26-29 September 2010 Hong Kong JUNE 14 2010 SERVING THE INDEPENDENT FREIGHT FORWARDING COMMUNITY No.009 Venue: AsiaWorld-Expo Independents work smarter type of independent service. This has created a huge opportunity for the independent freight forwarders who are taking full advantage and capitalizing on this new demand. Exporters and importers are approaching local forwarders asking them to visit their operations and help analyze their existing contracts with the multinationals and design tailor made options specific to the clients needs. Local freight forwarders are able to provide a much more comprehensive analysis of the client’s needs and options due to their local knowledge of the individual client, the market they operate in and the local forwarding environment. The independents also have a vast number of partners worldwide within the WCA Family of Logistic Networks that they can call upon with equal knowledge and experience in their local areas. The independent forwarders who are part of the WCA Family have built a huge network of professional forwarders that are ready to help one another and are always exchanging knowledge and looking for ways to better improve their services. Together the independents across the world are able to further customize the package offered to their client not only within their area of expertise but across the globe and for all types of moves due to the huge base of experts that are at their finger tips. A very common problem that importers and exporters are facing is the need to keep their inventory to a minimum in order to reduce costs; however this has resulted in many scenarios where there is an urgent need for products that are out of stock. This scenario has opened the door for the independents to shine and offer their expertise in time critical moves where the multinationals are unable to offer the results needed by their clients. Independent forwarders are also being sought after by the carriers who have realized that the independents are helping shippers and consignees with their flexibility, resourcefulness, local knowledge and relations with other independents worldwide. These abilities have allowed the independent forwarders to quickly adapt to the changing environment and offer superior service to their clients. In this ever-changing environment one needs to be able to make quick decisions and respond instantly to them. The independents have this adaptive capability – they are able to send an expert to the site to deal directly with the client and can easily make the decisions needed in an instant. Compare that to cumbersome multinationals who have many levels of management each with OVER the first half of 2010, David Yokeum had many conversations with members of WCA Family of Logistic Networks – and one common factor that was consistently repeated was the success of the members business since 2009, despite the economic downturn that had ravaged the forwarding industry. With all the hardships faced by the multinational forwarding companies why is it that the independents are so successful? The response was unanimous – importers and exporters are all being affected by the global economic downturn and have had to reevaluate their business model looking for areas to improve on – including their supply chain management. The importers and exporters began looking for more flexible and cost effective options that cater to their needs. Large bureaucratic systems like the multinationals cannot offer that David L Yokeum, President, WCA Family of Logistic Networks Ltd their own expertise and each having to consult one another and their respective department heads hindering their clients ability to move their product in a timely fashion. All that leads to additional costs and worst of all delays, and wastes the clients time. In this new business age it is clear that a smarter way of operating is a must and those who can provide and operate in this fashion will clearly be the one winning the business. The opportunity has been handed to the independent freight forwarders and they are all quickly responding to it – capitalizing on the sluggish moves of the multinationals, and using their flexibility and local knowledge to provide better service to the clients.