Beware cut-price express operators

KEEPING AHEAD of the pack is how Craig Farah of Hellmann Worldwide Logistics sees the future of larger companies in express airfreight. "Every guy out there with a bakkie wants to be a courier these days, and the manner in which they are able to slash prices makes it tougher for the bigger concerns," he says. Farah heads up the Hot Express service at Hellmanns - the name itself is derived from Hellmann On Time (HOT). Service quality, he says, is the only answer to the growing trend of opposition from smaller operators in the field. "It's becoming a tough industry, and there is a daily price war going on with all these smaller people in the field. Happily I can say we haven't lost a client in the past three years. Some have pulled away from us, but they have all come back and that speaks of only one factor, providing good and reliable service. "The airfreight courier industry has become very expensive, and there is the additional problem that domestically the express road service is now moving more and more into the picture. Also the e-mail scenario is taking away much of the need for expressing documents. "Here at Hellmann I see the value of developing different divisions as the company has done. In particular the automotive logistics division has become a vital part of the Hot Express service. The overnight road opportunities here are taking off well, and linked with international overnight airfreight is proving a busy new sector for us. Mostly the airfreight handled covers emergency needs."