Celebrating 20+ years of partnership for a more sustainable future : How Kuehne+Nagel and Lexmark make a difference

• Over 20 years of partnership across all continents
• Kuehne+Nagel and Lexmark collaborate on sustainable logistics and circular economy principles
• The Lexmark Cartridge Collection Program (LCCP) has been reducing waste and minimising the environmental impact

SCHINDELLEGI/ CH : The partnership between Kuehne+Nagel and Lexmark is based on the common commitment to sustainability and the circular economy. Kuehne+Nagel and Lexmark achieved their 20-year partnership in 2020. The collaboration started in Belgium with a medium-sized contract logistics hub and has since expanded globally, with Kuehne+Nagel offering contract logistics, sea, air and road logistics as well as integrated logistics services across all continents.

Since 2004, Kuehne+Nagel’s 4PL team has been working with Lexmark to develop and optimise the Lexmark Cartridge Collection Program (LCCP). As part of the LCCP, Lexmark collects used printer cartridges and remanufactures and recycles them, reducing waste and minimising the environmental impact of discarded materials. Thanks to Kuehne+Nagel’s global integrated logistics network and expertise of managing reverse logistics across all modes of transport, the company helps Lexmark carry out its LCCP programme in over 30 countries across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). The capacity to act as a transport broker for waste carriers across all Europe and beyond, has brought its strong contribution to the long and sustainable partnership. The team designed different box sizes to reduce carton waste and space during transportation while also consolidating orders to optimise line hauls from different locations across Europe, to the Lexmark partner’s remanufacturing centre in Poland. In addition, Kuehne+Nagel’s 4PL team has developed a customised order management system with integration to Lexmark’s IT systems to initiate and monitor return flows, further streamlining the reverse logistics process for Lexmark.

A significant milestone in this partnership was the establishment of the Alliance Control Centres (ACC), operated by Kuehne+Nagel in Hungary and Poland. Here, a team of specialists collaborates closely with Lexmark to enhance their operations and introduce sustainable, circular practices. The ACC serves as a hub for managing and optimising logistics operations, ensuring that they are efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective.

In addition, Lexmark supports Kuehne+Nagel by providing sustainable print solutions such as Lexmark Managed Print Services (MPS). With the help of the MPS, Kuehne+Nagel optimises its print infrastructure, ensures best-in-class service and supports and streamlines its workflows, thereby reducing its printer fleet, achieving a 77% reduction in cost per page and saving millions of pages of paper.

Gianfranco Sgro, member of the Management Board of Kuehne+Nagel International AG, responsible for Contract Logistics and Integrated Logistics, comments: “Collaboration is an essential aspect of any successful business, and when two companies join forces, the results can be remarkable. The collaboration between Kuehne+Nagel and Lexmark proves the power of partnerships in driving positive change. With our new Roadmap 2026, we will continue to combine our expertise and resources, allowing the two companies to take their businesses to the next level and work towards a sustainable future.”

Lee Ann Disponett, Manager Corporate Sustainability and EH&S at Lexmark, says: “What started out as a relatively small cartridge collection programme in the 1990s has become a state-of-the-art remanufacturing and recycling mission that is setting standards in our industry and combining high-performance logistics and service with innovative tools to offer a collection, remanufacturing, recycling and reuse process. Over 40% of our cartridges are being returned for remanufacturing. Lexmark devices contain an average of 39% PCR plastic vs. 7%1 as the industry standard. During the past 20 years, Kuehne+Nagel has been not only a reliable partner but also an enabler that has empowered us to deliver on our sustainability goals by carrying out the reverse logistics of our LCCP programme. We are grateful for this partnership and look forward to taking it to the next level by continuing and expanding our partnership in sustainability.”