 It has been said that Mr. Shang Xiao Yong CEO of Dalian Epoch International Freight Co., Ltd is a logistics expert ahead of his time, and it was our great pleasure to have the chance to interview him. He gave us a deep impression of his knowledge of the logistics industry, but remained humble at all times.
The pursue of development
Dalian Epoch International Freight Co., Ltd started out 10 years ago as a trading company with a team of only 10 people. Since then it has expanded and developed into a freight forwarding company based at the port in Dalian, China, with a strong integrated network. It can provide a fast and cost effective freight forwarding service due to its cooperation with many shipping companies. Mr. Shang said: "During our development phase, we never encountered a period of unbalance; we always remained stable, even when faced with difficulties like the rise in fuel prices, a fall in freight or fierce competition. In my opinion, our success is due to our strong management, development strategy and hard work from the whole team."
Staff is the key factor of a successful freight forwarding company
Mr. Shang kept a smile throughout the interview, even when faced with some difficult questions.
The logistics industry is continuing to develop but a lack of experts in the industry is causing a problem. This problem is manly due to the increased use of e-business and the logistics industry is not the only one affected by this new development. Currently, many of the experts in the logistics sector are not adapting quickly enough to be able to keep up with the use of this new technology, and many staff that have been brought into the logistics field with a background in software engineering are not yet familiar with the logistics industry. This means that the logistics industry is well in need of trained staff with integrated skills.
Mr. Shang said: "The experience and ability of our staff is very important because staff are the foundation of any company. Employing personnel who already have experience in the industry is always our first choice, but not always possible. In order to train members of staff without adequate work experience we have developed relationships with some market leading logistics companies. We have established a procedure to send members of staff to these companies to learn not only about their management system and how they use software to effectively manage their business, but also to learn about methods being utilized at the forefront of the logistics industry. At present, our employees only spend a short period of time training in these companies, but with continued cooperation and communication we are hoping to extend this period."
Information and modern logistics
Modern logistics is focused on improving efficiency, reducing cost, and satisfying the customers' demands. Information handling has become a vital part of modern logistics, and one of the main goals of logistics companies to establish effective information systems.
Mr. Shang said that the traditional sales procedures in the logistics industry are either by selling over the phone or by talking face to face, but the development of e-business has brought along online logistics, which is more effective and costs efficient. Currently, he is upgrading the company's website so it can be viewed in English and Japanese as well as Chinese (the address of the website is www.dlepoch.com ). Although it is expensive to upgrade their website, Mr. Shang believes that it is worth the money and will help the company to establish their brand name in the future.
The value of your brand
Many newly formed logistics companies pay little attention to the marketing and establishment of their brand. However, brand name are playing an increasingly important role in fighting against the competition by showing the company's strength, culture, reputation, service quality, etc. As a result, every logistics company has to adapt itself to the way of modern day logistics.
In order to promote the company, Mr. Shang advertises it on Alibaba and other reputable websites, and also joined the WCA. It takes a long time for him to establish the company's brand name, and Mr. Shang said that the first thing he has to do is to update his way of thinking to catch up with the development of the modern logistics industry. This is also the most important step for other Chinese freight forwarders as they try to establish their brand names.
The next goal is third party logistics
While talking about the future of Dalian Epoch, Mr. Shang shows his confidence and expressed his expectations. He said that third party logistics is leading the development of the international logistics industry as the popularity of globalization and informatization continues to increase. It provides more effective distribution at reduced costs. Many international logistics companies are crowding into the Chinese market and trying to attract clients, which is putting more pressure on Chinese freight forwarders. In a conference held by the board of directors last week, they talked about this topic and all of them agreed that becoming a third party logistics company is their goal for the future. In the past several years, Dalian Epoch has accumulated much experience and capital, and they pay a lot of attention to the establishment of their brand and to honesty. As a result, although it may be difficult in the beginning, they are confident that this goal can be achieved.
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