Freight forwarders at risk in new supply chain evolution

Up to 50% of freight
forwarders could see their
doors closing over the
next ten years if they don’t
act now against business
‘disruptors’. That’s the view
of Marcel Fujike, senior
vice president of global air
logistics at Kuehne+Nagel.
Moderating a panel
discussion at last week’s
Air Cargo Africa 2017
conference, he posed the
question: “Is there still a
role for the current freight
forwarder model in the
supply chain evolution, with
major online companies
such as Alibaba and
Amazon now operating
within the business-tobusiness
space?”
Jonathan Clark,
regional director: Africa at
Cargolux, admitted there
was a minor threat from
online start-ups but pointed
out that currently those
small online platforms
were only playing in niche
markets . “Furthermore,
they don’t
have the
global reach
that freight
forwarders, or
the airlines,
have so if endcustomers
still receive
added value
and strong
service, there
is still a role
for forwarders
to play,” he said.
He believes smaller
forwarders and major
international players should
be able to easily adapt.
“Currently, the biggest
risk is to the medium
enterprises. They need
to decide how to position
themselves in the rapidly
changing reality,” Clark
said.
David Logan, CEO of the
South African
Association
of Freight
Forwarders
(Saaff),
pointed out
that what
the freight
forwarder
offered was
a “holistic
knowledge
of the entire
supply chain”,
which was what shippers
needed to ensure seamless
and efficient movement of
their goods.
“Change is inevitable
but that knowledge is
invaluable. To survive,
freight forwarders simply
need to be aware of the
changes and incorporate
them into their own
strategy,” he pointed out,
noting that a Saaff member
had recently launched his
own e-commerce platform as
part of a strategy to remain
competitive.
Chief cargo officer for
Turkish Airlines, Turhan
Ozen, agreed with Logan,
commenting that the
game would not change
for those forwarders who
created value. ”Forwarders
need to start acting less as
intermediaries and more
as partners to shippers and
transporters, including
airlines,” he said. And this
included improved visibility
and greater collaboration
with other industry
stakeholders.
“The online platforms
play a key role in creating
better visibility across the
supply chain and perhaps
freight forwarders could look
at collaborating with them
rather than seeing them as
a threat,” suggested Dirk
Schusdziara, senior vice
president: cargo at Frankfurt
Airport (Fraport).
He said three things
needed to change to ensure
forwarders’ survival:
improved transparency in
operations, digitalisation and
innovation through the use
of technology.
“We at Fraport for
example have established
a trade community link
with shippers and freight
forwarders to ensure better
flow of information between
all parties so that when there
are challenges, there is a
more immediate response,”
he explained.
INSERT AND CAPTION
Forwarders need to
start acting less as
intermediaries and
more as partners.
– Turhan Ozen