Market entry and new business areas in logistics, from business case to go-live.
A new market, a new logistics product or a new business unit is a decision that cannot be made on gut feeling. Berling Consulting supports logistics providers, parcel carriers, retailers and marketplaces, from mid-sized companies to corporate groups, from the first market analysis through the business case to the decision paper for management, board or shareholders, and on request all the way to the first parcel.
The experience behind this comes from practice: from building a cross-border logistics product for China at Fiege, from the decision paper on the China expansion at Hermes, from designing an e-commerce logistics unit for a European freight forwarder and from preparing Fiege's market entry in Romania.
Planning and executing market entry
Typical situations
A logistics provider wants to enter e-commerce or a new country, with or without customers coming along. A retailer or manufacturer is planning the step into eastern Europe or China. A marketplace needs its own shipping solution with a partner network. The same question is always on the table: does the build-up pay off, and who carries it?
Approach
First, market, competition, infrastructure and potential partners are assessed, often in a phase model that breaks the entry into manageable stages. This leads to a product concept, pricing logic and a business case with several volume scenarios, calculated with models that Berling Consulting designs itself and implements with AI support. The end result is a decision paper with options, assumptions and risks, on request with a make-or-buy comparison.
Implementation through to go-live
Whether new business holds up is decided in the first weeks. At Fiege, shipping to China was defined in 34 process steps with 16 roles on two continents and tested with around 20 test orders through the entire chain before go-live. This diligence shapes every implementation project, with clear responsibilities, a test run and lessons learned.
Result
A decision paper on which management or the board can base its decision, and on request support through to ongoing operations.
References
Fruugo.com
2022 to 2025
Design and build of a proprietary shipping solution for an online marketplace active in 40 countries, product management towards the engineering team, development of the international partner network. Analysis of shipping and tracking quality across the entire carrier network and handover of 43 action areas.
Fiege Hungary
2021
Feasibility study on market entry in Romania: market research, competitive analysis, location scouting, customer potential, entry strategy and decision paper for management.
European
logistics provider
2021 to 2022
Design of an e-commerce logistics unit for a European freight forwarder, from feasibility study to decision paper for top management, including an import solution from China to Germany. The board approved the concept. Projected revenue potential of around 15 million euros. Client confidential.
Hermes
2018 to 2020
Contributed to the realignment of the international parcel product, with a double-digit improvement in margin. Set up the flow of goods between Europe and China together with the group's customs specialists and agencies in China. Process programmes with clearly measurable efficiency gains. Innovation management: start-up scouting with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, concepts and simulations for autonomous driving with Einride, Waymo and Mercedes.
Fiege Logistik
2016 to 2018
Development and management of one of the first end-to-end cross-border logistics products enabling European companies to sell on Chinese e-commerce platforms. Growth to double-digit million revenue.
Profile
Daniel Berling is a logistics consultant and owner of Berling Consulting in Ingolstadt. He combines experience from senior roles in business development, innovation and quality management at Fiege, Hermes and home24 with the ability to design planning and analysis tools himself and implement them with AI. At Fiege he led a cross-border logistics product that enabled European companies to sell to China from concept to go-live, and at Hermes he worked on preparing the China expansion and in central innovation management. Since 2021 he has advised logistics providers, retailers, online marketplaces and public authorities in Germany, Hungary, Romania and the United Kingdom on market entry, new business areas, network planning and KPI systems. Since October 2026 he has also been completing a part-time hybrid MBA at the Ingolstadt School of Management of KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt.
Contact
Berling Consulting
Daniel Berling
85049 Ingolstadt
daniel@berling-consulting.com
+49 176 31151299
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