Consolidator celebrates 10 years with service expansion

As full-service neutral operator
Contra Consolidations
celebrates its ten-year
anniversary, the company is
upbeat about future growth.
Managing director Martin
Schulze told FTW that the
company – established in
2006 – had always been one
of the “new
kids on the
block” in terms
of neutral
consolidation
services. “We
had to prove
our credibility
and find a way
to set ourselves
apart from our
competitors.”
The answer,
said Schulze,
was to deliver
“exceptional service” which
included specialising in
documentation to ensure early
release of goods.
“We also realised that to
continue offering the level of
service we hoped to become
known for, we had to play to
our strengths and partner with
like-minded operators,” he said,
noting that to ensure this, the
company had teamed up with
the largest independent neutral
operators in every country/
region it served.
“This allows us flexibility
in the trade services we offer,
to be able to react faster to an
unknown challenge and find
another solution,” said Schulze.
The company started with
one trade route partner out
of the United
Kingdom
and four staff
members,
and gradually
built itself up
as a European
specialist
before
expanding
to the Indian
and Chinese
markets.
“We are also
excited about
the recent launch of our own
service from the USA,” Schulze
said, “which completes our
global offering.”
Contra Consolidations’ plans
include further seafreight
expansion with regard to its
African network and service
offering.
“We have our own
roadfreight services to
Zimbabwe, Zambia and
Botswana and are looking
to expand those as well,” he
pointed out. “Maintaining
its point of difference – high
service levels – has been largely
due to the hard work and
dedication of a very committed
team.
“As for the future, we realise
that technology is one of the
key building blocks to global
growth and in helping us
connect our clients to the global
trade stage. We are therefore
currently upgrading our
systems to ensure strong global
capabilities and improved
customer interface through
enhanced electronic data
interchange (EDI) and online
solutions,” said Schulze.
He acknowledged that
there were national and
regional challenges to growth
– including political instability,
a wildly fluctuating rand and
global economic woes – but
highlighted that companies
could manage these challenges
by being flexible enough to
adapt to change.
Contra Consolidations
offers import and export
services, national transport and
warehousing solutions, as well
as dedicated vehicle groupage
consolidations.
INSERT & CAPTION
We are excited about
the recent launch of
our own service from
the USA.
– Martin Schulze