“The number one rule of creating and maintaining
a great cargo business is to deliver what you promise.
“Relationships
are important, of course, but any business that consistently
fails to produce results won’t be around too long.
“And on those rare
occasions when the results aren’t there, you need
to be transparent and honest with your customers.
“Furthermore, you
need to be quick in your responses to opportunities
and customer requests.
“The time to market
is so short that sales and service channels must be
coordinated rapidly.
“Any special arrangements
and processes have to be prepared and ready to go on
short notice.”
Agility
Faces Change
“One surprising trend
is the willingness of some shippers, via their RFQs,
to make decisions based only on the least expensive
solution and change forwarders more frequently. For
me, long-term partnerships are still the way to create
the most productive supply chain and ultimately create
the most value for all.
“Another surprise
is the rate and the range of the explosion of e-commerce.
“The traditional
retail channels are changing rapidly, and I believe
this can have a positive effect on air freight.”
“To maximize the
potential, our industry needs to be agile enough to
respond to the challenge with innovative solutions that
meet the needs of the evolving market.”
Why
Freight Forwarders Matter
“In our customer/forwarder/airline model, none
of the three parties are more important than any other,
and the model isn’t viable unless all three work
together and respect each other’s role.
“As international
shipping grows more and more complex, it’s vital
to have experts involved that can coordinate all the
details for customers—specialists that know all
the nuances of documentation and regulation.
“In addition to
playing that role for customers, of course, forwarders’
consolidations allow customers to benefit from attractive
rates they could never obtain themselves.”
Collaboration
Is Key
“From the airline perspective, I really appreciate
the collaboration of forwarders and their 24/7 service
mentality.
“I know how we
work together every day on countless shipment issues
of which customers are not aware—because we solve
it together before it becomes a problem.”
The
Next Generation
“We’re competing with every other industry
for talented and ambitious people, so we need to take
steps to make air cargo an attractive choice.
“The top people
entering the workforce these days, or those looking
to make a career move, want the responsibility to create
change and the power to make important decisions.
“The days are over
of joining a company or an industry when you’re
young and working at it full-time until retirement.
“Many new talents
want the option to choose which temporary assignments
they will accept and to ‘rent themselves’
to several customers at the same time. I think our industry
needs to be open to this attitude to attract the most
creative thinkers.”
Keep
The Change
“In my opinion, airfreight will transition to
a new way of selling services. In place of the current
design of products with fixed features will be a base
service with an ‘a la carte’ menu of add-ons.
“This will be directed
by new shippers for whom the present product offering
is too rigid—those who want to combine elements
in ways not possible now.
“Starting from
the base product, extras will be available like expedited
routings, pickup and delivery, enhanced monitoring with
on-board devices, elevated security protection, etc.,
etc.
“The airlines’
challenge will be designing their offering, then delivering
it operationally so that each customer will get exactly
the services they book.
“Talk, talk, talk
with customers and be available for them when they need
you.
“Right now we are
further developing our product menu of Special Products
like TC, PER, luxury articles, cars.
“It’s always
the customer and then it’s the customer, and of
course the customer,” Jacques smiles.
“You just have
to listen to what they say, hear it, and work to fill
the need.
“Don’t be
afraid of mistakes, either,” says Jacques.
“Just keep everyone
in the loop and deliver the news, good or bad, before
someone else does.
“Pick up the phone,
pay a visit, and be up front at all times—that
must be the baseline policy.
“Also, when things
work be sure and give credit where credit is due,”
Jacques insists.
On
The Table
“It’s about what UA brings to the table
for shippers.
“We always have
a solution!” Jacques said.
“Our people are
dedicated and care about their business
“Of great benefit
is United’s extensive network, where we can offer
direct service between all major European cities and
the USA.
“Look, we understand
fully that our service must not only meet, but exceed
the need.
“Also, that United
Cargo must deliver as promised and be very transparent
up and down the line for everyone.
“Our customer experience
is geared to work as near to perfect harmony as possible,
with situations including delivering to market against
the most strenuous deadlines, no excuses.”
Not
Always About Rates
“More and more shippers are only looking for the
cheapest solution via their RFQs, and they change forwarders
sometimes at the drop of the hat.
“We know that,
and seeing the market for what it is, we believe that
partnerships in the supply chain—with open and
frank understandings and shared responsibility—stand
to create more value to everyone up and down the line
over the long haul.”
Looking
Ahead
“As we all know, e-commerce is exploding everywhere
in the world as consumers everywhere are engaging in
online business.
“The traditional
retail channels will continue to change rapidly and
this will have a positive effect on airfreight.
“But from my vantage
point, after more than two decades in the air cargo
business, the forwarders remain our key partnership
and bottom line customer.
“Forwarders are
critical for many reasons as outlined and remain vital
to our business, buying space at competitive rates by
consolidating freight, which is also attractive for
their shippers.
“Air forwarders
are the service arms of our business, with the customer-centric
24/7/365 mentality.
“Forwarders solve
many issues that shippers never see.
“I think of freight
forwarders every day as the natural course of my business
activity.
“A forwarder can
be likened to my local daily newspaper delivery person
that appears everyday at my home in the Netherlands.
“Although I know
in the world today home delivery of newspapers is passé,
I can draw a direct line between what I do for a living
and my newspaper delivery.
“People start complaining
when the newspaper does not arrive on time.
“But what customers
don’t know is how other factors like newspaper
press schedules, the weather, labor, road traffic, and
other challenges impact their daily newspaper delivery.
“Likewise logistics,
albeit very many more times complex, offer a similarity,
with forwarders coordinating between the airlines and
shippers to achieve a positive end result.
“In logistics,
just like in newspaper delivery at home, things may
not always go as planned, but down the line when everyone
knows what to expect, interruption becomes an incident,
not the rule.”
What
Can Air Cargo Do Better?
“Creating
responsibility in the job and empowering people to make
decisions is a rule air cargo should live by.
“Air cargo in the
21st century will continue to develop even more as an
‘a-la -carte menu’ of fixed products, services,
and features.
“Air Cargo needs
to create responsibility in the job and empower people
to make decisions.
“Also, I believe
that currently in some quarters air cargo product offerings
are too rigid.
“The challenge
is to be flexible operationally so that the customer
gets and pays for exactly what is booked.
“All of this takes
talent and imagination and long-term determination to
do whatever it takes to be a dependable, expansive air
cargo resource.
“And that,”
Fast Jacques assures, “is United Cargo baseline
business everyday.”
Geoffrey