In my role as president of FIATA, I was asked to reflect on what are the most important changes that we expect in the freight forwarding and logistics industry during 2016. Fortune tellers are not always lucky in their predictions and much caution is advisable, especially when reading contrasting views in the press as I do.
One thing is for sure: E-commerce will show the way for the future evolution in our sector and, starting from my homeland, China, I think freight forwarders will need to provide much of the facilitation infrastructure for this to take place. Big or small, all will be called to action, and this may result to change our paradigms, but also show big opportunities to make progress in our earnings, as long as we make wise investments to meet customers’ value requirements.
FIATA is pushing very hard to promote a change in the lack of interoperability and connectivity coming from weak standards; this is a real obstacle for us. We should not get discouraged by things not working at first attempt; we must persevere and emerge winners in a race that is crucial for the future of our business and trade in general.
There will be a lot of work to do in other areas, as well, starting from training and capacity building. Knowledge is never enough, and we need to keep pace with evolution by securing well-trained and sufficient staff. I am sure the new FIATA Logistics Academy will bring important results in this area, where FIATA is leader.
I am surrounded by phenomenal members, and we acquire new ones every week. This is a healthy sign. It means that more and more forwarders desire being recognized as FIATA members, and this can only be positive.
Huxiang Zhao, President, FIATA