Category: Business

5 Off-Beat tips when selecting a Freight provider

We have also seen large multi-nationals operate budget brands where their business model is based on small margins, they do not promise the earth but offer non urgent delivery options.

Let’s use an example from my home country New Zealand.

Mainfreight is one of New Zealand’s largest freight companies, based in Auckland they have expanded operations offshore and now operate in Australia, Asia and the US.

In New Zealand they operate four freight companies, three of which cross over in terms of service offering.  A smart business model as it may seem, you would be hard pressed to find their various brands on the Mainfreight website.  Why?  It is because their competitive advantage is based on clear brand separation.

Companies that adopt this business model can leverage their brands to increase market share and in most cases increased resources can benefit their clients.

Globally, we see acquisitions all the time, just check the Global Logistics Media website, you will see plenty of press releases from freight companies acquiring small niche freight businesses to increase market share. API cek ongkir

The recession is the perfect storm for acquisitions.

My concern is not for the small to medium sized freight company but the unsuspecting business owner who utilize freight companies.  When choosing to engage a freight company, do your due diligence because let’s be honest, the sales rep doesn’t give a stuff about you, they just want to close the deal and reach their budget.

So here are 5 Off-Beat tips about selecting a freight provider.

1) Ask them if they have a Facebook or Twitter page, if they don’t ask why not. Companies that do not engage in social media usually have something to hide.

2) Try and find out what other companies they operate, then talk to their subsidiaries and the customers of those subsidiaries, if you discover negative feedback then you will most probably discover a trend throughout their whole operation.  (Hint:  Talk to the budget brand).

3) Talk to more than one Sales Rep from the same freight company, and ask them the same questions.  You might find three sales reps giving two or three different answers, this is not good.

4) If you have a freight company in mind, try and find a sales rep that used to work for that company, I can guarantee they will be more truthful about their previous employer. Beware though; take their feedback with a pinch of salt.

5) If you get the opportunity talk to the decision makers of the Freight Company and I’m not talking about the Executives, I’m talking about their Warehouse workers.  Get a feel for their working conditions, morale, pay rates, productivity, enthusiasm and punctuality. Company culture is fostered at the top and works its way down to the shop floor.

In the meantime, global economic momentum appears to be gathering pace.

Hans Rasmussen, President and CEO of APEC, said: “At the launch of APEC 2015, we reaffirmed our commitment to ambitious, sustainable, low-carbon development to build a global economic forum for growth and sustainable development. We can use the benefits from low-carbon developments to reap the rewards of Asia’s growth and unleash the benefits for the whole world.”

APEC’s other proposed initiatives are focused on investing in better transportation and freight mobility; expanding economic opportunity and boosting productivity; supporting a stable global economy and its ability to create jobs and economic opportunities in developing and low-income countries; and working to develop a comprehensive regional framework to address global and regional trans-boundary environmental challenges.

Possible Progress

Non-regional options to extend Asia-Pacific integration and advance regional cooperation in logistics and trade have also been explored in past APEC Chair’s Conventions.

After three rounds of negotiations on the Working Group on Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs), the APEC Secretariat released the APEC Technical Mechanism on Preference Closer Integration (MTC), which is directed towards developing a set of standards to enhance investment opportunities and reduce cost pressures in transboundary industries, facilitate investments in regional free trade zones, and enhance trade facilitation and competitiveness. pengiriman cargo

After five rounds of negotiations on the PTAs and a political breakthrough in 2014, there has been considerable progress over the past year on regional PTAs. In March, countries negotiating Preferential Trade Agreement with China announced that they have reached common ground to extend regional trade and investment agreements to key economic sectors.

A number of projects are currently under way or nearing completion, including joint projects to develop two cross-border shipping routes across the South China Sea and allow land transportation across Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia.

Experts point to a renewed interest on part of APEC on regional infrastructure projects. At the May 2013 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, APEC concluded an Agreement on Common Services in Transport and Shipping, which outlines guidelines for establishing and maintaining common services. The Agreement provides a framework for strengthening existing infrastructure links and facilitating coordination, oversight, and administrative procedures in the freight and maritime transport sector.

Other possible progress is anticipated from APEC’s transport-focused institutional arrangement, the Trans-Regional Highway Network (TRHN) Strategy for Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). In November 2013, members of the TRHN Working Group established a framework that sets out a roadmap for trans-regional connectivity, including the adoption of strategies to facilitate the trans-regional movement of goods and services and of skills and people.

Discussions will continue over the next few months in preparation for APEC’s APEC Leaders’ Meeting in Japan next year.

The Trans-Regional Highway Network Strategy has been developed in cooperation with APEC Development Partners (ADPs). These include representatives from Asian Development Bank, AIIB, International Finance Corporation, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the World Bank.

Forwarding opportunities

In a separate region-specific initiative, the United States, Australia, the European Union, and South Korea are working with Japan and South Korea to modernise the Asia-Pacific Free Trade Agreement (APFTA), and coordinate efforts on freight transport.

In the current global economic and regional environment, there is an opportunity to accelerate cooperation between APEC countries, which can deliver considerable benefits, on the basis of solid infrastructure and cooperative efforts.

Meanwhile, within the larger Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, a new business model has been proposed to allow for freer operations by allowing transshipment of freight, particularly in the supply chain.

At the October 2014 Leaders’ Meeting, leaders of TPP countries agreed to expand the agreement to include certain categories of products, including retail, electronic, health care, personal care, footwear, chemicals and plastics. The progress made at APEC on regional Preferential Trade Agreements reflects a possible advance in the TPP negotiations.

TPP provides a new horizon for forwarding freight in the region, in the context of ensuring efficient network integration and eliminating trade inefficiencies, which can lead to much-improved services for freight forwarding.