Actus des entreprises
Share Logistics - "Communication is crucial in freight forwarding"
Fresh Plaza asked Share Logistics how they maintain their high standard service level and keep their customers in the food industry happy.
The cost precedes the benefit. This well-known Dutch adage is something with which the folks over at Share Logistics agree. As a forwarding agent, you are always a cost item for clients. But, partnering with those customers and using smart solutions, knowledge, and speed keeps the end costs within limits.
Martijn van der Velden, a sea freight specialist, and Willi Hoogeboom, an air freight specialist, both at Share Logistics, explain how the company helps get all kinds of horticulture-related items from A to B.
Three billion plants in the air
Willi gets right to it: “Annually, we fly about three billion seedlings in and out of the Netherlands." Share Logistics does this for local and overseas customers, growers as well as grower associations. Their clients include Addenda, Floricultura, Syngenta, and Dümmen Orange.
Know-how and creativity
What is involved? “Simply put, plenty of communication. There are also increasingly few very knowledgeable people these days. So you have to explain more about the transport, especially the documentation. You have to explain the process from A to Z and keep checking everything." Thus, at Share, they do everything they can to keep that know-how up to date, says Willi.
“Shipping companies want to place as much responsibility as possible with the customer," adds Martijn. "And everything must be delivered digitally. The shipping company only ships, the clients have to fill in everything. So forwarders have a vital role, which is why Share invests a lot in its people, to retain their knowledge."
"We have to focus on a higher segment. We're not always the cheapest, but we do want to be the best and the fastest. The logistic flows have to keep running, and that requires know-how and creativity. That's how we want to distinguish ourselves."
Airfreight
What is flown in? When thinking of airfreight, flowers might come to mind. However, according to Willi, that is not their company's core business. "For us, it's mainly about seedlings, cuttings, seeds, fish, meat, fruit, and vegetables. We do flowers too, but that's not our focus, per se."
These products can be transported heated or cooled. "We also pack for customers; for example, we add dry ice to seeds that need to be shipped frozen. Plus, we pack the pallets and take care of phytosanitary inspections at our inspection station. The local Quality Control Bureau and Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) regularly visit," he says.
This station is at Schiphol airport and has even been designated a Border Inspection Point (BIP), where the NVWA does checks, ensuring that shipments meet all requirements. So, cargo does not have to go to an external inspection location, which saves on transport costs.
Willi points out another strong point - the distribution, collecting, and collating of incoming shipments. "For instance, we have 800 different delivery addresses in the Benelux for one of our big clients." That requires considerable organization, but Share in Amsterdam now has the team for that. In 2019 they started there with three people for the distribution, but now there are almost 50. That team allows Share to communicate with customers through all possible channels, from phone to mail and WhatsApp to Twitter.