For over 115 years, Ziegler has stood for international freight forwarding and logistics. What began as a small family business in Brussels is today a global family-owned company with a partner network spanning more than 120 countries.
Ziegler combines multimodal transport solutions across road, sea, air, rail, and inland waterways with customs expertise and the reach of a global player paired with the values of a family business. It is precisely this interplay that makes the difference when an entirely new regulation like CBAM hits the market.
CBAM as a service dimension between customs and compliance
As an experienced logistics and customs service provider, Ziegler recognised early on that the CBAM regulation opens up a new service dimension for its customers. Importers face the challenge of managing CBAM reporting obligations, emissions data collection, and, in the future, certificate trading, topics that sit directly at the intersection of customs and compliance.
Strategically, it was clear to Ziegler that CBAM is here to stay and will continue to grow. Operationally, a gap emerged at the same time when a key CBAM specialist left the company. That is exactly where the collaboration with kolum begins.
What the partnership means in practice
The collaboration goes beyond a classic customer relationship: it is a strategic partnership in which both sides bring their core competencies to the table.
Ziegler contributes decades of customs expertise, an international network, and direct access to importing companies. kolum delivers the specialised CBAM software, regulatory know-how, and the digital infrastructure for reporting, supplier engagement, and cost forecasting.
Together, both partners can offer their customers an integrated solution: from customs clearance through CBAM reporting to strategic cost planning for certificate trading.
Joint customer consulting. Ziegler and kolum appear together in front of customers to present CBAM solutions. The combination of Ziegler's customs expertise and kolum's software platform creates a compelling overall package.
CBAM symposia and training. As early as January 2026, Ziegler and kolum organised a CBAM symposium for mid-sized importers, featuring a panel discussion on liability questions, a cost overview, and practical approaches to solutions.
An operational safety net. kolum provides not only software but also substantive and operational support on CBAM matters, helping Ziegler bridge operational gaps and handle customer enquiries.
How the partnership operates
Ziegler and kolum work as one extended team across customer consulting, education and operations. kolum acts as the technology backbone and CBAM domain expert, while Ziegler brings deep customs and freight-forwarding knowledge into every engagement.
What has been achieved so far
A robust strategic partnership
As of June 2026, Ziegler and kolum have built a partnership that goes beyond mere software use and enables both companies to address the market jointly.
A shared knowledge and event format
The January 2026 symposium with various importers demonstrated that the combination of customs and CBAM expertise meets a sharp customer need.
An operational safety net
kolum ensures the continuity of Ziegler's CBAM offering through substantive and operational support on regulatory questions and customer enquiries.
What comes next
After the summer of 2026, both partners will expand their knowledge-sharing efforts. A range of knowledge formats on regulatory and legal CBAM topics is planned in both German and in English for the UK market, which will open its own compliance track with the British CBAM counterpart. In parallel, the operational collaboration is growing through the onboarding of further Ziegler customers onto the kolum platform.
For Ziegler, CBAM is the logical extension of its existing service portfolio. With kolum as its technology partner, Ziegler translates regulatory complexity into concrete added value for customers and differentiates itself in the market through an integrated CBAM tool that unites customs expertise and digital innovation.