Lidl sets up own company in response to container shipping problems

Lidl is establishing its own container shipping company to increase its logistical independence. The new company, called Tailwind Shipping Lines, will also enable the food discounter to sidestep the current problems in container shipping, which are the source of long delivery times and high transport costs.

The newly founded company’s activities include packaging, warehousing and the transportation of road freight as well as sea freight and airfreight, according to the German logistics website VerkehrsRundschau.de. However, as the company name suggests, the primary focus is on container shipping and related services.

More flexible management

“Our aim in establishing the container shipping company is to give ourselves more long-term flexibility to specifically manage the increased volumes of various production facilities,” commented Wolf Tiedemann, CEO of Lidl, when asked about the decision. By setting up Tailwind Shipping Lines, the discount retailer will succeed in making the supply chain more reliable and also in improving the on-shelf availability of products.

Schwarz Group

Lidl is part of the Schwarz Group, which operates a total of 12,900 stores across 33 countries and has 500,000 employees. The group has generated a total revenue of €125.3 billion in 2020.

Source: VerkehrsRundschau.de