GLS – expansion in Spain
The Spanish GLS subsidiary Extand Sistema SL has been operating as “GLS Spain” since March 1st 2005. And a new depot also went into operation in Madrid on April 1st. These developments characterise GLS’ new strategy in Spain: to drive on the development of the company-own network. At the same time, GLS continues to work with local partners; since February 2005, it has been working with CHRONOEXPRESS, a company currently rated third in the Spanish parcel and express market.
Spain, with its increasingly liberalised and modernised industrial sector and relatively high growth rates, is a strategically important market. For this reason, GLS has decided to invest in its own network here. “The alternative to developing our own system structures would be to acquire or invest in a company that has already established itself nationally”, explains Rico Back, CEO of General Logistics Systems B.V., Amsterdam (GLS). “This option could not be realised at acceptable conditions.”
Since May 2000, GLS has been represented in Spain by a subsidiary in Barcelona as well as local partners. The conversion to GLS Spain highlights GLS’ new strategy of organic growth – in cooperation with its partners. “The GLS brand name provides us with easier access to large companies that operate internationally and place high demands on cross-border parcel logistics”, says Back.
New GLS depot in MadridVia the new location in Madrid, GLS Spain now offers its own high-quality services throughout the entire city region. The new facility has also led to a reduction in regular delivery times between Spain and Portugal from 48 to 24 hours – in close cooperation with the Portuguese network partner Personalis S.A. And, for a long time now, GLS Barcelona has been providing nationwide connections to France with a regular delivery time of 24 hours. Transports to Germany, Northern Italy, England and the Benelux countries are carried out from Barcelona with a regular delivery time of 48 hours.
Strong partnersWith regard to the provision of nationwide parcel and express logistics in Spain, the cooperation with partners has proved successful for GLS. Particularly the Balearic Islands and regions with customs jurisdiction, such as the Canary Islands, Gibraltar, Andorra, Ceuta and Mellila, are difficult for parcel and express deliveries. “We’ve selected a strong local partner for every region to ensure that customers throughout the whole of Spain receive a high quality parcel service.”
In February 2005, GLS began cooperating with CHRONOEXPRESS, a subsidiary of the Spanish Post Correos. “CHRONOEXPRESS is a high-performance partner whose service standards will benefit our customers”, says Back.
