wnDirect appoint Hendrik Kummeling as International Director
Tasked with building its international operation and bringing on board new etailers Hendrik Kummeling has joined wnDirect as International Director. Hendrik has significant industry experience having held a number of senior roles within TNT Express and PostNL. At his most previous role, head of international business development at PostNL Parcels Hendrik successfully set up the PostNL business in China; for anyone who has considered embarking into this region they will know this is no mean feat.
Discussing his new role at wnDirect Hendrik said: “wnDirect was developed by eCommerce specialists because they felt there was a gap between what the eCommerce industry needed and what was being offered in terms of international logistics services. They have proved themselves right; the exponential growth wnDirect has experienced is testament to that. I am very excited to be joining the wnDirect team. Their entrepreneurial approach and strong staff commitment to constantly look at ways their services can be improved makes it a very motivating environment to be in. wnDirect is also incredibly innovative developing innovations that etailers want and need and which bring about a genuine business benefit. A great example of this is wnOptimise; this really is a game changer.”
Hendrik’s initial focus has been wnDirect’s China offering. A processing centre has been set up in Shenzhen that will provide wnDirect’s Chinese customers with a bespoke delivery solution. wnDirect has developed a market package, wnOnline, which enables retailers from the UK, Europe and the US to have an online presence in China. By utilising wnOnline they can be ‘online’ in a short lead time (60-90 days), with low risk and low cost. wnDirect will operate as far more than a delivery solution but will be their business partner acting as the Chinese legal entity, managing the Chinese CMS, providing Chinese customer services, managing the local country marketing campaigns and monitoring the inventory interface. China has a potential market of over 1.4bn consumers and therefore offers significant opportunity. However, the risks and the challenges retailers have to overcome to operate in the region has switched many of them off. Making this reduced risk managed option incredibly attractive.
Once the China offering is firmly established Hendrik will then turn his attention to the outbound Australia and Asia Pacific launches and continue building the European operations.
Hendrik continues: “The great thing about wnDirect is they are brave enough to consider anything yet experienced and sensible enough to focus the time and attention that true innovation needs to flourish. They have so many opportunities they could be forgiven for trying to maximise all of those at once. Rather they take a considered approach and then focus their attentions on getting it right. All the benefits of an entrepreneurial business with the attitude of a wise and experienced one. I have to say I am very much looking forward to the next 12 months. It really is incredibly exciting.”
Stuart Hill, wnDirect CEO said: “I believe one of the best ways to motivate success of a business is to surround yourself with good people. And that is the wnDirect way. We seek out experienced individuals who are courageous enough to see the world through our eyes; that nothing is impossible. Hendrik has fantastic experience but, perhaps just as importantly, he has the courage and determination to continue to shake things up. We are tackling some significant regions in the next 12months; areas where companies much larger than us have struggled. We have brought Hendrik on board as we are confident he is the person who can help us realise the opportunities that are out there.”
