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Issue 2 2015 - Freight Business Journal Questions, questions


Peter Ward, new chief executive officer of the United Kingdom Warehousing Association


(and until recently, commercial director of London Gateway port)


Q. What was your first job? (In any industry, not necessarily freight or transport).


A. My first job was, in fact, in the freight business: the export shipping department of Courtaulds in Coventry, which was a top ten exporter in those days. An ‘apprenticeship-style’ role, it gave me a real grounding in ‘nuts and bolts’ exporter experience. This included dealing with letters of credit, bills of exchange, customs documentation, bank drafts and the payment cycle. A highlight of my time there was the installation of a facsimile machine. It was revolutionary. We gathered round the machine to watch in awe as a paper message came out – indicative of the technology revolution to come. I went on to work on the South African desk in the office. On Friday afternoons I would travel down to Southampton to see the last piece of cargo squeezed onto the mail boat service to South Africa before returning to the office with the Bills of Lading. This was one of the first operations to transfer to containerisation so I witnessed traditional cargo ships being replaced by vessels carrying steel boxes in 20 and 40 feet denominations. Great times and great experience.


Q. How did you first get involved in the freight industry? A. My father had a freight forwarding business in the West Midlands. It was through him finding me things to do during school holidays that my interest in freight developed. I would go with the driver to the docks or Heathrow airport and this generated a fascination for people moving goods around the world.


Q. Did you plan to get involved in freight – did you have much notion of the industry before you got involved with it?


A. You could say it was my destiny. When it came to choosing a career, the family business was always going to be my choice.


Q. What has been the biggest achievement or high point of your career in the freight industry?


A. The high point was the entire 1990s. This decade saw probably the most radical change in the industry up to that time. The manufacturing world was globalising, offshore sourcing became more prevalent and technology arrived on the scene, which transformed a paper-based industry into one populated by globally integrated, technology-based logistics organisations. It was during this time that we put the family business into the Fritz Group of companies. The group was driven by Lynn Fritz, who had the vision to foresee these trends and develop his organisation by nurturing family-run operations, such as ours. That was transformational. As a US organization, Fritz in the UK started out in 1991 with four guys in an office near Heathrow. Just five years later we were awarded the largest ever outsourced contract at the time by the Sears Group. Then one of the biggest retail groups, Sears went through a massive outsourcing programme to get synergy across the Group and awarded Fritz the contract for inbound logistics, which got me on the map.


Humanitarian logistics ‘needs more support’


The European


///NEWS News Roundup Parliament’s


Road & Rail


Committee on Transport endorsed revised regulations on truck weights and dimension on 24 February, in a compromise worked out with the Council. Maximum weight for trucks using alternative fuels such as hybrid or electric engines would be raised by a tonne and longer overall lengths would be allowed for trucks fitted with retractable aerodynamic fittings. The new regulations would also eventually allow rounder, safer cab profiles.


The Logistics Learning Alliance (LLA) and Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) are calling for more companies to support the training of humanitarian logistics students aſter they were inundated with over 500 enquiries


for


just 41 places it had available through funding from the US Government agency, USAID. UK logistics training company, with


LLA works a number


of aid and humanitarian organisations around the world, as well as businesses in a range of industries, to develop best practice logistics skills for international students seeking to progress careers in both the humanitarian and commercial arenas.


LLA managing director,


Peter Jones, commented: “We were very pleased to receive the funding from USAID for the 41 students that have recently started the Fritz Institute/CILT Certification in Humanitarian Logistics and Certification in


Humanitarian Medical Logistics Practices programmes with LLA. “However, with so many


applicants, there is obviously a great demand for training courses in this area. Along with USAID, the CILT’s own charitable arm, Aspire, and third party logistics


provider Fair and


Easy have sponsored students through the programmes. Most applicants for the programmes come from the areas affected by humanitarian emergencies or on-going programmes, and the course cost is oſten beyond their means. They are truly committed to the programmes and oſten continue their studies in the most adverse conditions.” Jones added: “We would


welcome enquiries from more organisations looking to enhance their Corporate Social Responsibility credentials and get involved with part or full sponsorship of individuals or small groups of students.” www.logisticslearningalliance. com


UK firms urged to break down barriers in East Africa


More UK logistics firms are being urged to get involved in a scheme to realise the commercial possibilities of East Africa and get in at the ground floor of what could be one of the world’s fastest- growing regions. Not-for-profit organisation TradeMark East Africa (TMEA), which unveiled a Logistics Innovation for Trade Fund (LIFT) platform in Rotterdam on 12 February, said that while there had been some interest from Continental European companies, the uptake from the UK had so far been disappointing. This is despite the fact


that the LIFT challenge fund – which is managed by TradeMark


East Africa (TMEA) - has funding support


from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). DFID has been working on trade facilitation and other measures such as reducing border delays. Project director, Buddhika


Samarasinghe, said: “The UK is particularly strong on intermodal logistics, which is what East Africa needs the most.” He added that the deadline would be extended from the end of February to the end of March. The project provides grants


ranging from US$200,000 to $750,000 to companies in the East African Community (EAC) to develop and test new ideas to reduce the cost and time of transport and logistics in the region.


Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin visited the port of Sunderland on 5 February to witness rail tracks being used for the first time in more than 20 years. A group of invited guests witnessed a trial run by a DB Schenker Rail locomotive on sidings that will soon be used for commercial operations.


Freight vehicles using the Port of Dover are no longer being weighed. New regulations are a result of the Government’s “Red Tape Challenge”, allowing operators to dispense with the costly and time-consuming process. However, the port stresses that freight drivers must still have the correct weight declaration.


The International Road Transport Union welcomed a decision on 4 February by the Hungarian authorities to postpone the enforcement of its Electronic Public Road Trade Control System (EKAER) until the beginning of March 2015. Since 1 January, consignors and consignees in Hungary have been required to register and report all movement of goods between Hungary and other EU Member States through EKAER. The IRU says that it puts transport operators at risk of indirect sanctions if consignors and consignees fail to complete the required processes. It hopes this postponement will allow authorities to thoroughly review and improve the system.


TNT has launched a daily, scheduled road service to Istanbul. It operates via Sofia, Bulgaria to all countries in Europe via TNT’s European road network. Transit times from Istanbul to key European business centres vary from four to seven days, depending on distance to destination. In Turkey, TNT has a network of 26 hubs and depots, as well as a fleet of 328 vehicles, which connect Istanbul with other large cities, such as Ankara, Izmir, Adana and Bursa. The new daily road service is an addition to TNT’s existing overnight air express service to Istanbul. TNT has also started a twice-weekly road connection between Sofia and Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, to extend its coverage of South East Europe.


DSV is extending its double-manned next-day road services with a daily operation between its northern UK hub in Manchester to its north European hub at Waddinxveen in the Netherlands. Departure is at 21.00 from either end. Not only is the service faster but with fewer stops and two pairs of eyes, there is less opportunity for clandestines to try to gain access.


The Freight Transport Association Ireland (FTAI) has repeated its call for Irish hauliers to be exempt from the UK’s HGV Road User Levy on the A5, the main freight artery from Donegal to the rest of the Irish Republic of Ireland, which crosses Northern Irish territory. FTAI has requested that the Northern Ireland political parties, and those intending to stand for election in Dial in 2016, to clarify their position on the matter.


Samskip Van Dieren Multimodal has started rail shuttle services between Duisburg, Germany and Malmö, Sweden. It offers a 17-hour transit time and six weekly departures northbound and southbound, with on-connections to the rest of Europe by barge, rail, shortsea or road. The shuttle is open to all types of intermodal units such as 45ft containers, 13.6m trailers, reefers, tank and bulk containers. The plan is to increase the frequency to two departures per day soon.


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