The company Heidler Strichcode benefits from the booming shipping business and is growing even in Corona times. Founded 30 years ago, today the second generation successfully manages the specialist for shipping systems.
Source: Nürtinger Zeitung, Henrik Sauer
WOLFSCHLUGEN. The Fachpack trade fair ended a few days ago in Nuremberg. For the company Heidler Strichcode, the trade fair was a great success, reports Managing Director Mats Heidler: “There was a huge crowd. You can see that the logistics industry is booming. Everyone wants to improve their processes.” Corona also has a not inconsiderable share in this, adds his sister Steffi Heidler, who has been running the Wolfschlügner family business together with him for about three years. Because they had to close their shops during the lockdown, many retailers realised that they had to improve their online shops: “Corona showed many of them where the weak points in shipping and logistics were.
Heidler Strichcode benefits from the booming shipping business to end customers. For 30 years now, the software company has specialised in automating and optimising shipping and logistics processes. “Without a good shipping system, it would not be possible to cope with the increasing volume of parcels,” says Mats Heidler. Some customers send over 100 000 parcels a day via the software developed by Heidler. There are now modules for over 280 parcel services and forwarding companies. Because their number is also growing. And hardly any online traders only send parcels via one parcel service.
The software ensures that the appropriate label is printed for each shipping order. This also applies internationally, because “every country has its own regulations”, says Steffi Heidler. In addition, the company sells hardware for the entire shipping process, such as parcel scales, barcode readers and label printers. As a second mainstay, the company makes volume measurement systems that determine the dimensions of goods in transit. “This is also becoming more and more important because pallets are increasingly being invoiced according to the volume weight factor,” explains Mats Heidler. Loading space is becoming more and more expensive, and in the competitive market, hauliers are looking to make the best use of their capacities. In 2015, Heidler Strichcode won third place in the Esslingen district’s innovation competition for the development of an optical system for volume measurement that delivers a result in two seconds.
Business is going very well at the moment. The company does not want to give sales figures, but it has recorded steady growth in recent years, which has increased exponentially again this year. Especially for companies with online shops, orders are increasing strongly. “We were able to win many new customers and also expand existing systems,” reports Mats Heidler. Tool manufacturers and the manufacturing industry are also among the clientele. Among others, Apollo Optik, A.T.U., Jack Wolfskin or Kodak rely on the software from Wolfschlugen.
Urgent need for personnel
As a result of the growth, the company is desperately looking for staff. 23 people are currently employed in Wolfschlugen. “We are looking for staff to cope with the volume of orders, but we are having a hard time finding people,” says Mats Heidler. As a small company, we are in competition with the large companies in the region. That’s why they also focus on training their own junior staff. Four apprentices are currently part of the team. During the Corona period, an additional apprentice was taken on. Heidler trains IT specialists for application development and system integration.
“We have had a very low fluctuation in recent years,” Walter Heidler reports. He founded the company in 1991, at that time in a granny flat in Wolfschlugen. At that time, the communications engineer developed a device for the DPD parcel service with which the postcode could be recorded by hand and output in encrypted form as a barcode. This led to the development of a shipping system with an interface to the customer’s EDP system, which has been continuously refined ever since. “We have made a name for ourselves in the industry,” says the senior, who retired from active business three years ago at the age of 70 and is pleased that his children Steffi and Mats are continuing it so successfully.