THERE ARE too many agent hoppers flitting around the trading scene just now, according to Aki Themis of Kyden Freight, and an answer needs to be found to this problem.
These are not-so-honest or plain cash-strapped clients who run their credit up to the hilt with one agent, then slip off elsewhere looking for more credit.
And, while the large forwarder may be able to absorb this type of bad debt, they can be make-or-break to the smaller operations in the country, according to Themis.
He also highlights another loss-making type of client. These, he told FTW, are usually overseas clients who ask us to clear a container, then take months to pay. During this time we are paying interest on this disbursement amount.
A lot of people just jump from agent to agent.
So, whether late-payers or debt defaulters, Themis feels that action must be taken in the industry.
What it needs is a confidential web page, where agents can report on defaulting or late-paying clients - and issue a warning to others in the trade.
But this idea probably needs to be refined. This sort of action would allow for opinion, not necessarily fact, to be slotted into a web-page - and could conceal wrangles between the payer and the payee.
And a very good answer already exists in the industry.
The Cargo Management Association (CMA) was put together by Edward Little (now best known for his SA Association of Freight Forwarders connection) 15-years-ago.
This is a Gauteng-based body, representative of the forwarding industry, which works in association with the credit bureau, KreditInform.
Monthly meetings of this body are held, Little told FTW, and default information released by KreditInform is distributed to attendees. At the same time, default information is collected by the CMA and submitted to the credit bureau's data-base.
This information is open to all who attend the meetings, and no financial commitment is required.
This is a service which KreditInform offers to a number of industry sectors, according to m.d. Ivor Jones.
On a commercial basis, the company is a creator of credit information for its clients.
Our main task is receiving bad credit reports, he said, checking them; and, if they are found to be valid, feeding them into our data-base.
With its electronic system, KreditInform can also receive debtors ledgers on-line, to which it applies a full-scale analysis.
A wealth of information comes available from this analysis, said Jones, both for individual and for overall sectors of debtors.
If forwarders use us, they can access this information on-line at any time.
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