From Swiss Coffee Desk to Worldwide Procurement Operator
The Commodity Supplies story since 1997 — and the CSA Group chapter it has been writing all along.
1997
Founded in Switzerland
17
Offices worldwide
800 000+
TEU handled per year
[ SINCE 1997 ]
Built on outcomes, grown by reputation.
The origin
We never wanted to be another freight forwarder.
Commodity Supplies was founded in 1997 because too many logistics providers focused on moving containers and cared little about the cargo inside the container. Roland Maier believed there was a better way.
One where responsibility didn't end with getting containers on board. Where expertise mattered as much as execution. Where customers didn't need to chase updates or solve operational problems themselves.
Instead, they had a partner who understood both the cargo and the shipping market, which quietly made complexity disappear. More than twenty-five years later, that philosophy still defines every shipment we handle.
"Sit on the client's side of the table. Take ownership of the complexity. Deliver as if the cargo were our own."
The reputation
Operations built our reputation. Not marketing.
Commodity Supplies wasn't built through advertising, cold calls or polished sales presentations. It was built shipment by shipment.
Customers stayed because problems were solved before they became disruptions.
A booking had already been rearranged after a blank sailing has been announced.
A Shipment Plan has been presented proactively without asking
That's how trust is earned.
Over time, customers began recommending us to others, not because we promised exceptional service, but because they experienced it themselves.
The words our long-standing customers use today are the same ones that defined us decades ago: reliable, honest, personal, agile, adaptable, going the extra mile.
Those aren't marketing slogans. They're the standard every member of our team is expected to live up to.
Beyond coffee
The cargo changed. The standard didn't.
What began with coffee didn't stay there. As customers grew, so did the trust they placed in us.
Coffee became cocoa. Then cotton, tea, sugar and a growing range of consumer products. Eventually, some of the world's most demanding manufacturers and retailers entrusted us with their global supply chains:
The cargo changed.
Our way of working didn't.
The same ownership.
The same operational discipline.
The same commitment to solving problems before they became disruptions.
Today, companies including Mars, Electrolux, Barry Callebaut and JDE rely on the same principles that earned the trust of our very first customers.
Twenty-nine years, independently growing.
Four services. One connected supply chain.
[ The CSA Group stack ]
The technology layer
Cargoo OS
The platform that powers everything from Procure, Plan, Execute & Control. Standalone, or behind any CSA service.
The oversight layer
CSA Control Tower
End-to-end visibility and exception resolution — not just reporting. Teams on the ground, standardised quality, Cargoo powering live ocean freight handling.
The sourcing layer
CSA Procurement
Three decades of freight market intelligence, pooled volumes and best-negotiated carrier terms.
The execution layer
CSA Global Logistics
Local teams in every key trading country, one contact, complete peace of mind on the moving parts.
[ Looking forward ]
The cargo will keep changing. The promise won't.
The geography will keep expanding. The technology underneath will keep getting smarter. The promise — sit on the client's side of the table, take ownership of the complexity, deliver as if the cargo were our own — does not.
1997 — 2025
Commodity Supplies built the foundation.
2026 →
CSA Group is what we built it for.
[ Talk to procurement ]
Send us your top trade lanes and typical volumes — an experienced operator will come back with a benchmarked rate, a clear view of how we'd run the work, and a straight answer on which procurement mode fits.