DLL celebrates with its partner, the European trailer manufacturer, Schmitz Cargobull AG, the 15th year anniversary of their strong and successful joint venture, Schmitz Cargobull Finance (CBF).
Backed by DLL’s financial strength, industry expertise and global reach in over 35 countries, the CBF partnership has helped Schmitz Cargobull expand across 19 European countries and has financed more than 100,000 trailers at a combined value of €3 billion. “Research shows that joint ventures often don’t last more than seven years,” says René Roelfsema, Managing Director, CBF, “but our JV is even stronger than ever after 15 years. This is because we add significant customer value by joining forces. It’s also based on the building of trust.”
DLL has been supporting Schmitz Cargobull since the 1990s when it was then focused on its home market in Germany. To support its expansionary plans with strong finance support, the CBF partnership was sealed in 2000. In 2007, seeing the partnership flourish, they agreed to extend the agreement, just as world markets suffered a serious recession, following the credit crunch.
The experience of staying strong together, although tough market conditions, helped build the trust further. “With our market tumbling down significantly,” recalls Schmitz Cargobull CEO Ulli Schümer, “DLL didn’t hesitate in sticking by us. It’s at such times that you realize who your friends really are.”
We had been working together for years,” says Carlo van Kemenade, Chief Operational Officer and member of the Executive Board at DLL, “and we remembered how Schmitz Cargobull helped us when we needed it. They had shown us a strong commitment, so we would do the same.” The partners navigated through the storm and by 2010 were achieving healthy monthly sales again. “You cannot underestimate the importance of this working relationship and the trust that it builds,” says Andreas Schmitz, a board member of Schmitz Cargobull. “Our business relationship is almost like a marriage, you work together to find ways to make it work and you go through thick and thin together – this is what creates a true partnership. This trusting relationship is very important for us all.”
Through DLL’s industry expertise it can leverage its financial expertise to help partners compete in ever fast-moving and tough commercial environments. This is especially evident in the CBF joint venture. The joint venture draws on DLL’s global reach to function as a one-stop shop that combines global oversight with knowledge of local culture and regulations, enabling it to be more agile and able to react faster to changing market needs. Van Kemenade says, “We consider our global reach to be one of our great strengths in helping manufacturers increase their sales via fast and effective financial solutions packages for end users.”
Both Schmitz Cargobull and DLL expect the joint venture Schmitz Cargobull Finance to continue to flourish for another 15 years and more. In the immediate future, they are excited about the application of new technology and finance solutions aimed at delivering fast, flexible and cost effective options to the trailer market. Together, for example, they have created a new revenue stream from refurbished and remanufactured trailers that is both green and profitable, as part of DLL’s Life Cycle Asset Mangement (LCAM) program, for which it scooped the Product and Service Innovation of the Year Award 2014 from Leasing Life, one of the top leasing industry journals in Europe. In future, the aim is to expand Schmitz Cargobull’s Value Added Services through the application of new technology and data capture (telematics), LCAM, the service partner network and spare parts. As van Kemenade said, “The most successful business model is the one which puts the customer at the centre. At DLL, we are investigating, with our partner, the best way to offer customers a complete package on services around the assets being financed, despite growing regulatory pressures. With our past successes and trust in one another, we see this partnership going from strength to strength”