Strategic Market Expansions in the Rail Freight Sector

The study at hand deals with the performance analysis of a globally operating service provider after a completed market expansion in an international context. This subject is elucidated by reference to the example of DB Schenker Rail's entry into the Polish rail freight market through the acquisition of PCC Rail. First, the Polish rail freight market is analyzed from an industry perspective based on Michael Porter's Five Forces model to identify the forces acting upon a company and the estimated profitability of the respective industry. Subsequently, a statement on whether the results of the overall industry are in alignment with the example DB Schenker Rail is made. The term profitability is operationalized through the introduction of the profit margin and the respective profit margins are checked against each other. By means of this result, and the inclusion of other quantitative and qualitative performance measures, a conclusive statement is made on whether DB Schenker Rail's market entry in Poland can be considered a success.