QCS is represented with its own branch offices at all major German airport locations.

Globally, it cooperates with other locally based, mid-sized forwarders. One important recipe for success here: “We only work together with hand-picked, financially sound partners, whom we know personally and whom our customers can trust,” says Stephan Haltmayer. “This is an integral part of our quality philosophy.”

The processes of the network are discussed locally on a monthly basis.

For this reason alone, Haltmayer and his management team have to travel a lot. The meetings, however, also turn their attention to customer acquisition. After all, the consignees are often enough the ones who have to pay for the transport and logistics services and who are thus also allowed to choose the service provider.

This also extends to the choice of carrier. “In many cases, we recommend Lufthansa Cargo,” says Haltmayer. “With its strong network, there are reliable high-frequency connections out of Germany to all markets that are important for us.” These include in particular India, the U.S., and, more recently again, Brazil. “China, of course, is also important, although a slower growth has been recently confirmed here due to the increasingly strong currency and rising labor costs.”
    
Haltmayer also sees Lufthansa Cargo ahead of the competition with respect to eBooking and “troubleshooting”. “There you have it again, the combination of intelligent processes and personal commitment,” he says.

“Our employees have the carer gene.”

“We need partners on the airline side who adopt exactly the same approach.” Underlining the point, he pats Christopher Biaesch on the shoulder. “We don’t settle for half-measures,” he says self-confidently. “A little extra effort is sometimes also needed.”

For example, when QCS had to organize the transportation of the crown jewels of the last Russian tsar from St. Petersburg to an exhibition in Miami. Or when, on one Friday evening, an extremely heavy spare part for a manufacturing robot had to be shipped at the last minute to an automobile plant in Mexico. “It initially looked as if the aircraft was overbooked. 

But we then managed to find a solution. On Sunday, the job had been completed,” Biaesch recalls. “The most important thing was that we were constantly in close contact,” Haltmayer adds. “Practically every hour, the customer gave us a call, and we were able to tell him every time with a clear conscience that everything was going to work out fine.”

The pressure on this assignment was enormous, as there was a risk of an assembly line standstill. Haltmayer was nevertheless able to maintain his typical calmness. “I knew that Lufthansa Cargo would not get hectic, but that it would manage the job professionally right to the end.”

What are your company’s most important quality characteristics?
Our employees are the basis of the success of QCS. They pursue the same goals as the company management. Apart from that, our motto is: quality instead of quantity!

What do you regard as the signs of a good cargo airline?
An airline needs a modern infrastructure, a large route network and good customer service. Lufthansa Cargo has all that, they are the trendsetter in the cargo market.

Which product or which service outside of the cargo world is characterized by special quality?
My Porsche, mid-sized firms and Germany.
    
What does quality of life mean for you?
To spend time meaningfully. This explicitly includes the ­occasional glass of good red wine by the fireside.

What are your own personal qualities? 
always seek to improve myself and to move in new directions. In my view, success has a long-term character. Endurance and optimism are just as much among my qualities as my willingness to take risks, without which you cannot move forward.

What are your company’s most important quality characteristics?
Whether for safety, performance, customer satisfaction, product diversification or investments in the workforce and in the infrastructure – we step up the pace in all fields.

What do you regard as the signs of a good cargo airline?
The quality of an airline is measurable and perceptible. In general, what counts is not to settle for half-measures and to always strive for 100 percent.

Which product or which service outside of the cargo world is characterized by special quality?
The driving style of Sebastian Vettel. He explores the limits, but rarely moves beyond them. He has my greatest respect!

What does quality of life mean for you?
A healthy work-life balance, a good twelve-kilometer run along the River Main, true friends, a strong coffee in the morning.

What are your own personal qualities? 
I am optimistic, like life and hope that others notice that!

Photos:

Volker Römer, Ralf Kreuels

planet 1/2012