Logistics full of surprises

 
Distribution Swiss Post subsidiary DMC has launched distribution for .ch. The lightweight and versatile stands are the Achilles heel of the new free newspaper. 
They still look a little lost, the silver-grey, almost waist-high and wobbly metal stands with the plastic flap. In the last few days, Direct Mail Logistik, a subsidiary of Direct Mail Company (DMC), has distributed them to the entrances of properties, initially to those with at least five parties.
From September 19, they were to be ready there for the daily early distribution of the new free newspaper .ch. However, many of these stands have already been relocated by unwilling homeowners, janitors or residents - to the sidewalk, where they are exposed to the wind and weather and obstruct baby carriages or wheelchairs, to free parking spaces or simply to the opposite side of the street. But there were not only expressions of displeasure: Here and there, the stands have also been misappropriated - as a shelf for cultural flyers or election leaflets. Elsewhere, they have already disappeared - as bedside tables, as practical magazine racks in the toilet or as music stands for children playing music. One thing is clear: this will not be an easy job for the .ch distributors. They will probably have to go on a tedious daily search for the mobile stands. They are unlikely to find them at their intended location.
"Sascha Wigdorovits, the initiator of .ch, is responsible for the stand concept. He was also the one who obtained the individual location permits. "We simply carry out the order," says DMC Director Markus F. Hof. Shortly before this Advertising Week went to press, Hof was confident about the launch date. "We are ready, everything is in place," he said. Hof and his team have had a tough time; setting up early delivery for .ch, which DMC managed single-handedly, was a "veritable tour de force". "We worked day and night, seven days a week," he says. In Zurich, Basel, Bern, Winterhur, Lucerne and St. Gallen, DMC had to recruit, train and sign a total of 800 new carriers. Ten truck drivers are deployed daily for the rough distribution of the newspaper to the six centers and a further 150 carriers for the fine distribution to the depots. Hof has also employed 20 people for administration, monitoring, quality control and the specially set up hotline.
Of the total of 35,000 properties that would be eligible for .ch distribution according to the court, DMC will be able to serve 25,000 on the launch date. Permission is (still) pending for the others. "We will accept changes daily via the hotline," says Hof. Distribution must be completed by 7 a.m. in each case. The time windows are sometimes tight: in some places, distributors only have half an hour from delivery.
Hof was surprised by two things when setting up the .ch early delivery service: 95% of the carriers had to be recruited from scratch, and only a few people already working in the twice-weekly DMC daytime delivery service were willing or able to join the early delivery service. "I had expected more synergies," says the DMC Director. The second surprise: recruitment was most difficult in Basel and easiest in Lucerne and St. Gallen. He has noticed a better work ethic in central and eastern Switzerland and that people are more available there.
Markus Knöpfli