Interview with Dennis Spamer, Managing Director of Movianto DACH
Meet Dennis Spamer, the Managing Director of Movianto DACH. Starting as a sales representative at Trans-o-flex, Dennis has risen to his current role, driven by a passion for pharma logistics and problem-solving for clients.
In this interview, he emphasises strategic focus and delegation, sharing insights into the DACH region’s healthcare market and its challenges. Under his leadership, Movianto excels with extensive cool storage facilities and a comprehensive service network, providing clients with efficient and reliable logistics solutions.
Q: Can you tell us about your career journey and your past experiences in logistics?
Dennis Spamer: I studied business administration initially, and during my studies, I realised that my passion lies in commercial and sales roles, which led me to my first job as a sales representative at Trans-o-flex. When I became familiar with pharma logistics, specifically for the German market, this became the initial step to my career. I worked there for 10 years, progressing from sales rep to key account manager and then country specialist. After that I moved to GLS where I took up the position of Division Sales Manager. Eventually, I joined Movianto in 2015 as the commercial director for eight countries (Benelux, Nordics, DACH, CEE). After five years and the acquisition by EHDH, I was asked to take the position of Managing Director for DACH which I accepted to broaden my horizons and successfully drive the business of Movianto forward. This is now my fifth year in this role.
Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in pharma/healthcare logistics?
Dennis Spamer: It’s such a complex field that never gets boring. The wide range of projects and activities, along with the different needs and requirements on the clients’ side, kept me in logistics. And most importantly, in the healthcare sector, you know you’re helping people. It’s not about selling t-shirts; it’s about life-saving products, really delivering an improvement in people’s quality of life.
Q: Is there anything that you know now and wish you had known earlier in your career?
Dennis Spamer: With growing experience I’ve realised that you can’t do and should not do everything by yourself. Initially, that’s what I tried even as MD, doing it my way, pursuing perfection. Today, I would tell my past self to get out of daily business, focus on the development and strategy of the company, and trust the team to execute and meet their targets. This approach takes away pressure and creates the type of trusting work environment that fosters joy and makes the team stronger.
Q: Can you give some more details about the specificities of your country’s healthcare market and systems locally?
Dennis Spamer: The DACH region is the largest market for healthcare in Europe. A lot of R&D is done, but production is mostly done outside of Europe; many products come from Asia and the USA. There is a growing trend of returning manufacturing to Germany due to the effects of the corona crisis such as out of stocks due to delays in international supply chains. But this is a slow trend, and it will be a while before we see a real shift in the market.
In this market Movianto DACH is a very well-placed distributor. Our central position in Europe and large domestic market often make us a preferred European or even worldwide distribution centre for pharmaceutical manufacturers who want to enter Europe. Additionally, for sustainability purposes, clients are increasingly seeking supply chains with shorter distances, higher consolidation and resilience. This trend aligns with our capabilities, allowing us to offer our clients more efficient and sustainable European logistics solutions from a central location.
Q: What are some specific healthcare distribution challenges in your country?
Dennis Spamer: In the DACH region, the pharmaceutical and healthcare markets are quite heavily regulated. However, manufacturing costs remain high. This leads to a challenging situation for many manufacturers, where they can’t bear the cost of production, leading to lower production and medicine shortages.
Along with an ageing population, increases in homecare, and the fragility of supply chains as seen during the corona crisis, this means that medicines are even more in demand, with ever increasing barriers to steady supply. Our job is to help pharma manufacturers make their supply chains more resilient, and to support availability of their products as much as possible during shortages.
Q: What are the current trends in the pharma logistics industry in your country?
Dennis Spamer: Due to technological advances in the pharmaceutical industry, there are more and more biologics and biotech products, which are often more sensitive to temperature and have shortened product life cycles. These medicines often require faster distribution, and a supply chain with controlled temperature in warehousing and transportation.
Additionally, we are seeing a trend towards anti-obesity medicines that often require temperature-controlled transport at very large volumes. This is why we are investing across the group to increase our storage capacities, as the need for cold and controlled ambient storage increases because of these new products.
Q: What makes your country’s logistics operations unique? What types of products do you specialise in?
Dennis Spamer: Our speciality is cool storage, our 2-8°C GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) manufacturing area, and controlled areas for sensitive and high-value products. We have the largest cool storage capacity for p
harmaceutical products in the country and have developed special services for our clients according to their needs. For example, our GMP area for medical devices allows us to do refurbishment, technical checks, secondary packaging and cleaning, among other services.
Q: What unique services does your logistics operation offer that set you apart from competitors?
Dennis Spamer: Our unique selling point is that, as part of the Walden Group, we offer a full range of services within our fully healthcare-dedicated network, from pickup at the manufacturer to rework in the warehouse to delivery to the end client. No one else has this network in place; all competitors need to rely on at least one third party or subco
ntractor.
Because of our European network, Movianto DACH can act as an entry gate to other countries. Our clients can therefore benefit from simultaneously expanding their international distribution, while consolidating their third-party supplier network, making their lives easier and simpler to manage. Through Movianto, they already have the contacts, know the process, the people, and the interfaces.
Q: Can you provide examples of how these services have benefited your clients?
Dennis Spamer: We have several case studies showcasing the benefits our services have provided. For example, since 2021, we are managing all warehouse logistics for TVM Tiergesundheit, including storage, quality control, pick and pack of shipping orders, and returns management. This partnership has been so successful that they extended their contract with us for another three years, planning to double their shipping volume and expand their product range.
Our clients also know that we are experts in the market. It does happen that pharmaceutical companies who previously took care of their logistics in-house but have made the strategic decision to give up this activity often turn to us, because we provide the full range of services they need.
Q: How do you ensure the quality and reliability of your services?
Dennis Spamer: First and most importantly, we have the right people in place, a dedicated team of experts who know the business and are highly trained in quality standards.
Beyond this, transparency is key; we’ve implemented many digital tools that give us the transparency to know where something is going wrong and to make adjustments. For example, in the DACH region we have an activity time tracker in the warehouse, providing updates every five minutes on the number of orders and their journey throughout the warehouse. This allows us a granular view of whether we are behind or ahead on orders, which parts of the warehouse are busiest, and where there are potential risks.