2023 – a year between action and aspiration
While we had hoped at the beginning of the year that the armed conflicts in the immediate vicinity of the European Community would finally come to an end, we had to change our minds shortly before the end of the year. It feels like our planet is light years away from world peace. We were – once again – deeply moved by the suffering of the people involved.
It is difficult to go back to business as usual in such situations. But the coronavirus pandemic has already shown that crises, wars, disasters and the necessary humanitarian aid require a clear head and sophisticated logistics. The rest of the world also, of course. The global challenges have – once again – increased.
The logistics industry has to contend with higher energy costs, expect further restrictions and, following the current attacks on merchant ships, spend more on security services to avoid disruptions to global supply chains as much as possible. A lot of money is at stake. We saw and see it as our obligation to support our customers with Scope and our services in mastering these challenges and to promote their growth despite all adversities. Yesterday, today, tomorrow.
Our new office – less space, more room
The new year began for us just as the old one ended: Many hard-working hands tackled with the move to our new office space. After solving a few technical problems, we were able to celebrate the official inauguration on February 24. And we had every reason to do so. The new rooms are more appealing and, although we have downsized, more spacious and inspiring.
We have thus taken several factors into account. Having already made working from home an integral part of our job offers during the coronavirus phase, we can now also hire employees who don't want to leave their hometown and environment but would still like to work for and with us. For those who would like to continue working on site, or do so sporadically, we offer a motivating ambience ranging from soundproof think tanks for maximum concentration to an expansive, open and inviting hub as a meeting place for everyone who wants to work together and for internal workshops and events.
With this spatial concept, we as a company are not only responding to the spirit of the times, but also to our own aspiration to act sustainably. Accordingly, we have also downsized our office space in Frankfurt/Kelsterbach, which we moved into in August. Less space, less energy consumption, less CO2 emissions.
“It’s not enough pulling together. It also has to go in the same direction.” – Anna Riege, Head of People and Culture
Green Pixel – sustainability on our own account
When it comes to sustainability, we don't just focus on spaces. It's also about goals. And because pixels are part of Riege's trademark, we have named our own initiative on the subject of sustainability Green Pixel.
One of the first goals was to make Riege Software's CO2 footprint visible and subsequently reduce it step by step in the long term. To this end, we had a CO2 balance calculated for our headquarters in Meerbusch and determined a value of 251.3 tons. To offset this, we supported myClimate's international climate protection portfolio, which, in addition to offsetting CO₂, also contributes to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The calculated values will automatically improve in the new premises due to the size and infrastructure. But it's about more. All employees are encouraged (or at least invited) to find further ideas and ways to reduce CO₂ emissions and to help implement them. A workshop on this initiative is being planned.
The first measures have already been taken. We have developed a new travel policy with a focus on public transport. When it comes to internal catering, we are focusing on regional products, increasingly using table water systems instead of glass bottles and sourcing products from suppliers with sustainability standards. And from January 2024, the headquarters in Meerbusch will be supplied with 100% green electricity.
Green Pixel – sustainability in Scope
We integrated CarbonCare's CO2 calculator into Scope back in 2022. The calculator was originally certified according to EU standard EN16258, audited by the Swiss Federal Ministry of the Environment and recognized by the myclimate foundation as a medium for offsetting CO2 emissions. The values are calculated for all means of transportation worldwide, no matter where the journey takes you. From the first to the last mile.
From January 1, 2024, ISO 14083:2023 will be the new standard for emissions calculations. The new calculation method includes updated value descriptions and two new CO₂ values: the number of tonne-kilometres (transporting one tonne over a distance of one kilometer - tkm) and the emission rate (kg/tkm or g/tkm). Our motivation is to raise awareness, motivate action and initiate change.
Scope Community – Networking all over the world
transport logistic Munich – city talks instead of stand talks
It was not a question of cost when we decided not to have a stand at transport logistic. Our concept and strategy have changed fundamentally. In future, we no longer want to present Riege Software and the Scope brand to the general public on a broad scale, but rather go into more depth. The Scope Community meet-up for transport logistics at Bar Ludwig in the Löwenbräukeller in the heart of Munich's old town was just the beginning. And what a start it was: It gave all the invited guests plenty of opportunity to network over a BBQ and cocktails. And it was an important and successful milestone in the development of the Scope community, because it also brought long-standing customers together with new customers and interested parties on a human level. The exchange of ideas with customers and interested parties helped us to better understand the daily requirements of their working environment – and took us further than a quick conversation in the hectic environment of the trade fair hustle and bustle.
For us, going into depth also means not just talking about sustainability, but setting a good example. A trade fair stand is costly to produce, sometimes a disposable item and serves only one purpose: the temporary presentation of your own company and the current product range. In future, we will not only present Scope as a product, but also enter into dialog with our customers in order to adapt this product to their requirements. With the Scope Community meet-up, we have taken the right path. To be continued – and much more.
“More depth!” – Christian Riege, CTO and Managing Director
IATA Hackathon 2023 – ONE Record shows CO2
When IATA launched the ONE Record initiative to standardize the data jumble in air freight processing, we were there from the start. The cONEverter developed by Riege Software is one of the best examples of our commitment. It is only logical that we are also involved as active participants and sponsors in the IATA ONE Record Hackathons, in which developers from all over the world develop and present solutions for process optimization in the distribution of air freight.
The IATA ONE Record Hackathon in June 2023 was hosted by Lufthansa Cargo in Seeheim, Germany. Together with the Swiss company CarbonCare, we developed and demonstrated our idea of CO₂-enriched ONE Record data in the early booking process of a shipment. Our team was able to convince the jury with their solution for better visibility of CO₂ emissions in the booking process and won the Lufthansa Cargo Sustainability Award.
The prize for exceptional programming skills, sponsored by Riege Software, went to the Air France/KLM Cargo team Switcargo. Benjamin Riege presented the Riege Software Prize for their multichannel platform, which enables the exchange of shipment data between parties with different data models and thus collaboration within the global logistics community.
Inside Scope – the community is on the move
What began in 2019 in a small group and the functional ambience of our headquarters in Meerbusch had already developed into a highly accepted event for customers, partners and interested parties with the relaunch in 2022 – and reached a new peak in 2023. As in 2022, the Van der Falk Airport Hotel in Düsseldorf was a more than appropriate venue this year. In line with the motto “Discover, Network, Share”, all participants had two days to find out about new features of the Scope freight forwarding and customs software in topic-specific workshops, delve deeper into the current hot topics in the logistics industry through presentations by high-ranking industry experts and, last but not least, network over dinner and cocktails.
The feedback was consistently positive. Special mention was made of the topics and speakers on the second day, which generated great enthusiasm and stimulating discussions among the 96 participants. Among the well-known logistics personalities who spoke at the event were Henk Mulder, Head of Digital Cargo at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Leonie Althaus, CEO & Founder of traide AI, Wolfgang Schwab, Managing Director at the German Association of Customs Software Manufacturers (BVZH), Niko Hossain, CEO & Managing Director at Lobster Logistics Cloud and Dr. Jan-Wilhelm Breithaupt, Vice President Global Fulfillment Management at Lufthansa Cargo.
In the spirit of the Scope Community, we were once again pleased to see how valuable the discussions in a relaxed atmosphere are and how much we and the members of the community benefit from this exchange. We will therefore establish Inside Scope as a permanent institution within our community strategy. Inside Scope 2024 will take place at the b'mine Hotel Frankfurt Airport.
“The Scope Community – from local to hero!” – Benjamin Riege, Creative Director
Networking from East to Far East
As a Diamond Sponsor, we were once again represented at the GLN, 5Star conferences in Bangkok and Singapore. Our presence on site and the resulting discussions showed that – despite all our love of digitality – human contact cannot be easily replaced by online meetings. Accordingly, our event on the fringes of TransLogistika in Poland was equally successful and very personal this year, where we exchanged ideas with customers and interested parties on the classic topics of Scope, the forwarding business and family. At all the events, we were able to see that continuity pays off, and once again proved that community and continuity go hand in hand.
Customs in figures
After Riege Software Switzerland was accepted in the DaziT working group of the Federal Customs Administration (FCA) for the development of the new PASSAR goods traffic system in 2021, and Riege Software Benelux started work for the conversion of the Dutch customs procedure from AGS to DMS in 2022, the customs team at Riege Germany was challenged in 2023. In accordance with the European Union Customs Code (UCC), the biggest change by far since the introduction of ATLAS procedures in Germany was on the agenda.
The changeover to the ATLAS release AES 3.0 and the ATLAS release 9.1 NCTS had to be completed on time, despite its nature and extent, otherwise it would no longer have been possible to exchange messages with ATLAS. After more than a year of implementation work, during which the ATLAS AES and ATLAS NCTS modules and the Scope Exit application were completely adapted, the roll-out took place from October 5 to November 27. In the period from October 5 to November 30, we converted EORI numbers for 455 customers (counting branch offices: 901!).
We were well prepared for everything. The Scope customs software was certified ahead of time and we familiarized 1337 users with the changes in 11 webinars. In addition, 1811 customer tickets were processed and 1753 calls answered during the changeover period. But our efforts paid off: Once a few teething problems had been resolved on the customs side, Scope Customs users could and can declare as they are used to: quickly, securely and reliably.
Riege in Europe, USA and Mexico – growth through supply and demand
With 25 new customers and the addition of two new colleagues, Riege Software Netherlands had every reason to celebrate a very special occasion: Riege Benelux turned 12 1/2 years old on September 2, and celebrated in December when almost everything else was done. A milestone that the team thought was worth celebrating for two days. And rightly so! Nevertheless, work did not take a back seat. As part of the conversion of the Dutch customs procedure AGS to DMS, three well-attended webinars were held, 77 customers were migrated to DMS Import and 98 customers to DMS Export.
Riege Software Switzerland recorded an excellent financial year for the fifth time in a row since 2019. In year 15 of its existence, the team achieved a 40% increase in sales compared to 2022 with 8 new customers and 100 users. Other achievements include the successful implementation of the Planzer Group in the Scope customs module and further decisive progress in the working group for PASSAR. Through active participation in the Scope Community meet-up at transport logistic in Munich and Inside Scope in Düsseldorf, further promising contacts were also made for the Swiss market.
Riege Software USA has been operating under the name Digital Logistics Solutions LLC since January 2021. However, the business prospects in this large and difficult market are developing much more positively thanks to the cooperation with Trade Tech, a global logistics platform that makes it possible to offer fully automated AMS filing via Scope. New growth opportunities are also arising from the further development of the Ocean Freight software in Scope with a focus on transparency and tracking – an outstanding selling point (not only) in the US market.
Riege Software Mexico stands as a vibrant force within the landscape of growth and development across the Ibero-American region, showcasing remarkable strides in expanding its presence across several Spanish-speaking nations. Throughout the year, Mexico branch has established a formidable footprint, not only through its burgeoning influence but also through active participation in a diverse array of international events.
Evidencing an unwavering commitment to fostering deeper connections with logistics communities, Mexico branch has significantly expanded its reach, penetrating diverse markets and countries who share the same innovation desire. This year emphasizes Mexico's dedication to nurture meaningful connections within the broader Ibero-American area. In 2024 we look forward to strengthening connections with our participation in Intermodal Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Up to and including Q4 2023, the team at Riege's headquarters in Meerbusch was able to put 46 new customers live. Also in Turkey for the first time which is another milestone in the development of the global Scope community, albeit a small one.
The increasing acceptance of Scope as the Digital Standard for digital logistics is also having an impact in Northern Europe. Due to the strong interest in our software in the Scandinavian countries, we will open a Riege Software Nordic branch based in Stockholm. More on this in January 2024.
Scope – non-stop development
Scope Hub – a must-have
Scope has been developed almost daily since its creation. A real highlight in 2023 is the new access via browser: the Scope Hub. We have been working intensively on this access since 2022. This year, the time had finally come: on November 28, after passing tests with selected customers with flying colors, the Scope Hub officially went live. And it offers more than just access: During daily login, users can find out what's new about Scope, the latest news about us and have direct access to service options such as the Scope status page and knowledge base. But appearance and view are not everything. The Scope Hub allows customers to manage their own users and their master data – with full control over internal password policies. And thanks to single sign-ons, internal security guidelines also apply to access to Scope. So it's worth waiting no longer but getting started with Scope Hub. Users can expect a completely new experience.
Scope Ocean Freight software – see more, worry less
Visibility is an absolute must in ocean freight tracking. This is why Scope allows to track ocean freight shipments from the first to the last mile – since the last release 23.10 also at container level. Scope enables tracking, events and the use of tracking plan templates. Everything is simpler and clearer. A container monitor provides a reliable overview of the status of all containers. More tracking – all along the line – is not possible.
Scope knowledge base – help for self-help
With the introduction of the Scope knowledge base, we have opened up a secure way for users to get help quickly. In many cases, opening a ticket or making a phone call can be avoided. The statistics prove us right: while we recorded 173 searches and (cumulatively on the top 10) 1,334 article views in 2022, the year of introduction, there have been more than 5,700 searches with over 8,000 views so far this year. Nobody can be helped faster than that.
45 years of ProCarS
The Professional Carriage System (ProCarS for short) programmed by Johannes Riege in 1978 turned 45 years old on September 15, 2023. Starting with the first printable Air Waybill, ProCarS has established itself over the years as one of the most user-friendly transport management solutions on the market. The consolidation and digitization of individual documents alone, which previously only existed in paper form, was a huge milestone at the time.
Initially, the focus was on the digitization of export documents for air freight. Essentially, these were the Air Waybill, which was later used to create the invoice. Then the manifest, the master and, at some point, statistics followed. In ProCarS, it was even possible to transfer the data from the import entry directly to the ATLAS application at the touch of a button. More than innovative in its day – downright revolutionary!
The longevity of ProCarS is based on two effects: The initial decision to use the Datapoint data capture system and the early switch to PC – double the speed for a quarter of the cost and access from any office. The second reason for the longevity of ProCarS is its usability. Even if the system had to be learned first, it had many advantages in use and accelerated many processes.
Riege Software was founded in 1985. And the development took its course: without ProCarS no Riege Software, without Riege Software no Scope. The rest is history – and the future.
“45 years of Procars - and still running today. I wish the same for Scope.” – Tobias Riege, CEO
The future is what we make of it
Nothing fundamental has changed in our wishes. Some things are moving fast, others are standing still. Where we have been able to make a difference, we have done so and will continue to do so. Where we have not, we at least have hope. We still hope for an end to wars – worldwide. And we wish everyone good health. The phrase “Stay healthy!” has mutated into a cliché in the Corona environment. But at its core, nothing has changed. Health is an absolute good. This applies equally to people and companies. It is a basic prerequisite for shaping the future. For us and our employees, for our product and our customers. The rest is up to us.