Jens Juel Rasmussen has been working for four months as Regional Director Scandinavia for Unifeeder. We had a chat with Jens to hear about Unifeeder, the plans ahead, and how to make the logistics of the future more sustainable.
Rasmussen has a solid background from the transport/logistics industry with responsibility for both commercial development and strategic customers – including previous experience from Unifeeder and most recently from the role of Head of Strategic Sales in DFDS.
Recognizing that today’s environmental challenges will create new and disruptive business models, the recommendation is to take active ownership in developing the new models, rather than working to preserve the existing ones.
Jens Juel Rasmussen, Regional Director Scandinavia at Unifeeder
Strengthening the commercial mindset
-I knew Unifeeder pretty well before getting onboard. Unifeeder Scandinavia is a relatively well-functioning organization. Regionally, Unifeeder has a strong operational focus, and my role is to strengthen the commercial mindset.
It’s an exciting time to come back to Unifeeder, Rasmussen says.
Through ownership of DP World, Unifeeder goes from being a major pan-European feeder and shortsea operator to a significantly more complex business model. Through the acquisition of the Singapore company Feedertech Group, Unifeeder expands its geographical operational area from Europe and the Mediterranean to East Asia.
“Unifeeder still offers the same products, but we are now doing so in an expanded geographical area,” Rasmussen elaborates.
“Why fix something that ain’t broken?”
What obstacles do you see to get more merchants moving from road to sea?
-A change from the road to the sea will require that the right modes of transport are present and that the owner of the goods is ready for operational changes to how they work today.
Many cargo-owners view a modal shift as merely representing an operational risk, creating a natural objection towards such a change.
Cargo-owners with well-functioning logistics will not necessarily change their operational mode, take the operational risk; this is not very difficult to understand.
«Why fix something that ain´t broken?» – but it is broken.
Jens Juel Rasmussen, Regional Director Scandinavia at Unifeeder
Strict requirements are in place on international trade: Heavy reduction of CO2, less freight traffic on the roads, combine this with a projected substantial increase in freight volume – it doesn’t add up.
Create win-win solutions
From your perspective – How should we get the owner to move the goods by sea?
In the future, the work of moving goods from road to sea will require new solutions to be developed jointly with the customers, creating a win-win position for all parties involved. Both parties must benefit from collaborating.
Unifeeder is always ready to discuss new ways of doing things, says Rasmussen. One area that can be done a lot is to create transparency around available equipment, with the intention of reducing empty driving. All the air transported represents unused capacity, a potential deepens Rasmussen.
The development of future logistics solutions and the goal of moving goods from the road to the sea is not just about products and shipping companies. The work must involve the merchandiser, shipping companies, railways, and trucks – there are many players involved in this work. If we move 10,000 TEUs from the road to the sea, there are some people who initially lose – that needs to be appropriately handled, concludes Rasmussen.