“A coffee with…” Mark Wender, Managing Director Jungheinrich Spain and Portugal

Mark Wender, Managing Director Jungheinrich Spain and Portugal

Logistics Madrid: Tell us about yourself and your career at Jungheinrich. What projects have you been involved in and how have you experienced the evolution of the industry within the company?

Mark Wender: I started at Jungheinrich in 2007 in the Key Accounts department. Already during this valuable experience in customer management I was able to witness first-hand how customer needs changed. Even then, there was a clear trend away from purchasing and towards long-term rental contracts.

In 2011, I had the opportunity to actively shape the Rental, Used and Workshop business area and to assume responsibility for it in Spain. After a good seven and a half years at Jungheinrich de España, in 2015 I took over the management of our organisation in Portugal, a position I have held for six years, until now I have returned to Jungheinrich de España.

In recent years, the trend towards flexible rental models has intensified in both Portugal and Spain. It was always interesting to be able to play a pioneering role in new innovations with Jungheinrich right from the start, such as lithium-ion technology.

Although we have constantly adapted our business model in recent years, for example with our online shop, the Jungheinrich Profishop, or an even more comprehensive product range in the field of automation, one thing has not changed: our market presence as a direct point of contact for our customers.

Logistics Madrid: In terms of the pandemic, have there been any strategic changes at Jungheinrich, and how has the forklift truck industry reacted to the pandemic?

M.W: As for many companies, the pandemic has been the biggest business challenge in the history of our company and has influenced our day-to-day business at Jungheinrich since the first quarter of 2020.

At the same time, however, it has become clear that our products, solutions and services, as well as our after-sales service, make a significant contribution to ensuring essential services for the population and could therefore be considered system-relevant. For example, our forklift trucks are used, among other things, to operate distribution warehouses in the food trade, but also to distribute vaccines and ensure the smooth flow of goods at each location.

Protecting the health of our employees and ensuring supply capacity for our customers have always been and remain top priorities for us at Jungheinrich. That is why we decided on and implemented extensive measures right from the start of the pandemic. These included the creation of crisis teams (Task Forces), the introduction and expansion of occupational health and safety concepts, as well as occupational risk analyses.

Employee protection has always been of paramount importance at Jungheinrich, but it can be seen that safety awareness in the market as a whole increased once again last year. Other macro trends that were already present in Jungheinrich’s strategic actions before the outbreak of the pandemic have also accelerated. The need for digitalisation, networking and automation gained considerable momentum.

Logistics Madrid: Tell us about the projects you are currently working on. Where is the focus at Jungheinrich?

M.W: Topics such as efficiency, lithium-ion technology, safety, digitalisation and automation are driving the world and our industry. These topics, together with sustainable value creation, are therefore at the heart of our Group Strategy 2025+.
No other intralogistics company focuses so consistently on the lithium-ion battery. In 2021, we will be celebrating an anniversary in this field: exactly ten years ago, Jungheinrich was the first forklift truck manufacturer to launch a series-production truck with a lithium-ion drive. We will continue to expand our leading position in this technology. To this end, further models with fully integrated lithium-ion technology will be launched in the coming years.

In the area of digitalisation, we are intensifying our activities and driving forward the development of new products and business models. Priority is being given to the systematic development of the “digital warehouse”, with the help of artificial intelligence and big data, among other things. This includes digital products in the field of fleet management, but also warehouse and battery management systems, as well as safety and assistance systems.

Furthermore, in our Strategy 2025+, we are consolidating intralogistics automation as a key field of the future. In this context, Jungheinrich is continuing to expand its portfolio of automation products, especially in the areas of automated guided vehicles, automated storage and order picking systems, as well as software and robotics.
Ultimately, we have set out to create sustainable value with our Strategy 2025+.
With our Group Strategy 2025+, we have committed ourselves to the goal of creating sustainable value for our customers, our employees, our shareholders and business partners, but also for society as a whole. In doing so, we aim to reconcile economic, ecological and social developments and to place the needs of all stakeholders at the centre of our work. In particular, we are committed to the efficient use of resources.

Logistics Madrid: Your ERD 220i Electric Stacker has recently made headlines for winning the Red Dot Award. Tell us more about the work behind this stacker, what sets it apart from others.

M.W: The Red Dot Award: Product Design annually selects the world’s best and most innovative products in different categories. The coveted award is only given to products that clearly stand out in the market for their innovative design. We are proud that our ERD 220i electric stacker was able to convince the jury in 2021.
The ERD 220i is another member of our models with fully integrated lithium-ion technology and scores in many respects: Its compact design, together with its advanced technology and maximum functionality, make it an exemplary pioneer in the stacker segment.
Thanks to its robust design, the manoeuvrable and durable ERD 220i is the perfect choice for demanding operations in the handling warehouse or for long single or double pallet runs.
Thanks to its specially designed chassis contour, it is predestined for fast and safe ramp travel. The powerful drive motor provides the necessary thrust with strong acceleration and agile handling, while the new battery concept ensures optimum energy efficiency. Fully integrated lithium-ion technology and the new charging interface in the cockpit enable fast and flexible charging processes, thus ensuring extremely high availability. The vehicle concept is rounded off by user-friendly operation and a high level of safety. Highlights include a stable chassis with high side protection, a spacious driver’s cab and numerous sophisticated functions for optimum control of the stacker, such as truck detection with automatic speed reduction.

Logistics Madrid: Finally, you are a person with a lot of responsibility. Do you have any productivity-enhancing techniques that help you make better use of your time?

M.W: Personally, like Jungheinrich in general, I consider leadership and team development to be one of the decisive factors in a successfully managed company.
When it comes to increasing the productivity of the company as a whole, employee leadership is of crucial importance.
However, an important aspect of leadership development is self-leadership. This is the ability to consciously influence one’s own thinking and behaviour in order to achieve personal goals and thus those of the organisation.
When it comes to making one’s own way of working more productive, to organising the time available in a more optimal way, I don’t think there is a single right solution. Every manager has different needs, different resources and the opportunities available also change. It is important to be aware of this and to want to continuously improve and adapt accordingly.
Therefore, regularly reflecting on self-leadership is of crucial importance to me and helps me to master my daily life. It is not about completely questioning one’s own actions in every case, but about consciously reflecting on the different areas of self-leadership. These can be divided into the areas of cognitive, emotional, performance-oriented and physical self-leadership. In this way, one can not only evaluate one’s actions, but also influence them and take countermeasures when necessary. To master the daily challenges, physical self-leadership is the basis for me. Here one has to ask oneself what I do to find the balance. For me, in addition to my professional activities, balance consists of sleep, a healthy diet and sport.

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