Defense needs business – Germany’s role as NATO’s logistics hub

• A new study analyzes how Germany can increase its defensive capability through cooperation between the private sector and military
• As NATO’s logistics hub, Germany needs a new form of partnership between the state and the private sector
• Draft solution: Military requirements and private sector capacity can be coordinated and managed via a digital platform
• Clear responsibilities, data security, and incentives for companies are prerequisites

Berlin – Germany was on the front line between East and West during the Cold War – today it is NATO’s logistics hub in Europe. In the event of a crisis or collective defense scenario, up to 800,000 soldiers would have to be redeployed through Germany within six months while being kept supplied. Germany’s role as a logistics hub requires considerable resources, effective logistics, and strategic digital coordination of all players. The country’s armed forces do not have to take on this task alone, however, because one potential solution involves a digital, systematic, and data-driven partnership with the private sector.

The study conducted by the management and IT consultancy MHP, the Center for Sustainable Transformation (zNT) at Quadriga University of Applied Sciences Berlin, and the German armed forces’ in-house consultancy BwConsulting GmbH reveals what a working relationship of this kind could look like and why cooperation between the private sector and military is indispensable. The focus here is on the creation of a digital platform for linking private sector supply capacity with military requirements in a manner that is both transparent and capable of being coordinated.

Henning Schulze, Partner at MHP: “MHP can contribute its many years of experience from the automotive and manufacturing industries. These industries show how resilience, efficiency, and controllability can succeed. This knowledge is crucial to our country’s defense capability. The study highlights how this potential can be exploited in practice – using digital twins and simulations, for example.”

Michael Rogasch, Managing Director at BwConsulting: “The study provides an example of how the Operational Plan for Germany (OPLAN DEU) could be operationalized and implemented. It also shows the substantial benefit of our comprehensive defense framework, which provides a functional structure for the concept of integrated security as set out in the National Security Strategy and thus creates an implementation-focused understanding of the defense of the state and society as a whole.”  

Prof. Torsten Oltmanns, Managing Partner at the zNT: “Defense capability is not achieved by equipment alone, but by cooperation and trust between the state, business, and society.”

The study clearly shows that Germany’s defense capability is significantly influenced by cooperation with the private sector. For the first time, a common digital platform can systematically link military requirements with private sector capabilities, generating speed, transparency, and reliability in the supply operation. It is now time to adopt tried-and-tested concepts and permanently establish cooperation between the private sector and military. The capabilities of the private sector are a necessity rather than an option.

The full study is available to download here.