Logistics and infrastructure

• The New Geographical Center in Europe


• European Logistics Index


• Transit time in major European Airports


• Testimonials

The expansion of the European Union to include Sweden and Finland in the north of Europe means that Denmark has advanced to become a geographical center in Europe. Moreover, the development of Eastern Europe has further strengthened Denmark's geographical central position in Europe.

The Danish infrastructure boasts three international airports, ten international ports with free port and trade zone facilities and an extensive road and rail network. Currently more than 2 billion USD are being invested in the infrastructure.

Denmarks distribution system was ranked number one in the 1997 World Competitiveness Yearbook.

The top five distribution systems in the world are:

1. Denmark
2. Singapore
3. Finland
4. USA
5. Germany

The Logistic Consulting Groups European Logistic Survey 1995, which is based on interviews with 96 market leading companies in electronics, pharmaceutical and foodstuff industries, concludes that Denmark and Holland are Europe's leading countries for logistics with Sweden as a close follower.

Table X: European Logistics Index 1995

Source: European Logistic Survey 1995, Logistic Consulting group

The Index is based on the companies' own selection. Four elements are weighted and indexed:

The combined warehousing and distribution costs - all the costs of warehousing finished goods and distributing them to customers. This is given 40% weighting together with capital costs.

The capital costs of warehouse storage, i.e. the accrued interest on finished goods stored in warehouses. This is based on an interest rate of 12%.

Lead-time as the total time-span from receipt of order to delivery to the customer. Weighted 50% in the European Logistics Index.

Safety stock levels are measured as the number of months of stock the company has itself decided is necessary to ensure good customer service. Weighted 10%.

The low lead-time in Denmark can be contributed to such factors as the flexibility of the Danish labor market and the efficient customs procedures.

Transit time in major European Airports

Source: Local European Authorities, 1996

DENMARK AS AN EFFECTIVE LINK

"We choose Denmark, among other things, for its geographic location - in the "midst" of northern Europe; for its large, efficient, and dynamic international airport; and for its excellent infrastructure, stable polictical system, and smoothly functioning labor climate"

Christian Ting
General Manager
DHL Worldwide Express A/S

CUSTOMER DISTRIBUTION

Our direct customer distribution has cut one to three days off our delivery time. IBM Europe also saves 20% on its software freight budget. An integrated part of SMS is a hub right near Copenhagen Airport where one-third of our annual production of 903 million publication pages is printed on demand. This gives us substantial production flexibility."

Stig Lund
Director
IBM SMS Europe

EFFICIENT DISTRIBUTION

"When we established a Nordic warehouse in Denmark, we were able to cut our inventory by 30%. Our logistics have also been reduced significantly, and our delivery guarantee has improved. We have developed a successful order-processing system which covers the whole Nordic region, including the Baltic countries."

Bent Sørensen
Logistics Manager
Sony Nordic

DENMARK AT THE CENTRE OF THE NEW EUROPE

"In the end "communications" did the trick. From Copenhagen we can go on business trips to all cities in Europe and return in the same day, because of the direct flights from Copenhagen, the easy access from the center of Copenhagen to the airport, and the relative shorter flight times to and from the rest of Scandinavia"

Mr. Bo Kollberg,
General Manager Nothern Europe
SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare

GEOGRAPHY

"Danes look both to the north and to the south. Denmark is a hub that can serve asa link to both northern Europe and southern Europe"

Mr. Edward E. Elson
Former American Ambassador to Denmark

GEOGRAPHY COUNTS

"For a company like ours, with global headquarters in Germany, geography counts.Denmark has direct flights to most cities in Europe. And as the only country in the Nordicregion, you can get deliveries by truck from Bonn, Paris, Brussels in less than a day"

Mr. Claus Michelsen
Nordic Finance and Administration Manager
The Bayer Group

© 1996 by Invest in Denmark

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