Rhenus News

Open Logistics Foundation founders on their origin story and the future of open source technology

In a joint interview, the four founders of the Open Logistics Foundation, which was established in October 2021, provide an insight into the preparation and motivations for the shared project as well as the challenges they will face.

Foto: Sebastian Gabsch

Together, Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Michael ten Hompel, Executive Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Open Logistics Foundation, Markus Bangen, Chairman of the Executive Board of Duisburger Hafen AG (duisport) and member of the Board of Trustees of the Open Logistics Foundation, Christian Bockelt, Executive Vice President Global IT Land and Digital Solutions at DB Schenker, Stefan Hohm, Chief Development Officer of Dachser SE and Vice Chairman of the Open Logistics Foundation, as well as Dr. Stephan Peters, Member of the Board of Management of Rainer R. Schäfer AG and Member of the Board of Trustees of the Open Logistics Foundation, discussed questions such as "Why open source?", "Which projects are being initiated?" and "What else does the logistics industry need to do in terms of open source in order to position itself?”.

In the interview, Dr Stephan Peters also emphasised the point of view of the Rhenus Group as a partner in this project: "Logistics is very fragmented, both geographically and structurally. If we want to inspire logistics to be part of this project, we need an open mindset right from the start and must not lose ourselves in committees and bureaucracy. Incidentally, we are also unattractive as an industry if we are not open source. Many of our employees have aspirations that go beyond Rhenus. They want to be part of a bigger picture and drive the innovation of an industry and society forward. We are much more attractive as an employer if we can offer the big picture."

Read the full interview here.