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GLOBAL INSTITUTE CO-ORGANIZES STUDY MISSION

The Global Institute of Logistics, together with the Hong Kong’s Vocational Training Council, co-organized a highly successful Logistics Study Mission to Germany in late November 2007.

An incentive of the German Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, the study group included a number of academics from Hong Kong Universities, representatives from Cathay Pacific and DHL Express, as well as Bruce Stinson, Executive Director Training and Development, and Anastasia Mak, Program Manager, from the Global Institute of Logistics.

Anne Thiesen, Executive Director, German Industry and Commerce Ltd, was the prime mover of the event and put together an impressive list of visits which saw the group highly motivated and interested throughout the week.

Transiting in Frankfurt after the flight from Hong Kong, the group flew on to Hamburg for the first stage of the tour.

MONDAY

AIRBUS

There was a welcome out at the Airbus entry gate the next morning and the visitors were given a brief presentation of the history of the company which has 16 European sites forming the supply chain for the production of the aircraft with a total of 56,200 employees. The Hamburg plant has the largest number of employees at over 21,000.

Moving through the huge expanse of factory hangars where the A380 and all of the other members of the Airbus fleet are assembled, the study group was able to see huge parts of the outer shell coming together, wings and tail sections being added and each stage of the process to the painting of the final product.

Cameras were not allowed, but a glimpse of the finished A380 destined for Singapore Airlines fleet made up for that as the group prepared to leave.

There can be no better example of the demand driven supply chain that Airbus, with 434 aircraft delivered in 2006 and orders in hand for over 165 A380s alone, taking them through the next decade and beyond.

After a pleasant lunch at the Tulip Hotel, the group moved on to the Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) where the tour was conducted in the bus as it moved through the terminal             

CTA   

With a capacity of 2.4 million TEU, planned to expand to 3 million TEU, CTA in the historic Port of Hamburg, which itself dates back to 1189, is regarded as one of the most modern container terminals in the world.

The facility features advanced automation and a very fast throughput of boxes.  The study mission was treated to the sight of the largest ever constructed gantry cranes and a fleet of over 60 Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGVs) moving containers rapidly and with complete accuracy.  The AGVs transport containers from the quayside to the stacks and move about driven solely by software.  They have a positional tolerance of less than one centimeter and automatically pull in to refuel when low on diesel.

Although there is a control station, human involvement is only seen in the gantry crane unloading from the container vessels at the quayside and, on the other side of the terminal, when trucks pull in to a special area to have their containers loaded.

The Port of Hamburg is the nearest deep water port for the Baltic States and serves as Asia’s gateway to Europe.

 
HAMBURG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

In the evening the group visited the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce where they heard three presentations from chamber, before three of the Hong Kong delegation gave presentations.

Bruce Stinson, from the Global Institute of Logistics, spoke on the importance of Relationship Orientation in the collaborative supply chain, the Certificate Program the Institute has developed to support the maintenance of good working relationships and announced the opening of the Institute’s Hong Kong training office.

Dr David Ho, Chairman of the Transport Logistics Training Board of the Vocational Training Council spoke about developing the Manpower Infrastructure for the Transport Logistics Industry in Hong Kong.

The final presenter from the study mission was Stephen Cheng, secretary general of the Hong Kong Logistics Association whose topic was “Logistics – a Pillar of the Hong Kong Economy”.    
   
Many local companies were represented at the gathering and a cocktail followed the presentations.

In the evening an excellent fellowship dinner was held at Landhaus Flottbek.

TUESDAY

HAMBURG UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (TUHH)

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) being the major focus in the world of logistics today, and a primary area of interest for all on the study mission, Tuesday morning spent at the Hamburg University of Technology was a highlight.

Professor Dr Blecker, who is head of the AKJ FutureLogisitcs, Logistics Initiative Hamburg, addressed the group on “RFID Activities in Haburg”, where a special interest group has been formed to discuss technological innovations.  This group has, in turn, formed work groups, which are studying various pilot projects and aggregating outcomes.

Professor Dr Konty discussed the “Testing of RFID Systems” covering the financial criteria and non-financial criteria of RFID and pointed out that problems of efficiency still remained in cases where some liquids and various other substances were part of the subject on which RFID technology was to be used.

Dr Konty said that 99% accuracy could now be obtained regularly and research continues in the attempt to strive for the desired 100%.

Finally there was a presentation of an “RFID User’s Case” involving the company Reyher, a leading company trading in fasteners and “C parts” in Europe with 350 employees and annual turnover in excess of 95-Million Euro.

Reyher employs a “bin” system where the small parts the company supplies are placed in bins on the customers’ shelves.  These bins are identified lby abels which can be read by a hand-held scanner.  Inventory control is vastly simplified in this way.

The study group left Hamburg University of Technology and were joined for lunch at an Italian restaurant momento di by some of the people from the university.

OLYMPUS

The first of two company visits in the afternoon was at the European Distribution Centre of Olympus.

A multi-purpose facility which accepts, stores, re-packs and forwards a large quantity of smaller items including basic product and spare parts, this operation also houses a printing section where manuals etc are produced for inclusion in the final cartons for distribution to the end-user.

Host Bernd Jordan took the group through the whole process in a tour which lasted almost two hours, covering how the product passes through all stages to final distribution.

Of major interest were the fully automated storage bays, the various methods of “picking” orders, including the use of “sound” prompts, and the labeling and tagging processes employed at various stages of the chain.

 TOP

 

TOP Mehrwert-Logistik GmbH & Co was the final company visit and marked the end of the Hamburg part of the mission.  It was certainly a highlight and presented a case study where many aspects of value-added logistics practice were being exercised at highly developed levels of efficiency.

Priding itself on its innovative approach, Top’s predecessor company was founded in 1930 by Friedrich H H Wendt, whose son now runs the company together with his daughter.  With a focus on service and back-up for IT, Point of Sale equipment, installation of LCD screens and related areas,  Top has developed its service chain to a fine art with both same-day and next-day service available backed up  by warehousing and 24-hour call-management systems which are second to none.

As a sideline, Friedrich Wendt has invented a re-useable “box” for the transfer of large flat screens which has solved many, if not all, of the problems associated with delivery and pick-up of these difficult items.

The final night in Hamburg saw the group visit a traditional German brewery restaurant where fine food and beer were enjoyed by all.

WEDNESDAY

DUSSELDORF CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Wednesday morning the mission flew to Dusseldorf and checked in to their hotel before being taken by bus to the Dusseldorf Chamber of Commerce for a luncheon reception and presentations by the chamber and the Dusseldorf City Government.

Of great interest to the Hong Kong group was the presentation by Dirk Baackmann of the city planning section of the local government.   Mr Baackmann shared a number of slides of the various re-development efforts, which showed not only the systematic improvement of a number of areas within the city, but also some striking eclectic architecture of all kinds adding to the artistic feel of “new” Dusseldorf.

Many of the study mission felt that Hong Kong’s planners could gain much from a visit to this remarkable city.

DHL INNOVATION CENTRE

The afternoon and evening of this mid-point of the Study Mission belonged firmly to innovative, world-leader Deutche Post, with the first port-of-call being the well-known Innovation Centre at Troisdorf.

DHL Innovation Centre provides a glimpse of the future – today.  As global trends shape the future of logistics, DHL has captured those trends, extrapolated them into the future and, using the work of specialists from around the world, built a futuristic display of what “might be” the way logistics is handled in fifteen or twenty years time.

Entering the display area, one member of the mission was moved to liken the initial impression to the movie “The Matrix”.  As the tour progressed, however, the general feeling was that tomorrow is not so far away, with a number of the innovations covered already being introduced by DHL in various places, usually on a trial basis, around the world.

Features such as automation, RFID, Last Mile options including “smart vans” which will know which packages they contain and the simple yet practical Packstation where customers will be able to pick up parcels, seem to be literally just around the corner.

As is typical of the wide spread of research into RFID technology, it would appear DHL has solved some of the technical problems – especially in regard to cold-chain tracking.

Like all visitors to this inspirational venue, the group left in high spirits and headed into the former capital of Germany, Bonn, to visit another famous Deutche Post landmark, the “Post Tower”.                      

DEUTSCHE POST HEADQUARTERS (“POST TOWER”) BONN 

  
       
Yet another example of innovation, the Post Tower is designed as a pair of twin towers, connected on every floor through glass bridges.  As Bonn’s newest and largest skyscraper, with the focus on glass and light, it looked very impressive as the tour bus approached late in the evening.

Over dinner, two presentations were made, the first by Dr Winfired Haeser, Director of Environmental Strategy, who spoke with enthusiasm about the company’s “GoGreen” policy whereby Deutche Post is playing its part in environmental sustainability.

Employing over 500,000 people in 250 countries, and with one division - DHL Express – carrying over one billion shipments each year via 420 aircraft and 72,000 vehicles, the challenge for Deutsche Post Word Net to be a leader in the search for environmental sustainability is certainly a significant one.

Dr Haeser quoted Dr Klaus Zumwinkel, Chairman of the Board of Management, who said:

“Embracing sustainability in our core business strategies means embarking on a long journey”.

Yet this is obviously a journey the company is prepared to take as it sees is Sustainability program as an answer to shareholder expectations and embedded in the Corporate Values of the organization.

Dr Haeser outlined a number of initiatives being taken such as expanding the fleet of alternative fuel vehicles, developing the range of GoGreen products and services and supporting regional and local community based initiatives.

It was an impressive presentation and no one could have been left in any doubt about Deutshce Post World Net’s commitment to being a leader in this most important area.

The second presentation was titled “The Talent Management Strategy for DHL Express” and was led by Mr Martin Wandmaker, Vice President, Talent Management and Human Resource Development, DHL Express.

After an introduction by one of his colleagues, which linked the seven values embraced by the company, through is Code of Conduct, to its Strategies and Vision, and then to its Leadership Development policy, Mr Wandmaker took over and focused on Talent Management Strategy.

A policy of “Get, Keep and Grow” is the cornerstone of the DHL talent management strategy, whereby 85& of management roles are filled internally, strategies are in place to identify and retain top performers and more development investments are provided to high performers.

As the group boarded the bus to head back to Dusseldorf, all expressed their gratitude to Bettina Biegert, Marketing Communications Project Manager for DHL in Hong Kong, who was responsible for organizing this exceptional part of the study mission.

THURSDAY

METRO Group RFID Innovation Centre

The visit to the Metro group’s Innovation Centre maintained the prime focus on RFID, with this huge supermarket and wholesale/retail operation having introduced RFID technology gradually along the entire supply chain in November 2004.

In a presentation reminiscent of the DHL Innovation Centre, Metro took the study group through a range of uses of RFID from clothing retailing to supermarket applications, including wine, fruit and vegetables, and refrigerator stock control.

Among the more interesting applications was ”picking by light”, where shipping cases fitted with transponders move along a conveyor belt fitted with an RFID reader. Light signals on the shelf show employees which items to pack and also identify for which store or warehouse the goods are destined in order to eliminate mistakes.

More speed and greater transparency are the goals of RFID and this was illustrated by the scanners which can immediately note the number and nature of goods on a pallet which passes through the scanner.

Metro also showcase some of the more unusual potential uses of RFID such as in footballs to aid in game officials’ decisions and as a tracking device in alpacas.

GOTTWALD PORT TECHNOLOGY

In yet another example of the excellent planning of this study mission, the Thursday afternoon visit was to the manufacturers of both the cranes and Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGVs) which had so impressed the group on Monday at CTA in Hamburg.

A presentation by the CEO was followed by a tour of the factory where, similar to the Airbus study, the supply chain and processes of building these massive cranes were covered in detail.

In addition, the group was taken to an outside area where the latest AVG was being put through its paces on the testing ground.

After this visit, the group boarded the ICE train for Frankfurt where a networking evening with the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce was held in the Linden Hotel and Residence.   A welcome was kindly offered by Winchell Cheung, Director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

FRIDAY

FRANKFURT AIRPORT

The final days was spent in and around Frankfurt Airport.  After a tour of the airport, the first visit was to the Airfreight Terminal where procedures were explained, including the need to plan the exact set up of pallets to pack into cargo planes, to take into account the contours of the fuselage, and the various security procedures in place.

The weather precluded a visit to the Animal Station and after lunch the group visited the headquarters of FrankfurtRheinMain, an organization set up to market the region in the competitive global environment.

After a presentation by the Director India & China, Michaela Zahn, where the importance of Franffurt as a hub, with 69 flights to China every week, was emphasized, another presentation was made by Stefan Kisro, Academy Director of the German Logistics Academy.

On the final evening the group relaxed in another traditional German restaurant before preparing to depart for Hong Kong the next day.

This was an extremely worthwhile study mission, featuring excellent arrangements and planning by the organizers.  All of the planned visits where high-quality, informative and very interesting and the hospitality offered by all of the companies involved was much appreciated.

On the morning of departure Bruce Stinson of the Global Institute of Logistics presented a gift, on behalf of the group to Anne Theisen for her considerable effort in arranging the tour.

Cargo Connection Logistics Holding, Inc. Announces Steps to Improve Operations and Facilitate Growth

December 04, 2007: 08:30 AM EST Source CNNMoney.com

Cargo Connection Logistics Holding, Inc. (OTCBB: CRGO) (BERLIN: CD6) (FRANKFURT: CD6) (FRANKFURT: 217026) today provided an update on several areas of great interest relating to the Company, its operations and its anticipated future growth.

Jesse Dobrinsky, the Chairman and CEO of the Company, stated that:

"In our continuing efforts to increase the value of the Company to our stockholders, we have taken several recent steps that have improved the Company's financial condition, operations and prospects, including:

• We have replaced the factoring facility that was in place for our Cargo Connection Logistics Corp. subsidiary, our primary operating subsidiary. We have entered into a new factoring agreement with Wells Fargo Business Credit, which increases our factoring capacity and provides more favorable terms, including a lower cost of funds.
• In addition, we have jettisoned certain portions of our business that were not profitable and have replaced them with business that provides a positive return for the Company. Through this process we are also reducing our dependence on some of our larger customers, making us less vulnerable to the impact of any major customer on our revenues and earnings.
• We have amicably resolved a dispute with the landlord of our Miami facility.
• We continue to pursue our proposed acquisition of Fleet Global Services, Inc. We recently loaned Fleet Global $300,000 and we received from it a one-year promissory note bearing an annual interest rate of 11 percent. We expect that amount of the note would be applied toward the cash portion of the purchase price of Fleet. We are inuing to attempt to raise sufficient capital to fund this acquisition.
• Once the Fleet Global acquisition is complete, ITG, which is a joint venture that the Company had set up for exactly Fleet Global's kind of agent operation, will finally have the opportunity to get off the ground. We expect that it will get a major boost from Fleet Global's existing operations.
• We have made many sacrifices at the corporate and operational level, including payroll reductions and executive salary deferrals.
• In light of disappointing results in our international division, we have furloughed several personnel. While we still believe that our international division has great promise, we intend to continue to approach growth in this area of our business cautiously. In the meantime, we have directed our focus to growth in domestic sales.
• We have made concerted efforts to evaluate each aspect of our business and in the process we have reduced costs in areas that have not been producing sufficient revenue or operating profitability. We continue to constantly evaluate each aspect of the Company with respect to its performance and sustainability.
• We have increased head count in our Chicago facility to accommodate the new business operations there that began operating in mid 3rd quarter 2007.
• We continue to develop and demonstrate a prototype of our new Rad-rope(TM) product to both government and private enterprise potential customers, and believe that we have received a great deal of interest in this product. The developer of this technology continues to support the device and is assisting in the changes that have been requested by potential customers.
• All executive officers and directors have refrained from selling any shares of Company stock.
• Mr. Dobrinsky continued: "In light of all the progress we have made, as described above, we are confident that we are on the right track and that we will succeed. We are continuing to explore new sources of financing, which we expect would be critical to our performance, including allowing us to complete our proposed acquisition of Fleet Global, which we believe in itself would dramatically improve the Company's revenue base, results of operations and financial condition."

About Cargo Connection Logistics Holding, Inc.

The Company, through its subsidiaries Cargo Connection Logistics Corp. and Cargo Connection Logistics - International, Inc., is a leader in world trade logistics. The Company headquarters is in Inwood, NY, and it also has offices in Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC; Chicago, IL; Columbus, OH; Miami, FL; New York, NY; Pittsburgh, PA; and San Jose, CA. Headquartered adjacent to JFK International Airport, the Company is a transportation logistics provider for shipments imported into and exported out of the United States, with service areas throughout the United States and North America. The Company currently provides a comprehensive variety of transportation and warehouse capacity services to shippers throughout the nation. It also operates a bonded General Order warehouse in New York and Container Freight Station operations, which are specifically designed to handle internationally arriving freight for major retail suppliers through its facilities in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York and Ohio.

Cargo Connection Logistics' website is www.cargocon.com.

Future-Looking Statements Safe Harbor

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. Certain of the statements contained herein, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements with respect to events, the occurrence of which involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements may be impacted, either positively or negatively, by various factors. Information concerning potential factors that could affect the Company is detailed from time to time in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation:

• the Company's ability to increase its revenues, including by obtaining contacts with foreign shippers and by acquisition of competing businesses such as Fleet Global Services, Inc.;
• the Company's financial condition, including its ability to continue as a going concern;
• the Company's ability to operate in compliance with the terms of its financing facilities (particularly the financial covenants);
• the Company's ability to maintain adequate liquidity and produce sufficient cash flow to meet the Company's capital expenditure plans;
• the number and magnitude of customers;
• changes in, or the failure to comply with, government and regulatory policies;
• the Company's ability to obtain regulatory approvals and to maintain approvals previously granted;
• uncertainty relating to economic conditions generally and particularly affecting the markets in which the Company operates;
• the effect of the Company being in default on its indebtedness;
• the Company's ability to raise additional capital, including to the extent necessary to consummate its acquisition of Fleet Global Services, Inc.;
• the Company's reliance on key personnel and independent agents;
• the Company's vulnerability to economic and industry conditions;
• changes in the Company's business strategy, development plans or cost savings plans;
• the Company's ability to complete acquisitions or divestitures and to integrate any business or operation acquired;
• the Company's ability to enter into strategic alliances or other business relationships;
• the Company's ability to overcome significant operating losses;
• the frequency and severity of accidents, particularly involving the Company's trucking operations;
• the Company's ability to reduce costs;
• technological developments and changes in the industry;
• the Company's ability to develop products and services and to penetrate existing and new markets, and
• changes in the competitive environment in which the Company operates.

Contact:
Peter Nasca
Peter Nasca Associates, Inc.
954-473-0677 Ft. Lauderdale
312-527-1044 Chicago