Schenker on the ball
20 / 06 / 2013
AIRFREIGHT is playing its part in world soccer, reports top German forwarder DB Schenker.
With governing body FIFA selecting German goal line technology, GoalControl, located at Würselen in North Rhine-Westphalia, to be its official supplier at this year’s Confederations Cup in Brazil, DB Schenker Logistics then ensured the smooth transportation, customs clearance and on-time delivery of the systems directly to the stadiums.
Experts at Schenker were responsible for transporting six complete sets, with 14 high-speed cameras, computers, IT equipment, cables, assembly equipment and even the soccer balls including ball pumps – by airfreight from Germany to the six stadiums.
The new goal line technology system continuously captures the position of the ball in three dimensions. If the ball crosses the goal line completely, the central processing unit sends an encrypted radio signal to the referee’s watch in less than one second.
The airfreight project posed a special challenge for the logistics experts at DB Schenker. "In some cases, we had only nine business days for securing the freight capacity, to collect the shipment in Würselen, take care of the flight and customs formalities and then deliver it to the Brazilian stadium, reveals Christian Schultze, head of DB SCHENKER sportsevents, in Germany.
“As there are no direct cargo planes to Rio, we had to accommodate the entire volume on passenger flights," he adds.