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Freight Forwarders are facing all sorts of challenges right now, having to adapt and diversify.
Kelly Bunyan is the Owner and Managing Director of a group of successful freight networks, headquartered in London, UK: World Freight Network (WFN), Specialist Freight Networks (SFN) and International Freight Network (IFN).
Kelly comments: "We regularly invite our members to share their views on the industry with us, as it enables us to better understand their current obstacles, aims for the future, and how we can support them in their business.
We recently heard back from members across the world, regarding the latest challenges they are facing. Some themes that recur are: increased demand for services, particularly e-commerce and online services; change and evolution to keep up with new trends; focus on quality services and reasonable prices. Another thing we hear regularly is the importance of global coverage. As one member put it, "In recent years, the main challenge for small and middle-sized independent forwarders has been access to more trading partners. The network gives us the power of coverage all over the world. That is the only way to compete with the big forwarders."
Networks can give small and medium forwarders that coverage, enabling them to have global reach. It's the predominant and instant benefit of joining a network. Our network group has excellent coverage in all continents and we are dedicated to bringing that benefit to quality forwarders around the world."
Jess Baker, Group Operations Manager, added: "In light of the Pandemic and the huge changes that have happened this year, we asked our members, how relevant is networking in today’s forwarding industry? Their responses were overwhelmingly in favour of network membership. Just some examples can be seen here:
"Networking is essential in today’s forwarding industry. Every shipment is important. We need a good agent network around the world to help monitor each international shipment."
"What really matters is quality not quantity, in this industry with fierce competition. A good quality network will help you to understand your partner much better, and that will surely enhance the trust and save a lot of communication time, which will help you to gain business."
"The network promotes the logistics industry, we can better introduce ourselves to other companies, and develop more convenient and efficient communication with customers."
Jess concluded, “It's clear to see that many forwarders view their network membership as an essential investment; we also believe that the 'family feel' of our group, along with our small and personal Head Office Team, gives a sense of support and stability in these times. We firmly believe that our networks and our members will continue to overcome challenges, to survive - and thrive - as we move forward together.
As one member put it: "The Pandemic has just proved how essential the logistics industry is, to both the global economics and people's daily life. This industry might change or evolve, but it will never disappear."
Read more about Kelly’s networks on the links below:
