SBS Worldwide wins BIFA Ocean Freight Award by encouraging customers to ‘ship fewer containers’

LONDON, 21 January 2011 – SBS Worldwide’s project to have customers ‘ship fewer containers’ may not sound like good business strategy, but it is a winning formula for customers and SBS alike.

The privately-owned company was named winner of the Ocean Freight Award at the annual BIFA Freight Service Awards, announced in London yesterday. This is the second time in three months that SBS Worldwide has won a prestigious logistics industry award, as it was named Freight Forwarder of the Year at the IFW Awards last October.

“We actively help our customers to reduce the number of containers they need, and the number of container moves they need to make,” explains Nick Walker, SBS Worldwide Group Managing Director. “It does mean we are reducing our own revenue, but it also means we build excellent customer loyalty and win more business.”

Each of the three elements in the ‘ship fewer containers’ project – eDC, container loading configuration software and slipsheets – produces significant benefits in its own right. But used together, the benefits are multiplied.

“We have designed our eDC software for the publishing industry, shipping from printers in China to customers around the world, but it can be applied to any industry seeking to cut delivery times, reduce inventory and carbon emissions while at the same time improving service to end customers,” explains Nick Walker.

The combination of slipsheets and container loading configuration software can increase loading in a container by 10-30%. For every container the customer no longer needs to ship, the costs of freight, insurance, demurrage, devanning and surcharges are saved.

“And, just as significantly as the savings, our customers benefit from greater control over their products, ensuring they can be quickly shipped to the area of greatest demand. This increases their own customers’ satisfaction while helping reduce levels of obsolete stock.”

The judges said “SBS Worldwide was chosen as the deserved winner of this award for their innovative ideas and best-of-breed IT solutions which were spread throughout the business. They displayed the willingness to be different in order to maintain long-term business relationships. Significant investments were made, and lean processes adopted, which notably enhanced the customer experience.”

SBS Worldwide offers global transport and logistics services, including oceanfreight, airfreight, courier and bespoke supply chain design and management. The company employs almost 200 staff in nine facilities across the UK and US and has recently established a presence in Hong Kong and China.

Picture Caption: Nick Walker, Group Managing Director, SBS Worldwide (centre) on stage collecting the BIFA Ocean Freight Award.

About SBS Worldwide Ltd.

SBS Worldwide, Ltd. is a privately owned UK company offering specialised global freight forwarding services to the publishing industry. SBS Worldwide, Ltd. has successfully adapted its service to meet the increasingly complex supply chains and comply with security regulations through the use of innovative information technology, the development of unique operation processes and ongoing training programs.

SBS Worldwide, Ltd. invested in the development and use of innovative information technologies to drive costs out of their customers' supply chains. The company was recently awarded the 2010 IFW Freight Forwarder of the Year Award for the development of its eDC (electronic distribution center) supply chain software for the publishing industry. The system effectively facilitates the transport of books from printers to customers around the world quickly, efficiently, costeffectively and in an environmentally responsible manner.

The company also developed unique products that have reduced the number of containers required to move products. SBS Worldwide, Ltd. developed configuration software that has greatly increased the efficiency of product stacking in containers during the loading phase. In addition, the company introduced the use of slipsheets rather than pallets, which significantly increased the number of books that could be loaded into a container. IFW has just won the 2010 BIFA Ocean Freight Award for this unique innovation.