FLEXPORT EMPLOYS 2,800 employees
ACROSS 89 countries
defines its customer as including those “ beyond people who pay for our services ”.
“ We look at our employees as customers , as well as our asset owners and partners ,” he says . “ My mantra is , if you make clients , partners and employees happy you will only make money .”
Manders adds that another plank of the company ’ s success has been the realisation that in logistics “ you can create a lot of value through better user experiences and by reducing inefficiencies ”.
The world has changed a lot since Flexport was founded , notes Manders – not least the power of technology . “ You need real-time visibility to observe , and that ’ s the data ,” he says . “ Although a lot of companies claim they ’ ve solved this , that ’ s not the case .” Visibility , he says , “ is a hard nut to crack , especially in markets where nothing runs on schedule ”.
Manders says this is why Flexport channels a lot of its engineering resources into this , and that its longterm goal “ is to make visibility so easy you don ’ t even think about it ”.
As well as the emergence of datadriven digital solutions , Manders says supply chains are far more complex than they were a decade ago .
“ Supply chains used to be relatively simple ,” he says . “ You might have had a factory in Guangzhou and a warehouse in Ontario , next to the port . You imported a thousand containers a year and had direct contracts with the steamship line , a customs broker , and a drayage provider . Everything could be easily managed on a spreadsheet .”
Today , he says , it ’ s a very different story . “ On the supply side , you ’ re sourcing from ten locations in the world , and there are trade conflicts and tariffs ,” he says , adding : “ On the demand side , where your customers sit , complexity has also increased dramatically .
“ While you used to store all your goods in one location , now you need to have nine locations to accomplish fast , two-day deliveries to your e-commerce customers .”
This is why , says Mandersa , expectations are shifting towards one-day deliveries , which might require 40 locations to execute .
“ If it ’ s same-day deliveries you ’ ll need 200 locations ,” he says . “ In other words , in the past you were looking at one straight line with a permutation of one and now , with ten points of origin and nine or more destinations you ’ re looking at 90 combinations . That ’ s not manageable on a spreadsheet , and you need technology to keep a lid on that .”
16 October 2023