With a reliable network of more than 430 land transport hubs in 38 countries in Europe alone, DB Schenker is delivering food and essentials to the communities that need it.

When the 10 rail cars loaded with spaghetti, penne, and fusilli pulled into the railport in Nuremburg, Germany, they represented an intensive, last-minute effort to restock the shelves at more than 650 ALDI supermarkets in southern Germany. On any given day, this massive delivery may have largely gone unnoticed. But during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, it gave both hope and nourishment to a world that’s been severely impacted by the global outbreak. “The current pandemic emphasizes the importance of reliable supply chains,” says Christian Drenthen, Board Member for Land Transport at DB Schenker. “Logistics keeps the world running, as demonstrated by our solution for ALDI to transport pasta from Italy to Germany on short notice.”

400,000 Packages of Pasta

To make sure empty supermarket shelves are being refilled during a time when consumers are concerned about shortages, DB Schenker is supporting ALDI in sourcing several hundred tons of pasta for more than 650 branches of the discount chain in southern Germany. 

Due to our partnership with DB Schenker, we are able to react to capacity shortages with flexibility.

Produced in Nola, Italy, the Cucina pasta is transported via truck from the production site to Anagni by DB Schenker. From there, the goods are delivered to Nuremberg via DB Cargo freight trains. After cross-docking, the pasta continues its journey via trucks to 10 regional ALDI distribution centers, each of which serves between 50 and 70 supermarkets.

Dynamic Times Require Flexible Solutions

As a leading global logistics service provider, DB Schenker transports tens of thousands of tons of nutritional and everyday products every week, including many durable articles like canned food and articles for personal hygiene. The transport volume in this segment has increased significantly since the COVID-19 outbreak.

With regard to international land transport, shipments are still permitted to pass inner-European borders. This ensures that countries such as Italy, which have been strongly impacted by COVID-19, can still export products despite economically-challenging times.

“Thanks to our network of more than 430 land transport hubs in 38 countries in Europe alone, we remain fully operational,” says Lisa Klonk, DB Schenker’s European Regional Account manager of DB Schenker and coordinator of the Cucina pasta shipments. “This pays off during a crisis because we can react to temporary constraints with flexibility. We can reroute traffic when necessary to ensure shipments always reach our customers.”