Lanxess moves leather chemicals sales in Asia from Hong Kong to Singapore
07/05/2008
From July 1, 2008, the leather business unit of the specialty chemicals group Lanxess will transfer its regional marketing headquarters in Asia from Hong Kong to Singapore, from where the relevant logistics processes for the Chinese market will also be handled from then on.
Order handling and distribution of the leather business unit for the entire Asia region will be controlled for the most part from the company’s Asia hub. Lanxess says customers should begin to benefit from the improved workflows in supply chain management during the second half of the year.
“As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of leather chemicals, it is our aim to offer our customers both premium products and first-class service. In order to do this, we observe and evaluate the workflows along the entire value chain to identify potential for improvement. By pooling our sales and logistics activities for the Asian market at our Singapore site, we can optimise processes and transport,” commented Frank Paus, head of global marketing in the leather business unit, on announcing the development. “Singapore is already the largest and most efficient distribution hub for leather chemicals in Asia, and in future it will be our most important sales location worldwide.”
The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is of pivotal importance to Lanxess. After adjusting for currency effects and the sales of business sectors which were divested during the previous year, the company recorded a sales increase of around 10% here in 2007 compared with 2006. The company has had a sales company in Singapore for some time, which is responsible for the marketing and sales activities of most of the business units in the whole of southeast Asia. “The ready availability of information technology ensures that we can conduct our business in Singapore efficiently. Other deciding factors are Singapore’s stability and its excellent geographical situation,” said Jürgen Hackenbroich, head of marketing in Asia-Pacific for the leather business unit who, like Mr Paus, is also transferring from Hong Kong to Singapore.
A further advantage is Singapore’s port, which has one of the shortest turnaround times worldwide for loading and unloading ships. It also has a huge capacity: it is used each year by a total of 140,000 ships belonging to 200 shipping lines with connections to 600 ports in 123 countries. Around one fifth of the world’s container traffic is handled via Singapore. “These excellent logistical conditions are crucial to ensuring that Lanxess can supply its customers quickly and reliably,” added Mr Hackenbroich.
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