Ludwig leads strategic, corporate finance, and transformation projects for transport and logistics clients, with a focus on airlines and airports, parcel and express, freight forwarding, contract logistics, and shipping. He serves as one of the firm’s lead experts and speakers for the express and air cargo spaces. He has developed McKinsey’s client outreach publications and knowledge on the issues of unlocking growth, profitability, and better capital efficiency across the transport and logistics sectors.
Within e-commerce logistics, Ludwig has enhanced McKinsey’s perspectives on new delivery trends, such as same-day, on-demand, e-grocery delivery, cross-border shipping, and e-commerce fulfillment. He has a deep understanding of the need for companies to venture into new business models or markets, supporting European and Asian parcel companies in re-establishing themselves as e-commerce enablers, for example.
Examples of Ludwig’s recent client work include the following:
- in post, parcel, and express: designing and executing long-term corporate transformation plans for several postal companies in the face of e-substitution on mail and e-commerce boom on parcel side, developing an expansion strategy for a major parcel and express provider with market entries into several of the fast-growing B2C and e-commerce delivery markets in Southeast Asia and Latin America—yielding double-digit market shares within five years—and due diligences on several parcel networks in European countries in preparation of a takeover, including parcel market forecasts
- in logistics: greenfield business building of an innovative express trucking and cold chain player in India; defining commercial strategy for a leading freight forwarder, establishing target business footprint in 2023, reaction to trends and disruptions, and setup of corresponding new sales approach, improving hit rates and gross margins by over ten percent; and supporting second-tier contract logistics and freight forwarding companies in India, Turkey, and the Middle East in internationalization and IPO readiness
- in air cargo: designing long-term strategy for a European cargo airline enabling multibillion-dollar investments into new freighter aircraft, supporting a leading air cargo hub in setting up a cargo community system and data sharing to achieve efficiency gains of triple digit million USD across stakeholders, and due diligences and merger management in the air cargo sector with carriers, equipment providers, sales agencies, customs brokers, and digital platforms
- in airlines: designing long-term fleet strategy for a leading European airline, improving capital efficiency by more than ten percent; acquisition and integration planning for two larger network carriers deals in Europe, supporting an airline alliance in the assessment of including a new major member airline, and designing a sustainability path including mid- and long-term decarbonization goals and initiatives for a leading European airline group
- in shipping: designing and implementing a cross-functional cost improvement program yielding $400 million savings for a leading container line, vessel charter and fleet strategies for several shipping lines, and improving capital and operating expenditures per twenty-foot-equivalent-unit capacity by almost five percent
Prior to joining McKinsey, Ludwig worked at law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in Frankfurt and New York, where he advised transportation clients on all legal aspects of M&A transactions and regular fleet and asset-investment programs.