For this week’s interview, we sat down with Greg Birley from Ontario, Canada. He explained to us how the pandemic improved their productivity and what it takes to be a good freight forwarder.
How did you get started in the logistics industry and how did you end up with your current company?
My background is in aviation. For 45 years, I moved aerospace equipment parts such as engines all over the world. In 2007, I decided to retire and when my current company found out that I was not working, it took them 8 lunches and dinners to convince me to come work for their sales department. In fact, I hated sales people with a passion (laughs). Still today, people are surprised that I am a sales guy now. I tell them I am not a sales guy, I am a solutions provider.
How did COVID-19 impact your business?
From the beginning, we were in lockdown and everyone had to stay home except for essential services. Luckily, freight forwarding is an essential service. But the system that we developed allowed us to access it remotely, so we got everyone laptops. At the start, everyone was a little scared because it is a different way of working. But I have always said that trustworthy people will work properly, and there will always be people that are not working if you do not watch them. But what we actually noticed with our company is that productivity went up. When working from the office, you lose 1-2 hours just by getting ready and driving to work. This is not an issue when working from home, so people actually work longer hours.
What are your company’s goals for the next 5 years?
We are not trying to be the biggest logistics company in Canada, bigger does not automatically mean better. But we are looking to expand our existing niches into different markets through our network partners in Latin America, Europe and the far East. At the same time, we want to enthuse our network partners to look for business opportunities in Canada.
If you could change one thing about the logistics industry, what would it be?
I think there should be more of an international standard. We have incoterms, which is good, but there are so many other standards. For example, there are different geographical complexities for each country and they each have their own set of rules and regulations. I would love to see the logistics industry more simplified, with more of a standard of how everyone does business.
Years back, they already came up with the Harmonized System code for the classification of commodities worldwide, which I think was a great change. On top of that, I would like to see the airlines more electronic and digital. The same applies for the steam ship lines. There is still so much paper while we as logistics agents move data elements. So every time we need to rekey the changes from paper to paper, this increases the room for error.
What do you like about being a freight forwarder?
Here’s the thing about this business. If you work in a bank, you are doing the same thing every single day of the week. In freight forwarding, nothing is the same. Every single shipment is different, you do not get bored and you are always learning. And it is very rewarding to succeed and provide a solution for your customers. This is the best feeling and it also is the best for of advertising.
However, if you do one thing wrong, everyone knows about it and you are instantly judged. You have to like challenges and you got to have a passion for logistics. Not everyone can be a freight forwarder, it is very stressful and many things can go wrong. It is our job to control it all and to make it look easy.
— Thanks, Greg !
