BIFAlink July 2022

BIFAlink July 2022

July 2022 The magazine of the British International Freight Association BIFA link Issue: 383 Spreading the word – Pages 10-11 7: News Sign up for BIFA’s CDS eLearning training 8: Young Forwarder Network www.bifa.org First round of Young Forwarder Network regional events completed INSIDE

1 2 : BIFA AWARDS Allseas Global Logistics, winner of the 2021 BIFA Ocean Services Award

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Robert Keen’s Column

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Plenty of big issues for freight forwarders

BIFAlink is the official magazine of the British International Freight Association Redfern House, Browells Lane, Feltham TW13 7EP Tel: 020 8844 2266

At the time of writing, the BIFA team had just returned from the very successful Multimodal exhibition and conference which gave players on all sides of the supply chain the opportunity to network, discuss the many issues facing the freight and logistics sector and the supply chains it serves, and who knows, perhaps find some solutions. This year, BIFA used the event to emphasise the benefits of using the services of our Members, which face-ever increasing competition from airlines and container shipping companies that are encouraging shippers and beneficial cargo owners to deal directly with them. Whilst we acknowledge that in a free market, this is perfectly legitimate, our advice to any cargo owner considering that approach is to tread very carefully or you

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(A company limited by guarantee. Registered in England: 391973. VAT Registration: 216476363) Director General Robert Keen [email protected] Executive Director Robert Windsor, Policy & Compliance – Surface & Legal

may be biting off more than you can chew. It has never been more important to explain why a relationship with a professional freight forwarding company is of much greater value and that is why we have now produced a booklet entitled The Benefits of Using A Freight Forwarder that helps Members to present and explain to existing and potential customers the range of services on offer and the expertise required to oversee the movement of freight through the supply chain. These are services and levels of expertise that are unlikely to be on offer from airline and shipping companies. Copies of the booklet were literally flying off the BIFA stand within our Forwarder Village. We also used the event to demonstrate our ever-increasing portfolio of training services, which included promotion of an online training course designed to help Members understand and use the UK’s new Customs Declaration Service (CDS). Over the past couple of years, much has been made of the supply chain ‘talent gap’, a pre-existing concern that was only exacerbated by COVID-19 restrictions. Many organisations, BIFA included, are doing their bit to rectify this state of affairs. In BIFA’s case, through our training department, our involvement in the ongoing development of the International Freight Forwarding Specialist Apprenticeship, our schools initiative and our Young Forwarder Network. So, it was interesting to see the launch at Multimodal 2022 of a new initiative called ‘Generation Logistics’ – an industry-led campaign, with the Department for Transport acting as the lead supporting government department. It is targeting the next generation of logistics workers and will be run in partnership with key industry stakeholders, including BIFA, across all freight modes, as well as those that rely on logistics services, along with government and other official partners. The government also chose Multimodal to announce its Future of Freight Plan, an initiative that we have helped to develop through our role on the Freight Council, which was established to drive a partnership between government and industry. One consequence of EU-exit and the pandemic has been the spotlight that it has placed on the importance of freight and logistics on the health of the nation’s economy. Never before has government given such recognition to the key role of BIFA Members in the management of the country’s supply chains, which led to recognition of their staff as key workers. The plan advances that government-industry partnership, which will be required to create a long-term ambition for the sector that is cost-efficient, reliable and resilient, environmentally sustainable and valued by society. Of course, the announcement was just the first step in what will be a lengthy journey if everything that is set out in the plan is to be achieved, and we are looking forward to working with Members, various government departments and other stakeholders to see how we can all help implement the commitments included within the plan. We can only hope that this week’s announcement really does mark a step-change in government’s relationship with the freight and logistics sector. BIFA had a launch of its own at the NEC, using the event to launch the 34th edition of our BIFA Freight Service Awards, which are now open for entry. The August edition of BIFAlink will contain more information about the awards, Generation Logistics and the Future of Freight Plan And lastly, another personal tribute to a great industry leader. Tom White passed away recently aged 96. Tom was a towering figure with Pandair, and later in his career was at the helm with Agency Sector Management (ASM) where I worked with him as I transitioned from being a forwarder to working at BIFA. In my 40s at the time, I thought I knew it all, but Tom was a great leader and polished some of my ‘rough edges’.

[email protected] Executive Director Spencer Stevenson [email protected] Executive Director Carl Hobbis [email protected] Policy & Compliance Advisor – Customs Igor Popovics [email protected] Policy & Compliance Advisor – Air David Stroud [email protected] Editorial Co-ordinator Sharon Hammond [email protected] Communications Manager Natalie Pitts [email protected] Membership Supervisor Sarah Milton [email protected]

Published by Park Lane Publishing [email protected] Contributors

Robert Keen, Robert Windsor, David Stroud, Spencer Stevenson, Carl Hobbis, Sharon Hammond, Natalie Pitts, Igor Popovics Note to media: If you wish to use items in this magazine that are older than one month, please contact the editor to ensure that the item in question still reflects the current circumstances. Please be advised that BIFA DOES NOT OFFER LEGAL ADVICE. BIFA is not a law firm and the authors of this publication are not legally qualified and do not have any legal training. The guidance and assistance set out herein are based on BIFA’s own experience with the issues concerned and should not be in any circumstances regarded or relied upon as legal advice. It is strongly recommended that anyone considering further action based on the information contained in this publication should seek the advice of a qualified professional.

Robert Keen Director General

July 2022

3

BIFAlink

News Desk

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Ian Matheson, from Impress Communications, reviews some recent news that might impact on Members’ business

increasingly popular source of renewable energy.

A survey of CILT (UK) membership has revealed that some of the largest companies in the logistics sector are struggling to recruit and retain staff in warehouse and driving roles, with 86% experiencing warehouse operative staff shortages in the past two years. In the same period, 60% experienced a shortage of drivers. IN BUSINESS The ‘overlooked’ logistics industry has expanded by 190,000 employees since 2019 and created a further 125,000 jobs in regional economies, according to a report by Frontier Economics commissioned by Amazon. The growth of online shopping during the pandemic made the sector one of the fastest growing in Britain. One positive side-effect of the COVID-19 pandemic for the logistics industry has been visibility – and that has attracted the attention of investors, according to McKinsey & Company. It reported that logistics start-ups received almost twice as much funding in 2021, compared with 2020, with larger amounts being paid out during roughly the same number of funding rounds. The UK parliament’s transport committee says the logistics sector should be given two years to deliver sufficient drivers, workers and facilities, including high-quality services and welfare, or the government should step in and implement a supply chain levy. Newly appointed as chair of Transaid’s board of trustees is former Traffic Commissioner for Scotland Joan Aitken OBE FCILT, a long-time supporter of the international development organisation. She has taken part in two Transaid fundraising cycle challenges, visited projects in Uganda and Zambia, and been a trustee since March 2019.

Hapag-Lloyd demurrage practices fine approved

ON THE OCEAN The US Federal Maritime

rejection of its proposed research and development fund to catalyse sector decarbonisation. It said that the IMO has wasted its opportunity to kick-start a rapid transition to zero-carbon technologies, which will be vital if the shipping industry is to decarbonise completely by 2050. However, the Global Shippers Forum (GSF) opined that if implemented, it would cause already record freight rates to climb again. IN THE AIR IATA has released April 2022 >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20

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