Commercial vehicle owners, shipping companies, transport companies, commercial vehicle manufacturers, workshops, contractors and farmers all have one thing in common: they need components – fast. Winkler has the parts, the Quali-Night overnight express gets them where they need to go.

But while it might sound simple in principle, it is highly complex in reality. It requires availability, speed, reliability, security and much more. That is why Switzerland’s Winkler Fahrzeugteile GmbH chose Quali-Night by the transport companies Camion Transport, Galliker Transport and Planzer Transport as the overnight service provider. ‘We owe part of our success to professional partners like Quali-Night,’ says René Horath, Sales Director for Switzerland.

The overnight service ensures speed in the automotive business.

When a Winkler customer orders a part by telephone or online from Ulm before the cut-off time of 3:30 pm, or by 6:00 pm from branches in Switzerland, Quali-Night delivers by 7:00 am the next morning at the latest. And not just anywhere, but exactly where the Winkler customer wants it – the trunk of a service vehicle or the workshop manager’s tool box. The Winkler customer uses Quali-Night to arrange a depository space defined down to the centimetre with a matching key, or another depository space arrangement.

There and back at full speed

Efficient returns management is particularly important for spare parts and vehicle components as a selection of replacement parts might be ordered and delivered. Quali-Night takes care of all the returns handling for Winkler customers in addition to the overnight service. In this case, the driver takes the returns when they deliver the shipment. These are recorded as return orders and treated like normal shipments. The next night, the goods arrive at the Quali-Night hub in Kölliken to be sorted before onward dispatch that same night.

Growing together overnight

Quali-Night began its overnight service for Winkler in 2002. This followed close relationships and joint projects with Planzer. But it’s not just this long-term cooperation that connects Quali-Night and Winkler. The companies share a set of values. These include a sense of humanity, a capacity for communication, reliability, drive and sustainability – in short: responsibility. The two companies are growing together, developing and perfecting joint solutions, focusing on fairness and loyalty, maintaining a cooperative and open dialogue, and keeping decision-making processes as simple as possible. Both are family-run operations of long standing with an entrepreneurial perspective measured not in quarterly financial statements but in generations. ‘Sure, in a family you might slam the door now and then. But you never lock it,’ says René Horath.

A question of time

Why Quali-Night? René Horath has no doubt: ‘Because Quali-Night delivers what our customers need with the speed and quality in which they need it. The right part in the right place at the right time!’ For Winkler customers, speed and reliability are paramount.

Winkler and its customers can sleep peacefully because, with Quali-Night, their business continues to run smoothly at night. The late pick-up and early delivery means Winkler customers can start replacing parts right away in the morning. It also means they don’t have to maintain their own warehouses that tie up capital and resources as time to market is guaranteed and there’s no time lost. The night routes are always driven by the same drivers. They unload the orders quietly and according to strict safety rules. These process-oriented methods reduce downtime and increase efficiency – day and night.

Fast formalities

With most of the components arriving in Switzerland from the central Winkler warehouse in Ulm, Germany, they have to be cleared through customs. Customs formalities are part of the day-to-day logistics process. With a T2 document, Quali-Night can bring components from the EU to non-EU Switzerland duty-free and tax-free. The truck that brings the components from Germany crosses the border without delay. Once delivered to the Quali-Night-Hub in Kölliken, the goods are cleared by Quali-Night as an approved recipient and the T2 document is deleted.

‘We want to grow together with our business partners.’

René Horath, Sales Director for Switzerland, Winkler Fahrzeugteile GmbH

Winkler Fahrzeugteile GmbH

Based in Stuttgart, the Winkler family company has 42 locations across Europe in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Slovakia with a full range of 200,000 parts for commercial vehicles and agricultural machinery. Its customers include logistics and shipping companies, agricultural contractors, bus companies, workshops and commercial vehicle owners. The long-standing company has a staff of almost 1,700. In Switzerland, 84 employees work at the Egerkingen, Eschlikon and Etagnières sites. Winkler Switzerland was established in Neuendorf in 1994. The Swiss national headquarters have been domiciled in Egerkingen since October 2013.

Quali-Night AG

The joint venture of the three prestigious transport companies Camion Transport AG, Galliker Transport AG and Planzer Transport AG handles national and international overnight services. Founded in 1994, the company operates with seasoned professionals and a modern fleet of vehicles. The high-tech logistics hub in Kölliken encompasses a handling area measuring 15,000 m2 and an ultra-modern sorting system. From there, the highly qualified Quali-Night AG drivers set off night after night on 90 rounds throughout Switzerland and Liechtenstein. And that’s how 4,000 shipments – 10,000 packages or 100 tonnes of transported goods – reach their destination by 7:00 am

+41 (0) 44 / 744 64 64 Contact form Customer portal Locations Jobs Online store