GEFCO, a global provider of industrial supply-chain services and the European leader in automotive logistics, has revamped its brand identity with an updated logo and brand-new signature. GEFCO’s new brand signature, Partners, unlimited reflects the Group’s ambition of strengthening cooperation with partners and customers to create more value across the global supply chain. GEFCO will also pursue growth through international expansion and innovation, aiming to always go the extra mile in a fast changing-market.
Since 2012, GEFCO has reinforced its activities to cover a wider scope, from freight transport by road, air, rail and sea to fourth-party logistics (4PL). GEFCO’s promise is to free its clients from their logistical burdens and help transform their supply chain into a value chain. With this in mind, the company has developed new activities, such as GEFCO Industrial Services, which manages high-value modular sub-assembly operations at its clients’ manufacturing plants.
While maintaining a significant volume of business with PSA, its historical customer, GEFCO has diversified its client portfolio on the automotive market and opened up to other industrial sectors. These new sectors (aviation, manufacturing, heavy equipment, energy, life sciences and healthcare, fashion, consumer goods, food and electronics, etc.), now account for approximately one third of GEFCO’s revenues.
GEFCO has also expanded its global footprint in 60 countries. Thanks to its 13,000 employees of 90 nationalities, the Group now serves 300 destinations worldwide.
GEFCO’s organic growth has been accompanied by strong external growth. In particular, the integration of IJS Global in 2015 has enabled the company to boost its Freight Forwarding service offering and consolidate its presence in China, South-East Asia and the United States. More recently, in January 2018, GEFCO Group acquired Spanish company GLT to reinforce its position in the booming Europe-Morocco import-export market. The Group will pursue its strategy of targeted acquisitions, supported by an extremely healthy financial situation.
Updated branding to reflect a unique culture and strong ambition
GEFCO’s updated branding is the result of a two-year company-wide project to research its DNA and to better understand what makes the brand unique to its customers and partners. In essence, what sets GEFCO apart is a culture we call “Infinite Proximity” supported by a determination to build long-lasting relationships through cooperation to earn trust and create more value across the supply chain.
Luc Nadal, President of the GEFCO Management Board, commented: “Our open-mindedness, combined with our ability to listen and learn from our partners, means we always go the extra mile. Our updated branding reflects this, with a new logo and signature. The new yellow box with our brand name represents a window onto the world, while our new signature, Partners, unlimited, expresses our ambition and reaffirms our commitment to our customers and partners.”
The word “Partners” conveys the cooperative mindset in which GEFCO builds relationships with its ecosystem (customers, suppliers and employees), based on proximity and shared growth. “Unlimited” expresses the company’s aim of continually pushing back the boundaries in terms of expertise, geographical scope, sustainable growth, creativity… and of course innovation!
A focus on innovation
GEFCO operates in a constantly changing environment, with fast-evolving customer needs and market geographies, increasingly complex social and environmental regulation, and disruptive digital technologies that are transforming production processes and consumer lifestyles.
Over the last few years GEFCO has integrated new technologies into its supply chain management. In particular, the Internet of Things (IoT) is helping the company offer high-value services, especially in terms of traceability, while big data is facilitating planning and optimising logistics to offer both savings and environmental benefits.
More recently, to meet the needs of consumers who are increasingly looking for ultra-personalised services, GEFCO has developed My Car Is There, a service enabling end-clients to manage the delivery of their new vehicles through a mobile app.
To unlock creative energy at GEFCO, the Group is launching an Innovation Academy with the aim of identifying innovative employee projects and providing the right resources to support their development.
GEFCO is also taking a “test and learn” approach to monitoring innovations such as “clean” engines, warehouse robots and 3D-printed spare parts. Finally, the Group is engaged in a process of shared innovation through cooperation with accelerators and incubators, and directly with start-ups, schools and laboratories. This cooperative approach will enable GEFCO to grow in areas as diverse as e-carpooling and online maintenance/repair service centres for consumers.
Luc Nadal concluded: “The supply chain market will continue to undergo a spectacular transformation. New solutions are disrupting the automotive market: electric engines today, hydrogen engines tomorrow, and shared/autonomous vehicles in the not-so-distant future. We need to stay ahead of the curve by integrating these innovations and offering our clients the best technical solutions at the right time and price. In a way, we will be switching our approach to managing innovation from responding to change to effectively anticipating it. Our new brand signature reflects our commitment to continually push back the boundaries and pursuing our path to excellence and growth.”
