Knoten lösen. Kante zeigen.
Developing logistics and retail businesses, from business case to go-live.
Knoten & Kante, Ingolstadt. Management consulting for logistics providers, retailers and marketplaces: new business areas and market entry, cross-border e-commerce between Europe and Asia, expansion into eastern Europe, network, location and route planning, innovation and restructuring, KPI systems.
A new market, a new logistics product, a flow of goods across the customs border or a network that has grown over years: such decisions fix costs and structures for years, and Knoten & Kante accompanies them where they arise, in operations, in dispatch and in conversation with the people who carry the processes every day. Within a few weeks this produces assessed variants, a clear recommendation and an implementation plan that stands up to management, shareholders and the bank.
Behind this are more than fifteen years in logistics, including at Fiege, Hermes and home24, and engagements in four countries. The first conversation clarifies whether the numbers add up for your project too.
Services
New business and market entry
It usually starts with a step that changes the company: entering a new market or sales channel, a new logistics product or a separate business unit, flows of goods between Europe and Asia, expansion into Eastern Europe, and last but not least, an investment that has to pass muster with shareholders, advisory board and bank.
The work ranges from market research, competitive analysis, and location scouting to customer potential, product concept, pricing logic, and business case, culminating in a decision paper. For cross-border projects, this includes the distribution of roles at the border, from importer of record to indirect representation and returns, coordinated with customs and tax advisors, and, in the implementation phase, the establishment of a partner network, processes, and management until go-live.
The end result is a feasibility study with a reliable calculation and, where desired, responsibility for implementation.
Network, locations and tours
Typical starting points are historically grown delivery areas, rising transport costs, new or closing locations, or a driver shortage that coincides with declining capacity utilization.
The location and network analysis is based on real order and route data, as well as on time spent in dispatch and out on the routes, because only there does it become clear which rules are missing from the data. Building on this, routes are optimized using mathematical methods, and scenarios for territory boundaries, depot structure, and fleet size are calculated, each variant with its own cost-benefit analysis.
The outcome is a set of evaluated options, a clear recommendation and an implementation plan that management can steer by.
Innovation, restructuring and decisions
Action is needed when costs rise faster than quantities, a product loses margin, established processes depend on individual people, or several options are on the table and a decision is pending.
This results in efficiency and restructuring programs with clear measures, responsibilities and key performance indicators, innovation processes with stage-gate and make-or-buy decisions, as well as business cases and decision papers for management, board and shareholders.
The end result is a decision on a solid footing and a company that is in a more stable position than before.
Key performance indicators and planning tools
Often, reports from multiple systems contradict each other, and planning is done in spreadsheets and depends on individual people, while major decisions in particular need a reliable data basis.
The work combines data from telematics, time management, fuel cards and ERP, defines the key performance indicators and makes them visible in Power BI, supplemented by planning and simulation models that are designed in-house, implemented with AI support and documented before being handed over to the internal team.
This results in key performance indicators that management can rely on, and a planning model that precisely answers the company's question.
References
Retail company
since 2025
Network and route planning for a nationwide distribution network. Design of a planning tool with real driving times and cost rates, implemented with AI support, scenarios for location and route variants, calculated at around one sixth lower operating costs or capacity for around one quarter more revenue. Weekly reporting from several source systems.
Fruugo.com
2022 to 2025
Design and build of a proprietary shipping solution for an online marketplace active in 40 countries, product management towards the engineering team, development of the international partner network. Analysis of shipping and tracking quality across the entire carrier network and handover of 43 action areas.
Fiege Hungary
2021
Feasibility study on market entry in Romania: market research, competitive analysis, location scouting, customer potential, entry strategy and decision paper for management.
European
logistics provider
2021 to 2022
Design of an e-commerce logistics unit for a European freight forwarder, from feasibility study to decision paper for top management, including an import solution from China to Germany. The board approved the concept. Business case with revenue potential in the double-digit millions per year. Client confidential.
Hermes
2018 to 2020
Contributed to the realignment of the international parcel product, with a double-digit improvement in margin. Set up the flow of goods between Europe and China together with the group's customs specialists and agencies in China. Process programmes with clearly measurable efficiency gains. Innovation management: start-up scouting with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, concepts and simulations for autonomous driving with Einride, Waymo and Mercedes.
Fiege Logistik
2016 to 2018
Development and management of one of the first end-to-end cross-border logistics products enabling European companies to sell on Chinese e-commerce platforms. Growth to double-digit million revenue.
Approach and tools
Every engagement follows the same process, regardless of the question.
01
Assessment
Clarify the question and objectives, identify stakeholders and decision-makers.
02
Process analysis
Record and measure processes, check data availability and data quality.
03
Scenarios
Develop and calculate variants, feasibility study with timeline, agreed with stakeholders.
04
Decision
Recommendation with figures, assumptions and risks for management, shareholders and the bank.
05
Implementation
Project plan with milestones, on request support through to ongoing operations.
Systems. Each step is done the way the task requires: by working in operations, with methodology or with suitable software. The data is usually already in the company, for example in transport management, ERP, telematics, time recording or warehouse management. Which systems these are does not matter.
Tools. Knoten & Kante designs optimisation and simulation models itself and implements them with AI support, while KPIs and reports are built in Power BI and Excel. Whether existing systems are sufficient or a dedicated model is needed is decided together. Knoten & Kante is independent of software vendors.
Profile
Daniel Berling is a management consultant for logistics and retail and owner of Knoten & Kante in Ingolstadt. He combines experience from senior roles in business development, innovation and quality management at Fiege, Hermes and home24 with the ability to design planning and analysis tools himself and implement them with AI. At Fiege he led a cross-border logistics product that enabled European companies to sell to China from concept to go-live, and at Hermes he worked on preparing the China expansion and in central innovation management. Since 2021 he has advised logistics providers, retailers and online marketplaces in Germany, Hungary, Romania and the United Kingdom on market entry, new business areas, network planning and KPI systems.
Working together
Knoten & Kante works in four formats, depending on the question and the time frame.
Project. A clearly defined question with a defined outcome, such as a feasibility study, a business case, a market entry, a location analysis or a route optimisation, usually over four to twelve weeks and billed on a time-and-materials or fixed-price basis.
Interim. Taking on a management or project role in logistics, planning or business development for a defined period, with operational responsibility for the result.
Sparring. Regular counsel for the management team or the head of logistics on ongoing decisions, with a fixed monthly time budget.
Network. For tasks that go beyond a single engagement, Knoten & Kante draws on a network of experienced specialist partners, for example for implementation, IT integration or specialist topics. Coordination and the interface to the client remain in one hand.
It begins with a conversation about the question at hand and the available data. This is followed by a proposal setting out scope, outcome and price, and on that basis the work begins.
Contact
Knoten & Kante
Daniel Berling
85049 Ingolstadt
daniel@knotenundkante.de
+49 176 31151299
Information on data protection can be found here.