Rotterdam, 25 October 2023: TANDEM Global Logistics Netherlands B.V., with its shareholders Rieck Logistics Group, C.H. Powell Company and Azuma Shipping Co. Ltd. and headquarters in Rotterdam, has taken over SMART Logistics B.V., which also specializes in air and sea freight and is based in Amsterdam, with retroactive effect from 1 January 2023. In future, the company will be called TANDEM Smart Global Logistics B.V. The transaction doubles the number of employees and rapidly increases shipment volumes. TANDEM Smart will be further expanded as a European hub in the TANDEM network.
The company’s future headquarters will be in Amsterdam from January 2024. The employees of both companies will move into the SMART Logistics offices at Schiphol Airport. The aim is to further expand and strengthen the branches at the most important European port in Rotterdam as a sea freight location and at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam as an air freight location.
Several employees of SMART Logistics in Xiamen, China, have been taken on by TANDEM Rieck Global Logistics Ltd. They will continue to work closely with TANDEM Smart.
Succession secured and young team at the start
The previous Managing Director of TANDEM Global Logistics Netherlands B.V. Joep Stijns will retire in the course of this year and will oversee the integration of the companies until the end of the year. The new Managing Director of TANDEM Smart B.V. since July 2023 is Raymond van der Veld, former main shareholder of SMART Logistics. He is supported by Edwin van Heek, the new Operations Manager of TANDEM Smart B.V. He was also previously involved in SMART Logistics.
“With this transaction, we have solved the management succession in the best possible way – with a total of around 30 employees, we now have a young and motivated team at the start,” says Philipp Strenge, Managing Partner of the Rieck Logistics Group.
Portfolio strengthened – with new opportunities
The opportunities portfolio was noticeably expanded as a result of the transaction, especially in air freight. “In import, we have increased air freight shipments fivefold and will be able to offer in-house customs clearance in future, even at weekends if required,” says Philipp Strenge. “In export, we have seen a doubling in air freight.”
The majority of shipments come from China and the USA. Smart Logistics and now TANDEM Smart B.V. organize the onward road transport for them. “We see great potential in the development and expansion of the warehousing and transportation business, as we have the knowledge and capacity in this area,” says Philipp Strenge. “But our operating TANDEM company in China will also benefit from the transaction – it has just renewed its IATA license.”
In sea freight, the container volume will grow by 30 percent as a result of the transaction. SMART Logistics was only just starting to build this up and will be significantly expanded by the expertise of the TANDEM company.
Europe, Asia, USA: benefiting from global trade
“Whether Europe, North America, the Far East or Southeast Asia – we have our own companies at the most important hubs for global trade and are embedded in a high-quality network with our partners,” says Philipp Strenge. “By expanding our capacities at the world’s central hubs, we are strengthening the TANDEM network and also benefiting from global trade flows as the Rieck Logistics Group.”
Independent logistics companies that offer air and sea freight services and high-quality logistics solutions for global supply chains have been working together under the TANDEM brand umbrella since 2007. The network is represented in over 80 countries with 200 offices and around 2,500 employees.