Many employees, customers, long-time companions and guests followed Riege Software’s invitation and joined its 40th anniversary celebrations. Some of them came from very far away, like Jens Tubbesing from Dallas, Texas, CEO of the U.S. cargo sales agent, Airline Network Services (ANS).
“The trip took me and my colleague, CFO Ana Gerber, almost 24 hours due to technical issues of an American Airlines flight, but it was worth coming,” he commented at the end of the event. Riege Software, founded in 1985 by mathematician Johannes Riege, and now managed by the second generation of his five children, has become an institution in the global air cargo landscape. In four decades, it has developed from virtually nothing into one of the leading providers of logistics and freight forwarding software. The main product is ‘SCOPE’ which is now an integral part of digital process handling at many air and ocean freight companies and customs brokers.
Becoming an entrepreneur by accident
Senior Johannes had never planned to found a company, he confessed when interviewed by his son, Benjamin. “I was interested in programming from a very early age,” he revealed. A young talent that also caught the attention of Bochum University where he graduated. So, they asked him to clear up the chaos in the library and develop a manageable system for the inventory of books and academic papers. Next, a local freight forwarder in North Rhine-Westphalia knocked on his door to see if he could create a data-based system for creating Air Waybills. As soon as this was done, invoicing was the next job to follow. ‘Procars’ was his initial product and Schenker the first major customer. This was followed by ‘Scope’, launched in 2006, which has meanwhile become the IT standard software for many companies.
Hands-on mentality
In the meantime, his wife, Gabriele, gave birth to five children who now hold leading positions in the company. They have all inherited the hands-on mentality from their parents. The same applies, it would seem, to the other 131 Riege employees.
The development of the Riege company is a success story based on energy, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. To mark its 40th anniversary, the family invited employees, long-time companions and customers to an anniversary celebration in the ballroom of the Hotel Bauer in Munich Feldkirchen, on the fringes of the Air Cargo Europe trade fair. An honor also accorded to CargoForwarder Global as the only media representative among the 120 invitees. It was a lavish celebration.
