Cash flow takes centre stage

Freight forwarders – and other
airfreight industry players
– are able to deal with new
trends more effectively if their
staff understand the challenges
around these and are aware of
the strategies the company has
implemented to manage them,
in the view of airfreight general
manager of CFR Freight,
Stephen Bishop.
“Managing cash flow
is becoming increasingly
important,” said Bishop, “with
defaults hurting small and
large forwarders alike.”
And this is compounded
by consumer expectations of
getting more for less in the
shortest space of time. “This
makes the freight industry
increasingly reliant on the
speed of information and
information technology (IT)
integration.
“This is not unique to our
industry but if you are not
paying attention to all of these
aspects, you will see your
business shrinking around
you,” said Bishop, adding that
every link in the supply chain
had its own strategies, time
frames and budgets.
“So how do you know
where to focus first? In my
opinion, always start with your
people. Your staff can act as
your debtor’s clerk and their
invoicing accuracy directly
affects cash flow. They are
working on your IT systems
which could integrate with
your client/service provider
and they are the ones being
asked to quote and book
shipments. Therefore, most of
these issues apply to them,” he
explained.
Bishop qualified the old
saying of “What happens if
we train all our staff and they
leave?” with the caveat of:
“What happens if we don’t and
they stay”.
He said that to help its
customers better manage
new trends and challenges,
CFR Freight had introduced
WebCargoNet, an airfreight
multi-tool that helps users
manage all carrier rates with
online tools that help clients
quote faster. “We have been
using this tool internally for
a year now and I believe this
is a differentiator for our
employees and clients alike,”
Bishop added.