Kontinent Spedition

Name

Kontinent Spedition

Legal name

Kontinent Spedition GmbH

Website

https://kontinent-spedition.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Kontinent Spedition GmbH is a family-owned German logistics provider (founded 1992, Jena, Thuringia) offering road, air, and sea freight, customs clearance, warehousing, express, value-added logistics, and removals to manufacturing, freight-forwarding, e-commerce, and private customers across Germany and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Jena

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Road Freight / Land Transport: General cargo, partial, and full-load transport across Germany and Europe, including Eastern and Western Europe with weekly shuttle to Minsk. Revenue generated on a per-shipment, per-distance basis.
2. Air and Sea Freight: Swift air freight handling through subsidiary Kontinent EMO-Trans (IATA licensed member) with services including partial/full charter, consolidated shipments, door-to-door, same-day Europe, and special shipments. Sea freight via FCL, LCL, charter, and Ro-Ro shipments.
3. Customs Clearance: Import and export customs clearance services using proprietary customs software, including registration for special customs procedures and use of deferment accounts.
4. Express Services: Express shipments with short response times and door-to-door delivery within Germany using dedicated fleet. Includes special, heavy load, and ADR express shipments.
5. Warehousing and Logistics: State-of-the-art warehousing including heavy cargo, pallet, ground bulk/block, modular shelving, small parts, supply, temperature-controlled, and bonded warehouse storage. Complementary value-added services.
6. Added-Value Logistics: Manufacturing preparation, packaging, and shipping services; labeling, product quality control, scanner-guided picking, kanban replenishment, line feeding, and rush order handling.
7. Private and Industrial Removals: Handled by subsidiary Kontinent Umzugslogistik GmbH. Covers private household moves and industrial/corporate relocation services.

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Kontinent Spedition is a family-owned German freight forwarding and logistics company providing road freight across Germany and Europe (general cargo, partial and full loads, ADR, weekly shuttle to Minsk), air and sea freight through its IATA-licensed subsidiary, customs clearance, express door-to-door services, multi-strategy warehousing (heavy cargo, pallet, small parts, temperature-controlled, bonded), and value-added logistics (labeling, kanban, line feeding, milk-run concepts). It serves manufacturing, trading, and e-commerce clients with its own 50+ truck fleet, multiple logistics centers totaling over 67,000 sqm, and a proprietary WMS with real-time GPS tracking.

Product overview

Kontinent Spedition is a family-owned logistics and forwarding company offering a comprehensive portfolio of transport and logistics services under one roof. The core offerings include road freight (Landverkehre) across Germany and Europe, air and sea freight (handled by subsidiary Kontinent EMO-Trans), customs clearance services, express shipping, warehousing (Lager/Logistik), and added-value logistics (Mehrwertlogistik) including manufacturing preparation and packaging. Industry-specific solutions include temperature-controlled transports (Thermotransporte), intralogistics, and manufacturing logistics. Removal services are provided through subsidiary Kontinent Umzugslogistik GmbH. The company operates its own vehicle fleet of over 50 trucks and manages multiple logistics centers totaling significant warehouse space. Online services include the WEB-ORDER portal for order entry and Track & Trace functionality.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Road Freight (Landverkehre)
• Air and Sea Freight (Luft- und Seefracht)
• Customs Clearance (Zollabfertigung)
• Express Shipping
• Removals (Umzüge)
• Warehousing (Lager/Logistik)
• Value-Added Logistics (Mehrwertlogistik)
• Temperature-Controlled Transport (Thermotransporte)
• Intralogistics (Intralogistik)
• Manufacturing Logistics (Fertigungslogistik)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 90% of former trainees are hired as permanent employees
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Garbe Industrial Real Estate GmbHmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 January 2024Garbe Industrial Real Estate GmbH developed and built the new 35,000 sqm Bollberg logistics center on a 65,000 sqm plot. The official key handover took place on January 18, 2024, with joint celebration attended by guests from politics and regional business. Kontinent Spedition is the tenant/operator of this logistics facility.
• CTL AGcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2018Kontinent Spedition is part of the CTL AG general cargo network, offering transport services over central hubs with several loading terminals throughout Germany and Europe. CTL has over 150 logistics partners across Europe. Cooperation began in 2018.
• VTL – Vernetzte Transportlogistik GmbHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKontinent Spedition is a shareholder and cooperation partner in the VTL general cargo system. VTL comprises over 90 medium-sized carriers working together to guarantee high quality throughout the entire supply chain for general cargo distribution across Germany and Europe. This network provides the company with broad coverage and capacity flexibility.
• Palletways DeutschlandcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAs a partner of Palletways Deutschland, Kontinent Spedition accesses a network of over 3,000 member companies for palletized goods transport across Europe. Collaboration began in 2007.
• Kontinent Umzugslogistik GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSubsidiary company within the Kontinent Group specializing in private and industrial removal services. Founded in 2007. Handles private household moves and corporate/industrial relocations. Customer inquiries for removals are referred to this subsidiary.
• Kontinent EMO-Trans GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSubsidiary specializing in swift, reliable air and sea freight handling. Established as a joint venture with Emo Trans GmbH in 1997. Part of a global network and IATA licensed member. Operates service offices in Jena and Dresden for air freight booking and consolidated shipments.
• Kontinent Bel Logistik GmbH (KBL)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSubsidiary company founded in 1998 as part of the Kontinent Group.
• Kontinent Verwaltungsgesellschaft GmbHcoreOthersParent/holding company responsible for data protection compliance (Datenschutzbeauftragter) and identified as the responsible entity under GDPR. Located at Göschwitzer Str. 34, 07745 Jena.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• DSV: Global freight forwarder with substantial German and European road, air, and sea operations offering the same end-to-end freight services as Kontinent but at vastly greater scale and with public-market discipline on margins.
• DHL Freight: European road freight and logistics arm of Deutsche Post DHL, providing road, air, and ocean freight plus warehousing. Comparable full-service Europe-wide offering with much larger scale and broader network density.
• DB Schenker: German-headquartered global logistics integrator with road, air, sea freight, contract logistics, and customs services. Same geographic center of gravity and full-service portfolio as Kontinent, but operates at significantly larger scale under rail-based parent ownership.
• Kühne+Nagel: Global top-3 freight forwarder headquartered in Switzerland with significant German operations across road, air, sea freight, contract logistics, and customs. Overlaps broadly with Kontinent's service portfolio but at very different scale.

Direct peers

• Emo Trans: Global mid-sized freight forwarder with German presence; Kontinent operates a joint venture subsidiary (Kontinent EMO-Trans GmbH) with Emo Trans for air and sea freight. Direct comparable on air/sea freight forwarding scope and customer base.
• Hellmann Worldwide Logistics: German-headquartered mid-sized global freight forwarder and logistics provider offering road, air, sea freight, customs, and contract logistics with a multi-service portfolio highly comparable to Kontinent Spedition. Both compete for the same mid-market manufacturing and trading customers across Europe.
• DACHSER: Large German-headquartered logistics company with road freight, contract logistics, and air/sea freight under one roof. Comparable in combining European road network, warehousing, and value-added services for B2B customers, though at significantly larger scale.
• Rhenus Logistics: German multi-modal logistics provider offering road, air, sea freight, warehousing, customs, and contract logistics across Europe. Similar service breadth and customer profile to Kontinent Spedition, including manufacturing logistics and value-added services.
• Cargo-Partner: Mid-sized European freight forwarder offering road, air, sea freight, warehousing, and customs services with particular strength in Central and Eastern Europe. Comparable to Kontinent's mid-market, multi-modal, customs-integrated positioning.
• Heppner Group: Independent mid-sized European logistics provider offering road, air, sea freight, customs, and contract logistics with a comparable mid-market customer focus. Similar company profile as a privately held multi-service forwarder.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kontinent-spedition-gmbh
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Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kontinent Spedition