Another year is drawing to a close. Time to take stock and look ahead. The fact is, 2024 has not been easy for us. Right at the beginning of the year, we had to deal with a shock with the death of our founder and Managing Director Alexander B. Bauer. His son, Olivier Bauer, has continued to run the business since then, ensuring continuity in difficult times.

The ongoing war in Europe, the progression of climate change and the numerous political and economic crises also gave us a hard time this year. Unfortunately, it is not foreseeable that this will change in the near future.

Despite all of this, and without minimising the negative things, there are also the good moments, the small and large successes, whether personal, in the business environment or affecting us all as a society. We logisticians - and we as supply chain optimisers perhaps even more so - are characterised by the confidence that we can ultimately overcome any challenge. And we will continue to do so in the coming year, the 25th year of our existence as 4PL Central Station.

We will continue to face geopolitical tensions, natural disasters and infrastructure problems in 2025, forcing us to strengthen the resilience of our supply chains. Added to this are the meta-topics of sustainability, digitalisation, big data and artificial intelligence. A general election is due to be held in Germany right at the start of the year. Many issues relating to the budget will remain unresolved for a long time. And the re-elected US President Donald Trump is already threatening new tariffs.

Companies are struggling with cost pressure, staff shortages, ever-accelerating market changes, but also with cyber attacks or the organisation of political requirements such as the Supply Chain Duty of Care Act or the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which will apply to a whole range of other companies in 2025.

And yet we at 4PL Central Station are looking to the future with joy, curiosity and confidence. Because we know about our strong network, our diverse experience in problem solving, the in-depth expertise of our great employees and the trust we enjoy with our customers and in the industry. In the coming anniversary year, we will continue to find alternative routes, use real-time data to eliminate disruptions or prevent them from occurring in the first place and, if necessary, open up new procurement markets.

We want to and will support our customers in making their processes even leaner and more efficient, unleashing the full potential of their data, minimising risks, reducing costs and adopting a sustainable,environmentally conscious approach. And we look forward to all the encounters and experiences that go hand in hand with this, which will strengthen each other.

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