Much more than just cost control: In this interview, Christoph Hollenstein, Head of Group Controlling, talks about his role in the company, current challenges, and why he finds logistics so fascinating.

 

Mr. Hollenstein, what are your responsibilities at Militzer & Münch, and how is your area structured?

I have been Head of Group Controlling for Militzer & Münch since February 2016. I am also responsible for quality management at group level. Prior to that, I held a similar position for around ten years at an internationally active, family-run Swiss fashion company in St. Gallen.

The main purpose of controlling is to support corporate management with transparent, reliable information—in other words, to analyze and evaluate financial indicators and derive recommendations for action from them. Controlling is therefore much more than just cost control: it combines strategy, planning, and guidance and plays a key role in keeping the company on track.

Our core team is based here in St. Gallen. In addition, our country units have their own contact persons for these tasks, depending on the size and structure of the branch. In smaller units, controlling and quality management are often handled by the financial accountant or the head of administration.

From a controlling perspective, how would you assess the year 2025? What challenges and developments had the greatest impact?

Despite somewhat challenging economic conditions, Militzer & Münch keeps growing. Our new country units in Taiwan, Germany, Singapore, and Belgium require additional effort at first, but they also open up many opportunities for us. For controlling, this means integrating new processes while ensuring comparability within the group.

The pace has picked up in recent years. Militzer & Münch is now implementing projects and start-ups in ever-faster succession. This requires a great deal of flexibility from both our country units and our headquarters.

One important project we are currently working on is the next-generation version of our consolidation and reporting software, which is used worldwide at Militzer & Münch. In the future, we want to make greater use of the software’s expanded capabilities, especially in the area of reporting. Our goal is to make our evaluations more up-to-date and interactive—in other words, to meet the increasing demands for transparency and speed.

Why do you find the logistics industry fascinating?

Logistics is one of the most exciting industries out there: it is constantly changing, globally networked, and full of challenges, from digitalization and new mobility concepts to geopolitical changes. This dynamic makes the work incredibly varied.

And what do you appreciate about working for Militzer & Münch?

We are a family-run company with short decision-making processes and flat hierarchies. This structure allows us to react quickly and act pragmatically. We are also renowned for our high level of resilience. In recent years, we have demonstrated that we can thrive even in difficult markets.

I am delighted that we, as the Controlling team, can contribute to Militzer & Münch’s international growth trajectory—with transparency, reliability, and a focus on what really matters.

 

Dobanovci, Serbia. “Our goal is the region, and with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro as our first step, we have embarked on our strategic expansion course,” says M&M Serbia’s Executive Director Nikola Vasiljevic. “Plans are to extend our brand to other neighboring countries.”

M&M Bosnia-Herzegovina and M&M Montenegro were both founded in the summer of 2021. “Bosnia Herzegovina is a growing market with significant potential. Montenegro is the smaller market, but not less important to the M&M Serbia network,” says Nikola Vasiljevic, who heads the new country units. At this time, both M&M Bosnia Herzegovina and M&M Montenegro have a staff of three; road transportation is the main business, but warehousing and customs clearance are offered, too.  The first full business year is behind the two companies, and we wanted to know how they developed.

Challenges and lessons

“For both markets, the past two years were quite challenging for and highly unpredictable, but despite the challenges, we were able to adapt and contribute to the growth of the local logistics and transportation markets,” says Nikola Vasiljevic, who heads the two new units. “Our unique and personalized approach to each client has allowed us to assess the market and our capacities accurately, elevating service to a new level and finding the best solution for every inquiry. Most of the clients we work with in Montenegro and Bosnia Herzegovina are clients with whom we have had long-standing partnerships in Serbia. The focus is on import.”

“Were there any positive or negative surprises in the development of either company,” we ask.

“For a large corporation like ours, surprises, both positive and negative, are an integral part of business. The expertise of our staff is extremely important, as well as their approach to any particular situation. On a daily basis, we face challenges and strive to extract the maximum benefit from them. To us, negative situations are lessons that we can leverage as advantages in the future.”