederer has been with the company for some 28 years. His most recent role was as Finance and Accounting Manager West, a position with close links to the national subsidiary. Over the past 15 years, he has been a key player in Gebrüder Weiss’ expansion into Germany, Asia, North America, and his new charge of Switzerland.

“Oskar Kramer leaves us a country organization that is excellently positioned to grow still further,” says Niederer. “I’m looking forward to this new challenge and to working together with the team to continue Gebrüder Weiss’ success story in Switzerland.” The subsidiary is already aiming for new heights: The Pratteln location near Basel is due to be expanded with an automatic high-bay warehouse.

The Alpine republic has been a key market for Gebrüder Weiss for over 130 years. Today, its 220 staff offer all-round solutions covering transport, warehouse, contract, and shipping logistics from its Land Transport locations in Pratteln and Altenrhein on the banks of Lake Constance, and from Zurich for all Air & Sea services.

The international transport and logistics company Gebrüder Weiss and the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group have been working together for three decades. To mark this anniversary, Wolfram Senger-Weiss, CEO of Gebrüder Weiss, and Christoph Grasl, member of the management board of the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group, celebrated together with numerous guests at the Vienna Central Station on May 6. The highlight of the event was the ceremonial christening and commissioning of the jointly designed Taurus locomotive named “Europa”. The anniversary locomotive will operate on routes across Central Europe.

Long tradition in rail freight
“Gebrüder Weiss was one of the pioneers of rail freight transport in Austria more than 170 years ago,” explained Wolfram Senger-Weiss. “Long before trucks took over the majority of freight transport, rail transport was part of our core business,” he emphasized to the guests. Starting with small transports between Lindau and Munich in 1853, Gebrüder Weiss continuously expanded its rail freight services over the next 170 years. One example is the subsidiary company GW Rail Cargo. Based in Maria Lanzendorf near Vienna, the rail freight forwarding company organizes rail transports throughout Europe for international companies. Every year, up to 1.5 million tons of goods are transported in around 1,000 block trains to recipients in central Europe. The goods include mineral oil, chemicals, gases, agricultural products, and steel.

Orange Combi Cargo: a success story of partnership
A milestone in the partnership with the Rail Cargo Group is the Orange Combi Cargo (OCC), a block train that has been running daily for 16 years between Vienna, Wels, Hall i.T. and Bludenz. It provides a stable, environmentally friendly transportation solution within Austria, transporting food and beverages, drugstore products and building materials among others. It replaces approximately 60 truck trips per day, avoiding around 9,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.

“The Orange Combi Cargo is a prime example of our cooperation. Thanks to the OCC, we have shifted more than 240,000 truck journeys from road to rail since 2008,” sums up Christoph Grasl, member of the management board of ÖBB Rail Cargo Group. “With every ton that we transport by rail with Gebrüder Weiss, we benefit the environment.”

Working together for climate-friendly freight transport
A significant proportion of rail transport consists of transit traffic, particularly between western ports such as Rotterdam and Hamburg on the one hand and the Adriatic ports on the other. Stable networks and partnerships such as the one with the Rail Cargo Group are essential for Gebrüder Weiss in shifting transports over to rail.

Gebrüder Weiss expands its partnership with Toyota Motor in Kazakhstan. The logistics provider has been handling spare parts distribution to the Japanese automaker’s dealers since this year in Almaty, the country’s largest city. Existing services include the transportation of automobiles throughout Kazakhstan, daily deliveries of parts within Almaty city and warehouse logistics.

The Kazakh market is very important for Toyota. In 2021, the automaker sold around 14,000 vehicles there – equivalent to a share of around twelve percent of the country’s total automotive market. “We want to continue growing in Kazakhstan. For this, we need a reliable logistics partner who is very familiar with the local situation. Gebrüder Weiss has been providing us with high-quality service for more than a decade,” says Damira Alpysbayeva, Logistics Manager at Toyota Motor Kazakhstan.

As the most important Central Asian trading partner, Kazakhstan is also an attractive growth market for companies from Germany and Austria. Austrian export goods include pharmaceuticals, machinery, measuring instruments, paper and metal goods, which are mainly used in the petroleum industry. Gebrüder Weiss has been represented in Kazakhstan since 2007 and is now an established logistics service provider for industry and trade. The service portfolio includes land transports (including multimodal), air and ocean freight services, customs, warehouse logistics and supply chain management. 

Central logistics hub on the New Silk Road
Kazakhstan is becoming increasingly important as a key handling point on the New Silk Road route – all the more so as alternative transport routes are currently in high demand due to the sanctions against Russia. The country also benefits from its favorable geographical location, which makes Kazakhstan an ideal hub for China’s trade in goods with Europe and West Asia. Gebrüder Weiss also operates locations along the New Silk Road in Türkiye, Georgia, Armenia, Uzbekistan and China.

The transport and logistics provider Gebrüder Weiss and consumer goods specialist Henkel have expanded their long-standing logistics partnership with an innovative rail concept. Since May of this year, Henkel detergents and cleaning agents manufactured in the Serbian city of Kruševac have been delivered by train to their European sales markets along the Vienna-Düsseldorf line. This service, which already handles some 750 loads a year, was designed in conjunction with Henkel's logistics center in Düsseldorf. The two partners benefit in multiple ways. "We are circumventing the current shortage in truck capacity and have cut climate-relevant emissions by up to 70% on the Vienna-Düsseldorf route – while matching the delivery times of road transport," emphasizes Roland Raith, Country Manager Serbia at Gebrüder Weiss. The new solution lowers CO2 emissions by approximately 500 metric tons per year.

Formerly transported by truck along the entire route, the products from Henkel's Laundry & Home Care division are now being loaded onto Helrom's horizontal trailer wagons in Vienna. This allows Gebrüder Weiss to use the same trailers that had previously been utilized in road transport. "The loading method is barrier-free," explains Roland Raith. "Thanks to Helrom, we no longer have to use conventional rail terminals. Nor do we need cranes or special craneable trailers. The trailers are simply slid laterally onto the freight wagons using swiveling loading platforms and removed again at their destinations by other tractor units."

The delivery concept was jointly developed and implemented by Gebrüder Weiss, Henkel and Helrom. One particular advantage is that the train is directly connected to Henkel's factory services. "The trailer hub is located right next to our site in Düsseldorf. That means we can unload the products straight from the wagons and shortcut them to our warehouses. The train link enables us to avoid truck transport, decrease CO2 emissions and therefore make our processes more sustainable," explains Patrick Csar, Logistics and Export Manager for Supply Chain Laundry & Home Care at Henkel.

Long-standing logistics partnership
Gebrüder Weiss been cooperating with Henkel for more than 25 years. The logistics provider operates land, air and sea deliveries between various Henkel production and distribution hubs in Europe, Asia and the United States. Gebrüder Weiss is already deploying several low-emission gas trucks for Henkel in its European land transport network.

Products such as the Billy bookcase or the Hemnes bed from the Swedish furniture manufacturer IKEA have been reaching customers in the greater Vienna area in emission-free e-vehicles since October. For the Home Delivery division, Gebrüder Weiss uses 15 new all-electric delivery vehicles from the manufacturer Quantron. Switching to zero-emission vehicles reduces CO₂ emissions produced when delivering to end customers by around 150 tons per year.

In addition to carrying out deliveries with e-vans, Gebrüder Weiss also provides other services with its own staff directly in the IKEA warehouse. This includes, among others, the removal of goods, loading and scheduling of vehicles. Furniture and large appliances are delivered to the end customer by a two-man team, and unpacked and assembled on request. In the greater Vienna area, Gebrüder Weiss delivers around 60,000 consignments per year with the new e-vehicles. The vehicles are charged with green electricity while being loaded at the central warehouse, meaning that the vans are immediately ready for use without any time being lost.

Emission-free delivery
“The launch of our new electric fleet in Vienna means we are one step closer to our goal of becoming a global CO₂-neutral customer delivery by 2025,” says Claes Lindgren, Head of Customer Fulfillment IKEA Austria. Vienna is one of 30 major cities around the world where IKEA is switching to zero-emission vehicles for delivery. Claes Lindgren adds that, with Gebrüder Weiss, IKEA has a logistics provider at its side that has already been enjoying considerable success using various alternative forms of powering vehicles in everyday logistics operations.

“Due to the short driving distances in the Vienna area and the low transport weight, e-vehicles are ideally suited for our home delivery services. E-vans make an important contribution to emission-free deliveries particularly in metropolitan areas with their high settlement and traffic density,” says Jürgen Bauer, member of the Gebrüder Weiss Management Board. In the future, IKEA customers in other Austrian federal states will also receive deliveries by e-van.

IKEA partner in Austria and beyond
Gebrüder Weiss has been one of IKEA’s logistics partner since 2017. In addition to Austria, the logistics company serves IKEA’s home delivery customers in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia. These countries are also set to switch to delivery by e-vans in the medium term. Gebrüder Weiss has been operating several IKEA pick-up stations in addition to its home delivery services for almost a year now in Austria. With 220,000 consignments every year, Gebrüder Weiss is the largest logistics partner of the Swedish furniture company in Austria.

The transport and logistics service provider Gebrüder Weiss has transported 12,600 LED street luminaires and lamp posts to Mongolia via the New Silk Road rail route for the lighting group Zumtobel. Within twelve months, more than 80 containers were delivered on schedule from Austria to the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar. All this was done against the backdrop of an infrastructure project of the Mongolian government, for which the Zumtobel Group was commissioned two years ago to supply and install street luminaires.

Customized load securing
The risk of transport damage due to strong acceleration forces during train transport was eliminated by means of special load securing in the container. During the approximately 30-day journey, the nine-meter-long lamp posts were securely stored in specially made wooden racks that prevented the cargo from sliding around in their containers. Franco Ravazzolo, Head of Projects & Break Bulk at Gebrüder Weiss: “We recommended choosing the rail option via the New Silk Road to the customer Zumtobel because we wanted to avoid problems that would have arisen due to time delays in sea transport as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.”

Alexander Rosa, Head of Sales Processes Zumtobel Austria: “What we’d already experienced with complex project transports by rail was one of the reasons why we chose Gebrüder Weiss. The recommendation to use rail transport has proven to be spot on. With the lighting project in Mongolia, we have tapped into a new market that promises further potential in the future.”

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Liebherr Domestic Appliances is one of the leading producers of refrigerators and freezers in Central and Eastern Europe. Gebrüder Weiss has been running an exclusive warehouse for Liebherr`s active international business segment since the beginning of the year. The domestic appliances are stored in a 5,000 square meter terminal in Graz from which they are transported to Liebherr affiliates in seven countries across Eastern Europe.

Liebherr makes its domestic appliances for Europe in Germany (Ochsenhausen), Austria (Lienz) and Bulgaria (Marica). Gebrüder Weiss transports the refrigerators from Graz to the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, and Slovakia. “The geographical position of our location in Styria is perfect for transporting goods to Eastern Europe. We put together the distribution network in close coordination with Liebherr and the processes are running very smoothly,” explains Gerhard Haas, Branch Manager Graz at Gebrüder Weiss. The logistics provider was able to implement the project within a very short space of time despite the exceptional circumstances attributable to COVID-19 disruptions. The distributor agencies in Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary are supplied directly by Gebrüder Weiss from the Liebherr facility in Marica, Bulgaria.

Workflows perfectly managed by myGW 
Thanks to the logistics provider’s digitalization initiatives, it is possible to track all processes via the myGW customer portal in real time. Doing so ensures a high degree of transparency for Liebherr along the entire supply chain, covering everything from stock levels to return management and goods estimated time of arrival. This also means that the Liebherr distribution agencies in Eastern Europe know where their consignments are at all times. This is a novelty in many regions of Eastern Europe. 
“The high level of transparency provided by myGW, combined with the strong Eastern European expertise of Gebrüder Weiss, is what won us over,” says Josef Oberessl, Manager Logistics Central & South Europe, at Liebherr. “In doing so, we are putting our faith in the many years of expertise of Gebrüder Weiss along with its established and dense network of branches. The market in Central and Eastern Europe is very important in our view as we continue to see considerable potential for growth there.”

The two businesses are planning to take their next steps together at the end of 2021 when, in addition to distribution to the dealers, Gebrüder Weiss will also take over Liebherr’s home delivery services in Eastern Europe.

Gebrüder Weiss, a global freight forwarder with a core business of overland transport, air, and sea freight and logistics, welcomes Rittal North America, a global manufacturer of industrial and IT enclosures, to its Midwest warehouse and North American headquarters in Chicago. The organizations are working together to shorten delivery times, expand service capabilities, and improve the customer experience. By collaborating with Gebrüder Weiss, Rittal expands its U.S. footprint for more responsive enclosure delivery to integrators, OEMs, machine builders, panel builders, and data centers in the Midwest.

“We have a very strong reputation for creating custom solutions and understanding the delicate details that go with warehousing and transporting sensitive technology for the IT industry,” said Mark McCullough, CEO of Gebrüder Weiss USA. “We are delighted to be expanding our long-time European relationship with Rittal into North America to work with them on a comprehensive strategy to move their product to market at an even faster pace,” McCullough added.

Gebrüder Weiss works with clients to not only outsource warehouse logistics and fulfillment processes to help organizations increase flexibility and efficiency, but the logistics experts also engage with clients to optimize its operational processes through strategic warehouse locations. Working collaboratively, the two companies will enhance Rittal’s offering to its customers in the Midwest.

“We wanted to help improve our customer’s productivity and their competitive edge. By collaborating with Gebrüder Weiss, we can better serve customers with our quality engineered products by providing more responsive delivery in the Midwest,” said Mike Freund, CEO at Rittal.

For more information on services provided by Gebrüder Weiss, visit or call 847.795.4300

Efficient and sustainable transport solutions are key concerns for the logistics provider Gebrüder Weiss, and now they are being systematically rolled out in Central and Eastern Europe as part of its overall sustainability strategy. Since the start of June 2021, Gebrüder Weiss has been deploying an electric truck to deliver technology products for the computer and printer manufacturer HP. This is the second zero-emissions truck in the company's fleet. Manufactured by MAN, the vehicle produces some 50 metric tons less emissions than a conventional diesel model over the course of a year. Capable of traveling up to 150 kilometers without recharging, it runs daily services to electronics wholesalers.

"By incorporating an electric truck to deliver our products, we are taking a further stride with Gebrüder Weiss towards creating a more sustainable, net zero emission supply chain. Our long-term partner Gebrüder Weiss is supporting us with its high-quality logistics expertise and laying down a marker when it comes to cutting emissions in our European operations," says Michael Smetana, Managing Director Austria at HP.

Partners for a quarter-century 
Gebrüder Weiss has been working for HP since 1996, managing numerous supply chains in Europe either as a conventional freight forwarder or a lead logistics provider. In this capacity, the company performs various services under its own brand and also coordinates third-party providers. More than a tenth of the transport services have been designed to optimize life cycles across different transport modes.

Alternative drive innovations boost sustainability
With its first electric truck, Gebrüder Weiss successfully trialed the new technology in Greater Vienna over a period of several years. Equipped with a second electric vehicle, the company is now making further advances in embedding sustainable drive technologies in its supply chains. In addition to the fully electric models, which are charged with green electricity, the logistics professionals have a hydrogen-fueled vehicle and several natural gas-powered trucks in service. By tapping this and other initiatives, Gebrüder Weiss is aiming to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.