GSI Commerce Inc. announced that Tobias Hartmann has been appointed as chief executive officer of the company’s Global Operations organization.
In this role, Hartmann will oversee the three businesses– Fulfillment and Freight Services, Customer Service and Direct Response–that comprise GSI Global Operations and provide e-commerce operations services to companies in North America and Europe.
Hartmann joins GSI from D+S GmbH, a leading European customer management group offering customer service, billing solutions and end-to-end e-commerce services.
“Getting the operational aspect of online shopping right is core to our clients success,” said Michael G. Rubin, co-founder and CEO of GSI. “Our proprietary programs and ability to quickly scale up and down as our clients needs rapidly change throughout the year have enabled us to help them compete effectively in their respective markets. We are fortunate to have Tobias join our company. We look forward to having him take our capabilities to a new level by providing additional value for our client base and their consumers.”
“GSI is well-respected across the industry for excellence in operations,” stated Tobias Hartmann, CEO of GSI Global Operations. “Very few organizations can do what GSI does and at the same time deliver an exceptional consumer experience. I am excited to join the company and look forward to helping provide a leading shopping experience that both delights the end customer and raises the bar in the industry.”
The Operations organization consists of more than 3,400 employees, dedicated to:
— Fulfillment and Freight Services: GSI operates five e-commerce fulfillment centers in the United States and one in Canada, encompassing more than 2.7 million square feet as well as two facilities in the United Kingdom. Within these facilities, GSI utilizes a multi-level pick mezzanine infrastructure and world-class warehouse management systems to provide customized direct-to-consumer fulfillment solutions, including order management, real-time order status updates, and reverse logistics services. Through scale and partnership with leading freight providers, GSI offers clients favorable shipping rates and innovative freight programs, including its ShipQuik shipping program. Under this program, packages are presorted by customer zip code shortening time in transit.
— Customer Care: Through three call centers in the United States and a network of at-home agents, plus one call center in the United Kingdom, GSI provides customer care capabilities for e-commerce via telephone and email. GSI combines proprietary and third-party technologies, including automatic call distribution, computer telephone integration, interactive voice response (IVR), email, workforce management, voice recording/monitoring and customer relationship management systems in the customer care platform. The U.K. call center offers customer care in 11 languages.
— Direct Response: Direct response provides fulfillment, call centers and related value added services to the direct response television industry. GSI operates fulfillment and call center facilities that are located near the port of Los Angeles, which enables it to quickly turnaround inbound containers from Asia. Direct response utilizes a proprietary technology system that supports the unique needs of the direct response industry, including multi-pay, up sells and backorder management.
Hartmann was the chief operating officer of D+S, a position he held since 2005. His responsibilities included the management of NETRADA, D+S e-commerce service provider. NETRADA provides full service e-commerce solutions to numerous large and international apparel and fashion clients both in Europe and the US.
Prior to his role with D+S GmbH, Tobias was with Loyalty Partner GmbH serving as a member of the Management Board. At Loyalty Partner, Tobias was part of creating Europe’s leading loyalty platform with more than 30 million participating cardholders. Tobias oversaw Loyalty Partner’s brand management, database marketing, customer service and fulfillment operations, IT, account management and rewards program. Tobias experience also includes working for international top management consultancy firm Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in France and Germany.
