Governance

Our innovation strategy is based on two key elements. On the one hand, we focus on successfully developing our existing core business model through continuous improvements and efficiency gains (“Core”/“Explore”). At the same time, we are passionate about exploring new things, in part by experimenting with partners such as start-ups and acting flexibly (“Explore”).

The creation of a new Executive Board department, which since 2024 has combined the three major future topics of innovation, digitalization, and sustainability, illustrates the importance of these aspects and at the same time their close links for our company.

CORE & EXPLORE: THE HELLMANN INNOVATION HUB

The Innovation Hub we initiated pursues various objectives, including the promotion of creativity and idea development as well as collaboration with internal teams, external partners, and start-ups. The aim is to use agile methods and technology integration to bring innovations to market faster and establish a culture of innovation throughout the company.

We firmly believe that successful innovations require close collaboration with various stakeholders. This is why we invest heavily in our innovation ecosystem, which consists of involving our customers, collaborating with incubators, accelerators, external experts, investors, and hyper scalers. At Hellmann, we do not see innovation as an isolated process, but as a living culture that is driven by every single employee’s creativity, commitment, and entrepreneurship (as one of our corporate values). It is our task to create an environment in which ideas thrive and innovation is perceived as a natural part of our daily work.

EXPLORE: VENTURE CLIENTING AND NEW BUSINESS MODELS

The “Explore” division at Hellmann focuses on developing new business models, both in the core business and beyond. We also identify promising start-ups for potential collaborations (“venture clienting”) and investments as part of strategic partnerships.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AS BOTH AN OPPORTUNITY AND A CHALLENGE

Artificial intelligence was also a focus at Hellmann 2023 – in particular generative AI, which can imitate human language in the form of models such as GPT. The aim is to use AI at Hellmann wherever it can sustainably improve processes. In this context, for example, we have developed an internal GPT solution that uses different language models and can access both internal and external information simultaneously. However, despite all the enthusiasm for new technologies, it is Hellmann‘s 12,480 employees who make the difference and are crucial to our long-term success. That is why it is important not to lose sight of the people in our organization. We see two important tasks here: On the one hand, we need to empower the IT teams to continuously develop the applications and identify new potential uses.

On the other hand, we need to involve every single employee in the change process, remove potential barriers and enable the use of new technologies. We want to enable everyone to participate in innovation so that everyone can contribute their own ideas to the innovation process. On this basis, we will achieve a democratization that ultimately benefits the entire company.

We pursue a zero-tolerance strategy in the area of anticorruption. Hellmann complies with relevant national and international anti-corruption laws and ensures this through defined measures that correspond to the risk profile of an internationally active logistics company. Furthermore, the company pursues a consistent fair business strategy toward market competitors, customers, and other business partners.

Hellmann therefore operates a comprehensive Compliance Management System (CMS) based on the “three-pillar model” (“Prevent, Detect, Respond”). Responsibility for this topic lies with the Chief Compliance Officer appointed by the Management Board, who is responsible for managing both a centralized and a decentralized team. A compliance officer has been appointed in each Hellmann region. These teams implement defined measures (e.g., policies, training, etc.), which are continuously monitored in terms of their effectiveness through reviews and analyses to identify any need for improvement or additions.

Extensive processes have been implemented as part
of the CMS, such as:

• An internal control system
• Anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies
• Guidelines on gifts and hospitality
• Supplier code of conduct
• Guideline for fair competition
• Whistleblower directive 
• Guideline on authority limits

Any indications of possible compliance violations are consistently investigated according to professional standards and, if confirmed, the identified misconduct is effectively punished and remedied. At the same time, appropriate measures are taken to prevent recurrences or similar violations.

In the 2023 reporting year, a total of 6,201 training sessions were held and new policies and standard operating procedures were added to the policy setup, particularly in the area of trade compliance. Awareness training was also carried out. The table below shows the total number of training courses. Although these have decreased overall compared to 2022, they can still be considered good in relation to the total number of employees. Above all, the training units continued to be adapted to target groups and fundamentally modernized for special areas such as money laundering and trade compliance through new and revised e-learning courses. In addition, following restrictions related to the pandemic, face-to-face training sessions were developed at the regional and global level specifically for the target groups, and more of them were held, in some cases as part of workshops.
 

Particular attention was paid to the area of supply chain compliance in 2023 through the “Third Party Management 2.0” project, which was jointly implemented by the Chief Compliance Officer and the Human Rights Officer. Hellmann‘s declared aim is to maintain its high compliance standards and to continuously develop them in line with requirements. Accordingly, the project’s objectives go well beyond the obligations imposed by the German Supply Chain Duty of Care Act (LkSG) and set best practice standards for holistic and risk-minimizing third-party management. The final global implementation as part of a systematic roll out campaign will be completed in 2024.

There were no legal proceedings or convictions relating to anti-competitive behavior, monopolies, or cartels in the 2023 reporting year.