NO CHRISTMAS RUSH THIS YEAR

Thanks to Mr. Bush and his allies who were responsible for the Wall Street melt down, our industry is also now facing a very tough times. Starting with DHL at the top, all multi-national forwarders will be handing out Pink Slips and final paychecks as Christmas presents to much of their workforce as their revenues shrink and their business models need to adapt to this rapid change. The sad thing is not one expert can look into their crystal ball and tell the world with any certainty just when we will start climbing out of recession.

The small mid-sized forwarder is far more resilient than his big brothers. Now is the time to attack the client lists of the multi-nationals, just the same way as Expeditors did in the nineties by selling a buck for ninety cents and telling the airlines if they want to keep their newly won business then they will have to drop the price. Yes, unfortunately it will be a case of survival of the fittest and for those who want to sit and wait for better times it will be their undoing. We are looking at a smaller cake with the result that only the truly hungry will have any chance of a slice.

In the past I had always been a proponent of doing business the old fashioned way; through relationships and loyalty. Wall Street has turned me into an anachronism and if I still believe in those principals then I am truly am a dinosaur. In throwing my ideals to the wind, I have instructed all staff to get the best price from every supplier and if need be, nail them to the wall in our zest to obtain the cheapest deal. Yes, it is the Wal-Mart philosophy. There is no such thing as a prime carrier anymore. I don’t care what airline we chose, so long as it is the cheapest because that is the only way we can keep our customers happy!

Tags: Christmas, DHL, Expeditors, Wal-Mart, Wall Street