Next month marks the tenth anniversary of DAL Agency in South Africa – and although much has changed over the past decade, managing director David McCallum believes the agency’s success comes down to basic fundamentals.
“From the beginning we knew that the initial startup phase was absolutely critical.”
“Processes and procedures, services and systems had to be implemented properly to enable the development of a company philosophy. Getting the basics right had to become part of our DNA.”
Launched by industry stalwart Ron Frick, who had notched up 46 years with the agency’s Hamburg-based principal Deutche Afrika Linien when he retired at the end of 2016, the agency has maintained its strategic direction. Where peer companies have diversified and ballooned beyond their initial business component, DAL Agency remains acutely committed to consolidating around its core competencies.
Its employees have also clearly bought into the philosophy, with 30 of its staff complement of 72 having been with the agency since its inception. Part of DAL’s ascending investor strategy in human capital has been its learnership programmes run in-house but administered by the South African Association of Ship Operators and Agents (Saasoa).
McCallum told FTW that the programmes had been a highlight of the agency in recent times and investing in staff to the benefit of customers would remain a central tenet of the company’s vision. Another important development has been the securing of United African Feeder Line (UAFL) as a client in mid-2016, with DAL Agency providing a range of agency services to UAFL.
A major player along the eastern seaboard of Africa, UAFL services locations throughout the Indian Ocean area including the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. And while there might be scope for extending further east, helping UAFL manage its routes was the closest DAL Agency would come to Asia proper, McCallum said.
“Our principals run a niche operation, focusing on select lanes in and out of Europe – and for the time being that will remain our primary concentration.”
Looking to the future, the company is “excited by the challenges of a technology-driven world. Blockchain is going to play a major role in the shipping industry in years to come, and the changing statutory landscape is constantly asking questions of shipping companies.
“Ultimately though it comes down to how you respond to problems when and as they arise. That’s why being a customerfacing operation is so important to us. People will always prefer to have their problems solved by people who are close to the ground and in direct contact with the operations.
“24/7/365 – we’re always available; we believe in having direct contact channels with our clients and certainly not via call centres. When clients require assistance, our flat structure and empowered staff enables us to react and provide workable solutions in the shortest possible time,” said McCallum.
Block chain is going to play a major role in the shipping industry in years to come. – David McCallum
