While its origins can be traced back to Austria in the early 1910s, DB Schenker was born from the acquisition of the international shipping firm Stinnes AG and its associated brand Schenker by the German rail operator Deutsche Bahn. The companies were added to the Deutsche Bahn portfolio to extend its rail freight services to land, sea and air and compete on the world stage. And it has certainly achieved this aim.
DB Schenker is now one of the world’s leading logistics providers, transporting goods across its vast land, air and ocean freight network. The company operates two key divisions. Its contract logistics arm provides efficient and innovative solutions for every stage of the value chain, from procurement and production to distribution logistics and after-sales service. This operation spans eight million square feet across 725 warehouses, with more than 24,000 employees in 60 counties.
DB Schenker’s largest division is its freight operation. This arm of the company connects the most important economic regions in more than forty European countries, with a network of about 32,000 regular scheduled services for general cargo per week. It also operates 1,200 chartered flights a year to 800 global locations.
This international impact is felt much closer to home here in the UAE. DB Schenker was the first logistics firm to offer electronic cargo documentation for freight to Dubai. Since 2018, shipping documentation can be submitted electronically for UAE import and customs processes, eliminating the need for the submission of physical shipping paperwork from overseas. This e-freight approach saw a drastic improvement in the region’s supply chain and logistics processes.
Thanks to innovations like this, along with a growing international customer base, DB Schenker recorded revenues of almost GBP 49bn last year.
