Results outpace expectation for Contract Forwarding

Six months since the official acquisition of Contract Forwarding by CEO Chris Waterson from the Mvela Group, the company has performed ahead of budgeted expectation and Waterson is upbeat about even better results in the year ahead. When Mvela chose to exit the clearing and forwarding business last year, Waterson grasped the opportunity with both hands. “Contract Forwarding, which was established in 1983, has always delivered good results – but while Mvela sought out large companies with high margins, the clearing and forwarding business is a high turnover, low margin business,” Waterson told FTW. “Mvela therefore chose to exit the business not because it was unprofitable but because it was not part of its vision.” And the move has been a very positive one for the company, he added. “It releases us from corporate pressures to deliver a margin that a freight company cannot do and allows us to make independent decisions on the direction we want to take.” Key to the company’s competitive advantage is its membership of the global FFSI network – an association of freight companies that allows two members per country. Contract Forwarding joined in 2004 and Waterson is currently CEO of FFSI. “It gives us a network of more than 100 members worldwide, allowing us to compete favourably with multinationals.” For the foreseeable future, Contract Forwarding will focus strongly on the South East Asia and Indian subcontinent, where FFSI is well represented. Its core business is international imports by sea and air. “In China, for example, we have two members per locality, so the coverage is massive.” The company’s client base is generally in the small- to medium-sized range. “We compete on service,” says Waterson. “Our staff is very hands-on and we’ll do whatever it takes to meet expectations. “If there’s an urgent parcel to be delivered and it can fit it a car, any one of us will do the delivery.” And while Waterson doesn’t believe that the recession is behind us, he’s confident that the company will continue to deliver beyond budgeted expectation, with the third quarter already recording positive results. CAPTION Chris Waterson ... massive China network.