Industry set to grow after recession

With the global recessionary conditions that prevailed throughout most of 2009, the express/ courier industry suffered as business and trade slumped. But, while this has been the case in the short-term, the trade should take cognisance of the longterm, according to Jasen Smallbone, national sales manager of UPS. “We believe that the following trends will allow the growth of business over the longterm: • As countries around the world recover from the recession, global trade should resume; • Just-in-time (JIT) inventory management, increased use of the Internet for ordering goods, and direct-tocustomer and made-toorder business models require transportation service to be effective; • Outsourcing supply chain management is becoming more prevalent as customers increasingly view effective management of their supply chains as a strategic advantage rather than a cost centre.” Looking at the challenges faced by the industry locally, Smallbone said that he saw opportunities rather than challenges when it came to transportation “UPS is in the business of helping its customers overcome the challenges of international trade,” he told FTW. “To do this, we have formed an integrated, global transportation network, and broad product portfolio.” Smallbone headlined one example of a major challenge faced by the transportation industry as a whole. That was the recent airspace closures in Europe, resulting from the volcanic eruption in Iceland. “This,” he added, “was a clear example of how good contingency planning, a flexible network and dedicated personnel can mitigate the challenges posed by even the most unexpected and disruptive of events. “Our flexible, integrated infrastructure allowed us to shift air volume to our European ground network, minimising delays.”