CargoForwarder Global’s ‘Spotlight On…’ series highlights the many very different jobs that, in conjunction, ensure smooth, efficient, and safe logistics services within air cargo. A large and important part of air cargo takes place on the ground – in warehouses across the globe. These differ in size and scope. In Frankfurt/Main, Germany, Lufthansa Cargo’s warehouse facilities are central to its entire operations. Handling needs to run like clockwork to keep the flow of air cargo running according to schedule. Thomas Rohrmeier (TR), Vice President, Head of Handling Frankfurt at Lufthansa Cargo, tells us more about his role, and shares his experience and advice for those wanting to join the air cargo industry.
CFG: What is your current function and company? And what are your responsibilities?
TR: I act as Head of Handling Frankfurt, meaning I am responsible for all warehouse activities at our Frankfurt Hub (FRA). Here, we process a little over 40,000 shipments per week, or in other words, over 23,000 tons of cargo per week – arriving and leaving in FRA on some 1,400 trucks per week, and several hundred daily flights.
CFG: What does a normal day look like for you?
TR: There is no such thing [smiles]. As with many managers, my day consists largely of meetings and digesting information. But the range of topics is extremely broad: from working with our handling partners to deciding next steps around our Hub-Rebuilding project, LCC Evolution, to HR topics, and layout decisions to questions such as how do we best deal with e-commerce in a compliant way. And many others… What I enjoy most is going down to the shop floor and having an open conversation with anyone I run into. That usually triggers the steepest learning curve.
CFG: How long have you been in the air cargo industry, and what brought you to it?
TR: Since 2002, straight from university. I was always interested in creating order from chaos, and in real world problems rather than just financials. So, I went on to study logistics and supply chain management – first in Regensburg, where it’s all about automotive, and then in San Franciso, where it was all about tech and collaboration. So, the step to connect the world through logistics was a kind of natural fit.
CFG: What do you enjoy most about your job?
TR: The opportunity to get an ‘old lady’ (our hub) into shape and being able to rebuild the beating heart of cargo, both in terms of concrete and steel, as well as people. I have never had a job with more opportunity to create. We are spending close to EUR 600 million on a major construction and technology project through to 2030, to have a cutting-edge operation again. That’s really exciting!
CFG: What do you see as the greatest challenges in our industry?
TR: The people in our industry are very nice – but also rather innovation resistant. If we don’t change and adopt technology more and agree on some modern (!) standards, then I fear sooner or later someone from outside of the industry will come and solve it for us.
CFG: What advice would you give to people looking to join the air cargo industry? Any particular training they should aim for?
TR: The content specific to air cargo is something you will learn once you get started. No one expects a fully trained air cargo specialist unless they hire them from another cargo company. We know that we are a niche business. However, I would always look for people who can demonstrate some understanding of process design (take an operations management class…), basic IT principles, and the ability to work with data. Those are precisely the things that we lack, historically, as an industry, so therein lies your opportunity.
CFG: If the air cargo industry were a film/book, what would its title be?
TR: “What flies beneath…” This is borrowed from the famous horror movie with Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford. Not that air cargo is a horror show – but it is full of suspense, and you really don’t know what’s going to be the next story twist. [Laughs]
Thank you, Thomas, for your answers.
If you would like to share your personal air cargo story with our CargoForwarder Global readers, feel free to send your answers to the above questions to cargoforwarderglobal@kopfpilot.at We look forward to shining a spotlight on your job area, views, and experiences.
