OMNI (Overseas Moving Network International) has recently announced that it has accepted hasenkamp in Spain into membership. The company joins SIT to become the second OMNI member in the country. hasenkamp in Germany has been a member of OMNI for many years. The hasenkamp group also has offices in Belgium, Poland, Moscow, UAE, Qatar and Cuba.
Enrique López is the head of moving and storage in Spain. He said that the company’s evolution in the last five years has been very fast, growing from a small branch office into one with its own warehouse, vehicle fleet and around 40 people providing a comprehensive range of global mobility and fine art services. It has now taken its place as one of the leading moving companies in Spain. “If you don’t offer a full global mobility service you won’t get the opportunity to participate in most of the RFPs from Spanish companies,” explained Enrique.
It’s a company with a liberated approach to its staff. Even before the pandemic it encouraged home working which has become a major differential point in attracting talent to the organisation. “Most of our senior coordinators are working mums and dads who really value the opportunity to blend their home and working life,” he said. “So, offering the opportunity to work from home is a super added value for them to join our company. We’re proud of our company culture that’s different from most Spanish companies as we don’t have a vertical hierarchy. It’s a very horizontal management style. We will keep it that way.”
Why is OMNI membership important to hasenkamp? Enrique said that it is only now, as the company has developed, that it has become appropriate for it to belong to OMNI. “It’s a question of image and marketing,” he explained. “We share the OMNI principles in terms of high-quality standards, compliance, data protection and financial stability and we want to have a closer relationship with OMNI partners. We want to be seen more as an important piece of a first-class international organisation, such as the hasenkamp Group, not just some other local branch.”
Enrique knows that tonnage is an important element of that relationship. OMNI has a much-copied tonnage reporting system that encourages members to trade with each other. “We want to put additional value into the company by encouraging some of the larger OMNI members to work with us. We know this is not going to be a miracle for us, we are not expecting a huge increase in revenue, but we hope it will help us strengthen those relationships so they fully understand our position here in Spain.”
Compliance is also important to hasenkamp and all OMNI members have access to the Dow Jones Risk and Compliance Service which provides continuous monitoring of all participating members’ supply chains to provide confidence to their multi-national clients. “We have strict procedures and work with some of the world’s top companies. They look very closely at the way that we do things. The Dow Jones services will be an important benefit for us.”
What does Enrique think hasenkamp will be able to contribute to the OMNI network? The introduction of a second OMNI member into the Spanish market provides the element of choice that is important within the network. It helps ensure that OMNI’s high-quality principles are maintained through healthy competition rather than enforcement. But Enrique would like to do more. “We want to be proactive within the network,” he said. “It will be part of our role to keep members up to date with developments in Spain to help ensure that they are able to provide the best possible service to their customers. Communication is the key to success.”