She had no contact with pallets in her previous professional life. Anne Kramer-Münch is now CEO of the open pooling service provider PAKi Logistics - after holding positions at Mars, Henkel, Nestlé and Tomra, the business economist wants to help shape the topic of sustainability in the Ennepetal-based family business.
Load carriers such as Euro pallets and pallet cages are indispensable for the worldwide transport of goods. Open pooling service provider PAKi Logistics ensures that these can be used again as quickly as possible after use. with thousands of pick-up and drop-off stations throughout Europe for the efficient exchange of pallets and boxes. The Ennepetal-based company's customers include all players along the supply chain, from transport companies to shippers, manufacturers and retailers.
„Before I came to PAKi, I actually had nothing to do with pallets. At least not since my dissertation, which I wrote at Henkel on a pallet topic,“ says the new Managing Director, who lives in Cologne. Business administration with a focus on logistics has studied. „The common thread in my professional life has always been the value chain approach - whether in logistics in marketing and sales at Mars, at Schwarzkopf & Henkel in category management as well as in marketing or at Nestlé in classic sales in various commercial roles.“
At Nestlé Purina, Anne Kramer-Münch managed the pet food business in Austria - „a manageable portfolio, but an exciting field and an emotional target group“ - before taking up the position of Head of Channel & Category Sales Development for the internal sales organisation at Nestlé Purina. Sales Director at Nestlé subsidiary Maggi taken over.
„I originally come from Bergisch Gladbach and always wanted to return to the Rhineland. That's how I ended up at Tomra Systems in Langenfeld. The big issue here was sustainability, which is also important to me personally.“ Anne Kramer-Münch had five years the position of Commercial Vice President for Germany at Tomra then the opportunity arose to switch to PAKi.
„I didn't really have any points of contact with the pallet. However, I was attracted by the fact that PAKi is a family-run company that prioritises sustainability. I want to help shape this topic and I can do that here. In addition, my predecessor has already laid excellent foundations for various topics, such as the realisation of a new office building that focuses on New Work.“
Anne Kramer-Münch, CEO PAKi Logistics
PAKi Logistics GmbH was founded in 1974 by a group of logistics experts who recognised the potential of exchangeable load carriers. Today, the international company has around 250 employees with headquarters in Ennepetal and locations in Verona, Toulouse and Warsaw. „Of course I had a lot of questions in the first few weeks, because PAKi's business model is complex. From day one, I was well received by a very competent team. Many of my colleagues have been with the company for a long time and know their way around. And the values Care, Dare and Deliver communicated to the outside world are actually practised within the company.“
Three points are of particular concern to the new Managing Director: more transparency in order to enter into dialogue with employees, mutual and shared understanding and good cooperation. „I always have the image of a sailing ship in my mind's eye, on which there are very different tasks, but you have to work well together so that everything runs smoothly.“
Green logistics along the supply chain
Through its open pooling with exchangeable load carriers, PAKi aims to optimise logistics processes and thus Green logistics along the entire supply chain make it possible. „With our work, we want to create value where sustainability is relevant. In doing so, we have to ask ourselves how our actions can be measured for our customers and what our open pooling system brings them. Our customers are also affected by future regulations such as the PPWR, for example. But we want to also reach other target groups and ensure greater clarity in their value chain. Therefore, this triad of transparency, understanding and cooperation is the basis for a good journey.“
Since 2012, PAKi Logistics has been part of the Dutch Faber Group, which is also managed by a woman. However, this was not a decisive factor for her, says Anne Kramer-Münch. „Whether you do a good job in a management position depends on your personality and has nothing to do with your gender. It's more about the question of how you approach people without judging them. The important thing is what you can move in a position."
And what challenges does she see after her first few months as head of PAKi? „I would like to be here in the company Contribute and realise your own ideas and inspire people, because I've had some great bosses along the way who have inspired me.“
packaging journal 1/2025
This article was published in packaging journal 1/2025 (February).
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