An interview with Dirk Reich, co-founder of Log-hub


Log-Hub is a cloud-based marketplace designed to facilitate flexible and transparent warehousing solutions. The following is an interview conducted between Transmetrics and Dirk Reich of Log-hub.

In short, can you please describe the business model of Log-hub?

We took the concept of Airbnb – renting out empty space – and applied it to warehouse operations. Log-hub is a digital B2B marketplace which matches companies seeking flexible warehouse space and warehouse providers offering available capacity and related services. We are a platform dedicated to bringing transparency to the warehouse market by being a partner for our customers along the entire warehouse lifecycle from the strategic design and warehouse selection to connecting multiple service providers and making them visible on our Log-hub Fulfilment Cockpit.

How did you come to the idea of Log-hub? How did you figure out a demand for such kind of solution?

The need has already been on the market for several years. Sustainable supply chains require a high level of responsiveness in their strategic setup due to volatile market developments. The dynamic and seasonal storage requirements and warehouse setups need to be flexible in time, flexible in capacity and flexible in geography. However, today most of the supply chains and warehouse networks are inflexible in setup and do not accommodate the need for speed in changing it. There is a big problem of transparency of the warehouse market as well as lack of fulfilment providers capable of connecting multiple service providers through one platform. So the idea for the Log-hub platform was just consequential.

Are you planning to add more features to your service? What kind of features would those be?

Yes, right now we are improving functionalities in different areas of our platform. For example, our App-World is coming soon to open up planning opportunities for logistics networks with real available warehouses. In addition to that,  we are developing our fulfilment platform to enable faster possibilities in setting up new warehouses and making the fulfilment visible through our customer cockpit.

We are also focusing on a special pilot project in India. The country is going through a major tax reform that will eventually lead to local logistics market restructuring for more efficient service. We have established a strong network of warehouse suppliers as well as engineering capabilities on the ground in India to offer potential cooperation.

You perceive Log-hub as a start-up operating in Logistics 4.0. What do you mean by this title?

Logistics 4.0 is about matching different information sources with the given information requirements. For example, matching the marketplace transparency with strategic network design, or matching space requirements with the available capacities, or matching different service providers and fulfilment setups with one common standard fulfilment solution.

In your opinion, where is warehouse sector of the industry going? What will be the major trends redefining warehousing in the nearest future?

We believe that the major trends will be information transparency, simplification and the capability of quick adaptations of logistics networks which will help accommodate the current needs of a volatile business environment. Connecting information paired with a high pace in network development will be the key differentiator which can provide the warehousing companies with a competitive advantage.

Log-hub will be the enabler to reach that information transparency paired with the required pace by matching information and generating warehouse standardization on a level that does not exist today.

Source: Transmetrics

Author: Transmetrics