FIEGE steps up contingency concept to provide essential supplies during corona crisis

The logistics service provider FIEGE is implementing additional steps under its contingency plan following the ongoing spread of the coronavirus. The goal is to strategically distribute stocks of vital supplies while observing special safety requirements and securing supply chains. This includes pharmaceutical and medical supplies as well as food and crucial production materials. Following a successful pilot in Apfelstädt near Erfurt, a further three locations will be converted into emergency warehouses. FIEGE simultaneously launched Flexfillment, an online portal which doubles as a digital exchange for storage capacities. The platform for on-demand warehousing allows logistics providers and retailers as well as manufacturers to offer available capacities as of now.

“The implementation of our logistical contingency plan is running at full speed”, Felix Fiege, Chairman of the FIEGE Group says. “Following the concept’s successful execution in Apfelstädt in February and considering that all available capacities have already been taken up in the meantime, a further three emergency warehouses located will launch.” All locations meet special hygiene, safety and training requirements. Moreover, the concept provides for critical supplies being prioritised and, if needed, being distributed across multiple locations.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to have a firm grasp on large parts of Europe, the supply of healthcare facilities is an overriding concern. “Our emergency warehouses give us access to a GDP-certified transport network from our HealthCare business unit. Our ten 24/7 healthcare hubs based throughout the whole of Germany are also in use. They guarantee deliveries to hospitals, doctors’ offices and pharmacies in the Germany-Austria-Switzerland region within a four-hour timeframe”, Felix Fiege explains. To safeguard the supply chain for other essential supplies across Europe, the logistics company will consistently strive to advance its contingency plan. The third stage is to convert an additional nine locations into emergency warehouses by the end of April.

A further step of the contingency concept is the development of the Flexfillment online portal. The platform flexibly brokers warehouse capacities and is available free of charge for logistics providers and businesses. The market is currently experiencing a substantial imbalance. On one hand capacities have been freed following production stops while on the other an exceptional demand persists in, e.g. the supply of vital supplies. Jens Fiege, Chairman of the Board, explains: “We wish to link up companies that urgently require storage capacities with logistics providers that can offer available storage space at short notice.” This is to help optimise supply chains, reduce transport routes and avoid vacant spaces. For the available storage capacities to comply with coronavirus-related hygiene standards, FIEGE has defined its own set of standards which Flexfillment users can commit to.

FIEGE offers this free service to meet its social responsibility as a family business and logistics company. In the case of a successful match, businesses can donate to the company’s foundation, the Josef Fiege Stiftung, on a pay-what-you-want precept. The monies thus collected will later be donated to a social project aimed to combat the fallout from the coronavirus.

“Our team’s motto these days is: #wekeepitrunning – I believe that this applies to the entire industry. We extend our gratitude to the many truck drivers, delivery agents and team players who ‘keep things running’ at the logistics hubs”, Jens Fiege adds.