Year in Review: Deutsche Bahn
Earlier this year, Supply Chain Digital travelled to Berlin to speak with Uwe Günther, Chief Procurement Officer at Deutsche Bahn.
As one of the leading providers of mobility and logistics services in the world, Deutsche Bahn is well renowned in the industry. It is a global name in rail passenger transport all over Europe and transports over 2.7bn every year. Günther is aware of customers changing demands and understands the competition the railway sector faces. “I believe the customer has changed a lot due to the mobility of people increasing in the past few years,” explains Günther. “We’re in competition with cars and aeroplanes as well as other trains. Personally, I am convinced the train is the best way to move from one location to the other because it provides safety, quality and convenience.”
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In a bid to become more strategic, Deutsche Bahn formed the DB2020+ plan which centered around three core elements: becoming a profitable quality leader, a top employer and an eco pioneer. “It's important to us to have a clear strategy. Our underlying strategy was DB2020+, but aiming for uncompromising excellence, we have sharpened it with the creation of our agenda for a better railway through the five-point plan. In order to achieve our goals, we must increase our punctuality in passenger and in freight transport,” says Günther. “We need to increase customer satisfaction, we will invest a greater amount of money in our infrastructure, in new lines and trains. We want to become more reliable and provide better information as well as a comfortable journey to every customer. We’re expanding our services, restructuring our rail freight activities and making our rail service greener to drive sustainability. In the end, the most important thing is to improve service quality for our customers. Every month, we set a new customer record by welcoming more passengers onboard our trains; and we want to remain a mobility leader in our field.”
With the ambition of achieving 80% punctuality across its network, Günther affirms it’s vital that every employee works together to make this a reality. “It’s important for everyone within the company to think about what they can do to improve that KPI.”
Do you want to read the full profile? Check out the April edition of Supply Chain Digital!