Rhenus Logistics Improves Global IT Automation and Security

Customer Overview

The Rhenus Group is one of the leading logistics specialists with global business operations and annual turnover amounting to EUR 7.5 billion. 40,000 employees work at 1,320 business sites in more than 70 countries and develop innovative solutions along the complete supply chain. Whether providing transport, warehousing, customs clearance or value-added services, the family-owned business pools its operations in various business units where the needs of customers are the major focus at all times.

With operations spanning Europe, Asia, and North America, the company manages an extensive IT infrastructure that supports global supply chain operations.

Rhenus relies on 1,500 IT professionals who manage 35,000 Active Directory (AD) accounts and IT services worldwide to ensure seamless IT performance. As automation demands increased, maintaining security, efficiency, and compliance across multiple regions became a growing challenge. Rhenus required a centralized IT automation solution to address these issues and enhance security, operational oversight, and scalability across global teams.

Achievements

• Enabled SOX- and NIST-aligned auditing and policy enforcement
• Eliminated manual scripting, freeing up IT resources
• 400+ scripts automated, 240+ actions in use
• Faster rollout of new locations: weeks instead of months
• 168 helpdesk and 49 end users run scripts without admin rights
• Automated alerts and AD tasks improved daily operations

Challenge

Unifying Automation with Security in a Global IT Landscape

As PowerShell became an essential tool for automation, Rhenus faced increasing operational and security challenges that hindered scalability. With scripts running across multiple environments, IT teams needed to strengthen security, reduce manual work, and maintain governance consistency throughout the organization.  

Managing scripts across multiple environments became increasingly tricky without a clear framework, leading to inconsistencies, operational slowdowns, and elevated security risks.

Key Challenges in this automation project:

• Security & Compliance Risks → Many scripts contained embedded credentials, creating vulnerabilities. IT teams needed an even more structured approach to enforcing security policies and restricting script execution to approved users.  
• Manual Workload → IT staff spent significant time running scripts manually across multiple systems, which led to delays. This approach not only consumed valuable resources but also made automation less scalable. Reducing manual execution and ensuring consistency across locations became critical for improving efficiency and supporting growth.
• Need for Scalable, Secure Delegation → IT leaders sought to enable service desk teams and non-technical users to trigger approved automation securely without requiring administrative access or increasing security risks.

Rhenus required a secure, centralized automation framework with full auditing capabilities to meet IT compliance standards such as SOX and NIST.

Solution

Implementing ScriptRunner for Centralized IT Automation

To address these challenges, Rhenus deployed ScriptRunner as a centralized automation platform that enhanced security, standardized IT workflows, and improved operational oversight.

Key Benefits of IT Automation:

Enhanced Security & Compliance

• Sensitive credentials are securely stored, eliminating the need to embed them within scripts.
• With role-based access controls (RBAC), IT teams can precisely define user permissions, ensuring authorized personnel only execute automation tasks.
• Centralized audit logs provide complete visibility for IT governance and compliance tracking.

Task Automation & Delegation

• Service desk teams can securely execute automation tasks without requiring administrative privileges.
• Routine IT processes, such as Active Directory management, are now automated, reducing manual interventions.

Improved Control & Oversight

• Previously scattered scripts are now managed centrally, ensuring version control and reducing duplication.
• IT teams gain complete visibility into script execution and policy enforcement across global locations.

Scalability for Global IT Teams

• Automation workflows can now be rolled out consistently across locations, accelerating onboarding for new sites.
• With a standardized framework, IT teams can expand automation across the organization without adding unnecessary administrative complexity.

Automation in Practice: Key Successes at Rhenus

By adopting ScriptRunner, Rhenus significantly improved IT operations, reducing the manual effort required for essential service management. The automation framework removed inefficiencies, allowing IT teams to manage key processes more effectively.

How Rhenus Uses Automation to Improve IT Efficiency:

• Automated Maintenance Notifications: Instead of manually coordinating maintenance alerts across locations, Rhenus now uses ScriptRunner to automate the process. This shift has freed up valuable IT resources and ensured timely communication with internal teams.
• Active Directory Management: Manually managing 35,000 AD accounts required significant effort from IT staff, resulting in delays and operational inefficiencies. Service desk teams can securely handle group management tasks with minimal intervention, reducing IT ticket volume and improving response times.
• Onboarding & Integration Acceleration: Previously, onboarding new users and integrating new locations into IT systems took months. With ScriptRunner, this process was reduced to weeks, improving business expansion agility.

The Business Value of IT Automation at Rhenus

The deployment of IT automation enabled Rhenus to achieve significant efficiency gains, security improvements, and compliance alignment.

Business Impact Highlights:

• Secure IT automation with SOX & NIST-compliant audit logs, ensuring governance across all IT automation workflows.
• Removed manual script execution, enabling IT teams to prioritize strategic initiatives over repetitive tasks. The time saved freed up resources and reduced the risk of human error.
• 168 helpdesk users and 49 end users empowered to execute scripts securely without IT intervention.
• 400 scripts automated across various departments, with over 240 use cases deployed, improving IT productivity and reducing operational bottlenecks.
• Integration time for new locations was reduced from months to weeks, accelerating business expansion.

Future Outlook: Scaling IT Automation Further

Rhenus Logistics views IT automation as more than an efficiency tool - it is a long-term strategy to drive digital transformation, improve security, and strengthen IT governance across a global enterprise. With ScriptRunner, Rhenus has laid one more groundwork for a fully automated IT landscape that is scalable, secure, and compliant.

Strategic Next Steps in IT Automation:

• Scaling end-to-end automation across global IT operations to reduce manual dependencies and accelerate business responsiveness.
• Strengthening compliance-driven automation frameworks to meet evolving regulatory demands while improving security enforcement.
• Embedding automation into digital business processes beyond IT, ensuring that automation becomes a core driver of enterprise-wide efficiency.
• Increased use of centralized script libraries to standardize operations across their global network.

Conclusion: IT Automation as a Competitive Advantage

By integrating a centralized automation framework, Rhenus has strengthened IT resilience and positioned itself for long-term scalability.

Key Takeaways:

• Automation is a foundation for IT scalability. Standardizing automation processes ensures operational efficiency and governance across global locations.
• Strategic IT transformation starts with eliminating manual bottlenecks. Automating IT workflows allows teams to focus on high-impact innovation instead of routine administrative work.
• A proactive automation strategy future-proofs IT resilience. Secure and compliant automation strengthens cybersecurity postures while reducing long-term operational costs.

Companies that fail to invest in automation risk falling behind in scalability and compliance. As global IT environments grow more complex, organizations that embrace automation strengthen their ability to drive innovation and stay competitive.

Through its partnership with ScriptRunner, Rhenus Logistics has transformed its IT operations and positioned itself as a leader in secure, scalable IT automation.