NVOCC invests significantly in value-added services

There’s likely to be a late run in the peak season from the Far East as 2008 draws to a close, says sales director of International Liner Agencies (ILA) Raymond Cutts. “But with the ever-increasing change in pace the Far East is one of those areas where you have to be proactive and innovative in the development of products and services offered to the market,” he told FTW. “Many forwarders appoint consolidators purely on a price basis and rarely take the features and benefits of a well-packaged service into account. “We believe they are doing their clients and themselves a major disservice by taking such an approach. “A lot of investment goes into developing a world class services that adds value. When we invest and develop services, we place ourselves in our clients’ shoes and develop modules that assist the local forwarders to lead the way in terms of service – to add value to the services they offer their clients,” Cutts explains. And these added value services range from management information that allows for proactive stock control to management information that allows for control and management of profit margins. “On a recent Far East sales visit we were able to introduce a number of solutions to solve problems that forwarders were experiencing in moving cargo from newly-developed areas in China,” said Cutts. “As forwarders know all too well, none of this could happen without significant investment and this is what ILA does.” But fair return on investment is critical, and this is a concern, says Cutts. “Over the past few years we have seen margins eroded because the benefits of our services – the intangible savings – are often not taken into consideration. In addition, the consequences of service failures are often overlooked. “In order for consolidators to remain committed to developing valueadded services and remain close to market trends we need to ensure a fair return,” Cutts concluded.