Zeitfracht Medien GmbH

What Zeitfracht Medien GmbH does

Zeitfracht Medien GmbH operates the Kolibri360 brand and is a privately held German logistics and e-commerce fulfillment company headquartered in Stuttgart with the registered office in Jena (HRB 516947). Founded in 1930 and employing 229 people across Erfurt, Stuttgart, and Heeslingen, the company runs one of Europe's largest and most modern automated logistics centers in Erfurt, providing warehousing, order picking, packing, shipping, returns management, and value-added services to publishers, bookshops, consumer electronics manufacturers, fashion brands, and consumer product companies. Its core technology is a modern automated fulfillment infrastructure integrated with an on-site print-on-demand production facility connected via conveyor systems to warehousing and shipping, supported by the Webservice 3.0 API for FTP/EDI/EDIFACT integration with publishers and software houses.

Kolibri360's product portfolio spans Kolibri360 Fulfillment (warehousing, picking, packaging, shipping, returns), Print-on-Demand book production (sub-2.5-hour softcover production, up to 40,000 copies per run, 1-3 business day delivery), the ECS2.0 e-commerce platform, the pcbis.de information and ordering system serving over 5,500 booksellers, the fitbis.de merchandise management system, and the buchkatalog.de consumer catalog, alongside the Buch&Co. retail sub-brand. The company's go-to-motion is direct-to-consumer and direct-to-enterprise for fulfillment customers, complemented by channel partnerships with bookshops, publishers, and software houses through the integrated software stack.

Zeitfracht Medien GmbH generates revenue through professional services fees for logistics and fulfillment, transaction-based fees for book wholesale and publisher distribution (Barsortiment and Verlagsauslieferung), and transaction-based print-on-demand billing where publishers pay printing costs only when a book is produced and sold, with no upfront participation fees. The company is managed by Thomas Raff and Michael Eisenblätter as Geschäftsführer and serves customers in the DACH region, with named enterprise relationships including Springer Nature, De Gruyter, Sage, Peter Lang, Paul Pietsch Verlage, Neopubli, and Infopro Digital Automotive. The company maintains LkSG-compliant supply chain due diligence procedures and certified fiscal compliance integrations for German cash register systems.

Name

Zeitfracht Medien GmbH

Legal name

Zeitfracht Medien GmbH

Website

https://kolibri360.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1930

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Zeitfracht Medien GmbH operates the Kolibri360 logistics and e-commerce fulfillment platform for publishers, bookshops, and consumer brands, running one of Europe's largest automated logistics centers in Erfurt with integrated print-on-demand production and a software stack serving over 5,500 booksellers across the DACH region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Logistics and Fulfillment Services

NAICS

Book, Periodical, and Newspaper Merchant Wholesalers (424920)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Parcel Shipping, Labeling & Rate Shopping Platforms (CRAFAMAF)

Keywords

• Logistics fulfillment services
• Book distribution services
• Print on demand
• Warehouse logistics
• E-commerce fulfillment

Headquarters

HQ city

Erfurt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Logistics and Fulfillment Services: Comprehensive fulfillment solutions including warehousing, order picking, packing, shipping, returns management, and value-added services. Revenue is generated through service fees for logistics operations for businesses from startup to international corporation scale.
2. Distribution (Wholesale and Publisher Delivery): Distribution services for bookshops (wholesale) and publishers (publisher distribution). Acts as barsortiment/grosshandel for the German book trade.
3. Print-on-Demand Production: Print-on-demand book production and distribution. Publishers pay printing costs offset against sales proceeds; billing occurs only once a book is produced and sold. Participation in the PoD process is generally free of charge with no participation fees for data storage and title listing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Zeitfracht Medien GmbH, operating as Kolibri360, provides end-to-end logistics and e-commerce fulfillment services, including warehousing, order picking, packaging, shipping, returns management, and value-added services for media, consumer electronics, consumer products, and fashion/lifestyle brands. It also operates book-trade wholesale (Barsortiment), publisher distribution, an integrated print-on-demand book production facility at Erfurt, and a portfolio of book-trade software (ECS2.0, pcbis.de, fitbis.de, buchkatalog.de).

Product overview

Kolibri360 is a logistics and e-commerce fulfillment platform operated by Zeitfracht Medien GmbH, offering comprehensive supply chain services for publishers, bookshops, and retailers. The core Kolibri360 Fulfillment platform manages warehousing, packaging, shipping, returns, and transportation with customs clearance. This is complemented by a portfolio of digital tools: ECS2.0 (E-Commerce Solutions 2.0) for online sales management, pcbis.de as an information and ordering system serving over 5,500 bookstores, fitbis.de for merchandise/inventory management, and buchkatalog.de as a book catalog platform. Buch&Co. operates as a bookstore sub-brand. Print-on-Demand services enable just-in-time book production at the Erfurt facility. Additional offerings include retail services for consumer electronics, book trolley delivery, category management, seminars, non-book products, and digital reading solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kolibri360: Primary operating brand for logistics and eCommerce fulfillment services including warehouse logistics, packaging, shipping, and returns management.
• Buch&Co.

Products and services

• Kolibri360 Fulfillment
• Consumer Electronics Logistics and Retail Services
• Barsortiment/Bookshop Wholesale (Buchhandel Großhandel)
• Publisher Distribution (Verlagsauslieferung)
• Print-on-Demand (PoD) Book Production

Quantifiable outcome

• Softcover production time under 2.5 hours; delivery in 1 to 3 business days
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AOK PLUScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Health and wellness partnership at the Erfurt location focused on workplace health promotion. Includes workplace inspections, practical workshops on safe lifting and carrying, and health day events. Partnership extended into its second year following a successful first year. Content tailored to employee groups with translations into Polish and English.
• German AirwaysminorOthersPartner at DTM season opener at the Red Bull Ring alongside Kolibri360, Speedlink, Fairtronics, and Rapoo. Represented in motorsport sponsorship context.
• SpeedlinkminorOthersPartner at DTM season opener at the Red Bull Ring alongside Kolibri360, German Airways, Fairtronics, and Rapoo. Represented in motorsport sponsorship context.
• FairtronicsminorOthersPartner at DTM season opener at the Red Bull Ring alongside Kolibri360, German Airways, Speedlink, and Rapoo. Represented in motorsport sponsorship context.
• RapoominorOthersPartner at DTM season opener at the Red Bull Ring alongside Kolibri360, German Airways, Speedlink, and Fairtronics. Represented in motorsport sponsorship context.
• CPI (Clays)coreTechnology or IntegrationPrint-on-demand production partner for book manufacturing, enabling expanded PoD services and increased title reach for publishers.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• KNV Zeitfracht (Koch, Neff & Volckmar): KNV is a major German book wholesaler and publisher distributor serving bookshops across DACH. A direct competitor in the Barsortiment and publisher distribution segments Kolibri360 operates in.
• Libri GmbH: Libri is one of Germany's largest book wholesalers (Barsortiment), supplying bookshops and publishers across DACH. Directly comparable to Kolibri360's core book trade wholesale and publisher distribution business.
• Umbreit GmbH & Co. KG: Umbreit is a German book Barsortiment and logistics services provider for publishers and bookshops. Operates an overlapping service portfolio with Kolibri360 in book trade fulfillment and distribution.
• VVA (Verlags-Vertrieb und Auslieferung): VVA is a German publisher distributor providing fulfillment, warehouse logistics, and shipping services for publishers, with overlapping customer profiles and service lines to Kolibri360.

Emerging players

• Book-on-Demand (BoD): BoD is a German print-on-demand and self-publishing platform serving independent authors and smaller publishers. Comparable to Kolibri360's PoD offering, though more focused on the self-publishing and SMB publisher segment.

Broad incumbents

• Fiege Logistics: Fiege is a major German-headquartered logistics provider offering contract logistics, e-commerce fulfillment, and value-added services. Comparable as a broad incumbent in mid-market 3PL services across multiple verticals.
• DHL Supply Chain: DHL Supply Chain is a global contract logistics provider offering warehousing, fulfillment, and value-added services across industries. Operates as a broad incumbent with overlapping capabilities to Kolibri360's contract logistics business.
• Ingram Content Group (Lightning Source): Ingram Content Group operates the largest English-language book wholesale and print-on-demand network globally. Comparable to Kolibri360 across book distribution and PoD, though at much greater scale and with broader geographic reach.
• Arvato (Bertelsmann): Arvato is a global supply chain and fulfillment solutions provider owned by Bertelsmann, serving publishing, media, and e-commerce clients. Comparable to Kolibri360 as a broad-based fulfillment incumbent operating at greater scale across multiple verticals.
• GLS (General Logistics Systems): GLS is a European parcel and logistics services provider with operations in Germany and across Europe. Adjacent to Kolibri360 in last-mile delivery and pan-European parcel capabilities used by publishers and e-commerce merchants.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zeitfrachtmedien
• Instagraminstagram.com/_kolibri360

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 →

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