With the Dutch vegetable season now underway, transport activities have also picked up. "We've noticed that traffic has been increasing since the beginning of the month," says Jeroen van Leijsen of Hermus International. "Fortunately, we also have customers with winter programmes and continue to serve other sectors such as confectionery, which provide year-round business. Still, March through September remains our peak season."
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"As trade intensifies, we see that transport capacity in the market is becoming more limited. The ongoing driver shortage brings challenges. Fortunately, we're still able to find drivers fairly well, but it requires constant care and attention," Jeroen notes. "Another concern is the price of diesel. You can see that import duties declared in the United States immediately influence diesel prices."
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From Oud-Gastel, the transport company provides groupage and full load transport across the Benelux and Germany, focusing on the Ruhr region. With the acquisition of C. van Dijk Transport, East Germany (Berlin) was added to the network last year. "We're seeing that customers are increasingly opting to centralise their deliveries. Whereas previously we had to collect a few pallets from ten or fifteen different locations, large retail chains are now looking at how to streamline their supply chains and cut costs," says Jeroen.
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Hermus International's fleet consists of forty trucks, supplemented by ten to twenty charters during the season. The company also operates three LZVs, which are permitted to operate in Germany. "These work ideally for us. They allow us to combine freight with different temperature requirements and transport more cargo per trip. This significantly reduces CO₂ emissions per kilometre," Jeroen explains.
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Over the past year, Hermus has made a strong push towards digitisation. "At the end of last year, we fully switched over to Trimble, integrated with our TMS system, Mendrix. This setup works perfectly for us. The entire system connects to the onboard computers and enables smooth time tracking and CMR processing. This gives us all the data we need to quickly provide our customers with accurate information. Combined with our flexible approach, it means we are well-prepared for the future!"
For more information:
Jeroen van Leijsen
Hermus International
Emmerblok 17
4751 XE Oud Gastel
Tel: +31 (0) 6 30591447
Jeroen@hermus-international.com
www.hermus-international.com