Interview with Prof Wolfgang Kersten, President of the Hamburg School of Logistics, HSL

The Hamburg School of Logistics (HSL), founded in 2003 thanks to the generous support of the Kuehne Foundation, based in Schindellegi, Switzerland, offers a new and challenging one-year MBA course with a specialization in logistics. HSL is located on the campus of its parent university the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) and will be taking its first students in for the autumn term 2004. Prospective students, who are expected to come from across the globe, are welcome to apply until the closing date 31 May 2004.

Prof. Wolfgang Kersten, who has been responsible for leading the foundation of the School, was interviewed by Eurift.net representative Jan Prahm on his visions for the HSL and for the future of logistics.

  1. Why was the HSL founded? Are there not enough opportunities to study logistics in Germany already?

Of course there are many opportunities to study logistics in Germany, but normally only as an elective or special subject within a normal business administration or engineering course. HSL offers a course that combines the study of general management issues with logistics specialization in a form that combines top-level academic expertise and practical industrial experience. The curriculum has been designed with a lot of advice from the logistics business sector on its needs.

  1. How do you position HSL at the European level?

Within Europe there are a handful of universities offering courses with a similar philosophy: The Kuehne Institute for Logistics at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland has just launched an executive MBA commencing in March this year with a focus on logistics; Cranfield Institute of Technology in the UK offers a Master of Science with a more technical view on logistics; there are also courses in France. It can be seen as an emerging specialization, reflecting the importance of the subject, but HSL offers possibly the most comprehensive programme of study to date, certainly in Germany.

  1. HSL is strongly supported by the Kuehne Foundation, which is headquartered in Switzerland. Why was Hamburg chosen to host this new venture and not, for example, Duisburg as the biggest inland port in Europe?

Hamburg took the initiative. Within the vision that lies at the core of the city’s development, “Metropolis Hamburg – Growing City,” the logistics cluster is one of the key priorities. This is natural since Hamburg is not only the fifth largest port in the world, but since the days of the Hanse has been a centre for many industrial and trading companies. A study on higher education courses relating to logistics was carried out on behalf of the city’s government and revealed that although both the University of Hamburg and the Hamburg University of Technology offered elective courses in logistics, it was not possible to get a full academic education in logistics in Hamburg. On the other hand, Hamburg is a dream location for the foundation of a specialist school of logistics. There are many potential opportunities to achieve cooperation between industry and higher education and research. The logistics companies in Hamburg need highly educated managers and therefore Hamburg is the ideal location for such an education. So we have a win-win situation:

  1. How will the graduates of the HSL be accepted by companies? Might it not be that managers who have largely learned their craft practically may be suspicious of MBA-educated HSL graduates?

This probably is a problem more of the past than of the present. The whole image of the subject has changed. Logistics or supply chain management is now regarded as a core capability that a company must have to stay competitive. It is the logistics industry itself that has driven the demand for academically qualified managers with specialized education in logistics management. Many managers have learned their métier “by doing” and do an excellent job without the benefit of an academic logistics education that wasn’t on offer. But today there is no time for managers just to rely on learning the job. The HSL programme ensures that students will have plenty of contact with the practical “hard-end” of logistics and with experienced logistics managers through practical placements and projects that form a part of the course. Experienced managers will be seen as having a vital role in the education of students. Students on the other hand will be able to convey some of the latest methods and models, and this should establish mutual respect.

  1. What will be the most important developments and fields in logistics in the next 5 to 10 years for which logistics specialists should prepare themselves now?

Firstly, it has to be appreciated that logistics as a discipline will increase in importance. It is central to the globalization of economic development as more and more elements of the value chain are distributed around the globe. An ever-increasing number of enterprises are outsourcing parts of their business activities in order to concentrate on developing competitive advantages through their core competencies. This is particularly evident in manufacturing, where large-scale manufacturers such as car companies purchase components and subsystems from suppliers who can offer better economies of scale rather than manufacturing on-site themselves. This creates additional movement of goods.

A further reason for the growth in demand for logistics managers is the growing e-business sector and direct ordering of goods over the internet, rather than locally based purchasing through retailers. Much more work is needed to help solve the “last mile problem”, especially for consumer goods.

Another aspect that will certainly be the driver in logistics from the technical point of view is information technology. IT holds the key to the optimization of all logistical processes and procedures. So from this point of view logistics specialists are well advised to deal intensively with information management. For this reason we place a lot of emphasis on this subject at HSL and have established a new Chair for Information Management in Logistics.

There will be many exciting developments and plenty to learn.

  1. What about intermodal transport?

As transport routes become overloaded, especially roads, logisticians need to find new combinations of transport modes not only to ensure reliable, cost-effective delivery, but also with the ever increasing consciousness of environmental concerns, to prove to customers that these have been taken into consideration. Management of intermodal transport strategies is going to be a key topic for the major transporters, particularly within Europe as trade with Central and Eastern Europe is opened up and more pressures are placed on the major freight transport routes.

  1. In Germany congested freeways, noise and land use are seen as negative effects of globalization. In what way will the issue of environmental questions be dealt with?

As I have just mentioned, traffic congestion is something that has to be dealt with from both an economic and an environmental point of view. Environmental concern is of course an important issue in Germany, but is also gaining more importance in other countries including the EU accession states. Therefore logistics has to deal with these questions very urgently because otherwise the negative impact on the environment, not only in respect of emissions, but also of the changes to the natural environment required to build transport infrastructures, may result in tighter regulation or national prohibitions that are negative for the transport and logistics industry, but also could lead to companies relocating or investing in plants elsewhere. At the HSL we will cooperate closely with the Transport Systems and Logistics department at the Hamburg University of Technology, which has a very well established research group looking into the consequences of transport systems and their optimization. And other departments at the Hamburg University of Technology are dealing with environmental aspects. We want to cooperate very closely to develop logistics systems that are sustainable and to train a new generation of logistics managers able to deal with these complex issues. This is a very challenging and exciting field for which HSL students will be able to develop first-hand expertise.

  1. Where do you see a need for action in educating logisticians at the European level?

The HSL is certainly an institution that is not restricted to Germany. The course admissions procedure aims to achieve an international mix of students, and not only from Europe. Logistics is a global subject and the course reflects this. We believe the opportunity to study a logistics MBA in Hamburg at HSL will be highly attractive to foreign students and this will be reinforced by the fact that parts of the course will be defined and taught by high ranking international lecturers from North and South America, the Near and Far East, Eastern Europe as well as from many EU countries to provide insights into national transport systems and markets. We will also look closely at developments initiated by the European Commission and participate in programs as appropriate.

And naturally, the course language is English - our colleagues in German logistics circles were quite adamant about this. English is the mother tongue of logistics.

  1. And as a final comment, Prof. Kersten, on a topic which has dominated the German media headlines over the past months. What in your opinion has stalled the introduction of the German freeway toll system for trucks?

It is difficult to explain the failure from a logistical point of view because obviously there were internal processes that are not transparent to outsiders, and clearly major technical difficulties were not fully taken into account in the project schedule. The public relations and information provided to the transport community has certainly not been managed well at all. This has given the entire process a rather disastrous image that is certainly not good for Germany’s image as a technology leader. But I am optimistic now that with the latest developments things may well be put back on track. It has at least meant that the transportation industry has received a high profile in recent months and, I hope, made people aware of the costs involved. It is easy to take logistics for granted, but we do need to educate the future specialists in this field – both technically and in management – if we are to continue to enjoy our standard of living.