Global Logistics Associates - The Competitive Edge for the Medium Sized Freight Forwarder
GLA held a succesful 19th AGM, many new members were welcomed, lots of business was conducted and information was exchanged. GLA is still looking for new exclusive members in open areas.
Rotterdam, The Netherlands (PRWEB) September 25, 2006 -- Global Logistics Associates (GLA), one of the oldest freight associations which offers its 60 members exclusivity per area, held its 19th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Moltrasio (Italy) end of March 2006.
A record number of 16 new member companies from Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, The U.S.A. (San Francisco, Laredo, New Jersey, New York) and Venezuela, introduced themselves to the general membership.
This further strengthening of all continents on which GLA has been active these past 16 years, has been the result of a very active new membership committee which is always on the lookout of talented and enthusiastic freight forwarding companies and which thoroughly reviews each application together with the board of directors in order to make sure that new members meet GLA's quality standards and fit in well with the rest of the membership base.
Ms. Ursula Schmeling, editor-in-chief of Rittmann's International Transport Journal, was part of a strong line up of guest speakers from the world of freight forwarding and logistics who did an interesting presentation about leveraging economies of scale, the critical success factors and the benefits of network membership. The conclusions of this presentation showed many parallels with the membership benefits which GLA had already identified itself:
| | - Unified standards and a centralized roll-out of changes on a network level.
- Lead generation and faster reactions on a global scale.
- Members remain independent and maintain their own identity but join forces under a strong, worldwide brand name.
- Independence, flat hierarchy and slim management of member companies enable swift decision making on a local level.
- Advantages of local heroes and their proximity to the customer, speaking the same language.
- Joint buying power (access to competitive transport rates, insurance premiums) / economies of scale.
- Financial resources and a payment protection programme.
- Medium-sized traders/producers want medium-sized partners, but at the same time the association is able to handle the business of multinationals.
- Continuous quality improvements, product development and expansion of the network.
- A strong and experienced management and various active committees which monitor latest worldwide developments in the freight forwarding industry.
- Joint communication systems, tracking/tracing and modern modes of transport transform the world into a "village".
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One of the members expressed the value of GLA membership as follows: "...the strength and profitability of our company has not only increased by virtue of being member of the association, but so has our credibility in the market place and this has exposed us to clients who we would have not been able to approach had it not been for the strength of the association. The membership fees are considered an investment for the company and one of the greatest assets of being a member of Global Logistics Associates is that you know who you are dealing with, you have confidence in the person handling your shipments, and you know that your payments are safe."
Neil Barni, president of Harbinger Enterprizes, who developed and implemented the Cargosphere rate management and negotiation system for GLA's NVOCC GlobeTrans International (GTI) also flew in to participate in the meeting. The agreement, signed in August 2005, reinforces growing worldwide industry recognition of CargoSphere's unique System, which gives freight forwarders and NVOCC's the ability to conduct efficient rate research in a single on-line location. "GLA is an honored international organization, and we are delighted to have them as a client," said Neil A. Barni. "This arrangement underscores GLA's commitment to supporting its members with top-notch services and programs," said Dan Barrett, departing president of GLA. "CargoSphere's system gives our members a tool that helps them conduct their day-to-day business more effectively and efficiently." Easy management of the System was also a priority for GLA, particularly in terms of uploading contracts and disseminating changes to members. "Carrier contracts involve a tremendous amount of detail, and I was impressed at how quickly contract data can be input and how simple it is to update contracts using CargoSphere's System. Now our members can extract current rate information at all times," said Frits Schouffoer, GLA's executive director.
Traditionally, much attention was given to industry compliance issues to make sure that shipments are performed in a standardized and proper way, and insurance issues for those rare moments one has to rely on partners to settle damages. GLA even has a Guardian Plan which protects its members against each other in the event that another member is unable to settle its invoices. GLA's Bill of Lading has all the insurance coverage one could wish for and GLA have a policy and procedures manual which is updated regularly to help its members perform and use the facilities optimally.
"Shippers are often under the impression that a Bill of Lading protects their cargo and their commercial interests sufficiently and they are often unaware of the limited liability of a carrier's or NVOCC's Bill of Lading. It is with accidents such as the recent misfortune of the Hyundai Fortune that shippers learn a hard lesson in case they did not effect proper marine insurance beforehand. Selling and providing info about marine insurances to shippers can add value to our member's products and indirectly it can help the development of our group. That is why one of the projects we are currently working on is the introduction of a joint, competitive, online Marine Insurance programme," said Frits Schouffoer.
Of course sufficient time had been reserved for members to network and to do business development between themselves as well. In his closing remarks, Dan Barrett stated that "this has been one of the best meetings in GLA's 16 year history." One of the achievements of newly elected president Alwyn Nel has been the establishment of a Business Development Committee which will be attracting major international customers and which will be developing new tools for members to lift their business to higher levels. Next year's annual GLA meeting will be held at a top location in Asia.
About GLA
GLA is a global network of independent freight forwarders and customs brokers, dedicated to providing its members and their clients with the best worldwide logistics services, adding value to their international supply-chain operations.
Founded in 1990, GLA is one of the oldest freight associations. Our primary goals are to give our members the ability to better compete against larger companies on a worldwide basis and to improve profits. Our global coverage and the smaller size of our members allows us to provide the more personalized service to our customers while still responding to all of their worldwide logistics needs with competitive carrier options they would find on their own.
We have our own Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC) called Globetrans International (GTI) to provide competitively-priced ocean shipping services to our agents and their clients. Through GTI's joint buying power; we also have access to a wide variety of service contracts issued by a full range of well known international shipping lines.
GLA is ranked in the top 5 contributors of the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) and a member of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA). GLA offers its members exclusivity in their territory and despite the fact that GLA has a strong representation on all continents, there are still countries which are open for membership. Please check out www.glanetwork.com - and click on "Join Us" for more information.
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