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Small firms triumph at BIFA awards as freight industry goes back to its roots

[ January 22, 2018   //   ]

Levi Roots of ‘Reggae Reggae Caribbean’ sauce fame helped spice up this year’s BIFA awards, where director general Robert Keen also paid tribute to the many small and start-up firms that had entered this year’s competition.

The winners of the eight General, Modal, and Specialist categories in the Award, revealed tat the association’s Freight Service Awards Competition 2017 at its annual lunch in London on 18 Januar. were: Superior Freight Services UK, TR Logistics, Dachser, B&H Worldwide, Metro Shipping, Moto Freight, Pharmafreight, and Morgan Cargo.

In the Individual category, the winner of the Young Freight Forwarder Award was Louis Perrin of Hemisphere Freight Services. A Lifetime Achievement Award was given this year to Colin Joyce of Stansted Training Services.

BIFA President Sir Peter Bottomley MP again welcomed guests to the 29th BIFA Freight Service Awards luncheon ceremony, and – along with Levi Roots – presented all the finalists with their certificates.
Robert Keen, BIFA Director General, said: “The BIFA Freight Service awards are all about rewarding excellence and the luncheon is an excellent opportunity for Members and guests to network, cement existing relationships, and develop new ones.

“I congratulate every company and individual who took the time and effort to enter our Freight Service Awards competition 2017, especially those members who entered the awards for the first time. The range of finalists and winners dispels the myth that “the awards are just for the big companies”, with seven of the category winners being BIFA Members with fewer than 100 employees. I strongly believe that the act of entering itself allows members to improve their business systems and learn a great deal about themselves.”

 

General categories

The Project Forwarding Award – sponsored by Peter Lole Insurance Brokers

Winner: Superior Freight Services UK – A true door-to-door multi charter project of out-of-gauge rolling stock. Superior helped an overseas client to breakthrough into the UK/EU market, assisting with the set up of UK VAT numbers and translation of over 2,000 US tariff codings to EU Commodity codes. The “superior” project planning demonstrated results in their also being awarded the parts fulfilment contract. This clearly demonstrates the full package of services available and varied skill set a project forwarder is required to provide to its customers.

Finalists – Connaught Air Services, OIA Global Ltd, Braid Logistics

The Specialist Services Award – sponsored by Forward Computers

Winner: TR Logistics. The presentation from TR Logistics Group detailed a service which went over and above for customers. TR has looked to develop more functionality – thinking outside the box, and beyond the normal offering.

Finalists – Advanced Forwarding, B&H Worldwide, James Cargo Services

The Staff Development Award – sponsored by Albacore Systems

Winner: Dachser. Recruiting bright, dedicated, and motivated young people, and then nurturing and developing their talent in a highly-supportive environment to release their fullest potential, is at the heart of Dachser’s strategy.

Finalists – Customs Clearance Ltd, Maltacourt Ltd, Unsworth Global Logistics

The Supply Chain Management Award – sponsored by BoxTop Technologies

Winner: B&H Worldwide. B&H Worldwide’s purpose-built, visibility tool has streamlined their customers’ time critical supply chains and delivered substantial cost savings.

Finalists – Dimerco, Ligentia UK Ltd, Yusen Logistics

Individual categories

The Young Freight Forwarder Award – sponsored by Virgin Atlantic Cargo

Winner: Louis Perrin of Hemisphere Freight Services. Shipping and logistics is in Louis’s blood, and his interest in the industry began in childhood, when he would accompany his father on port visits and business trips overseas. Determined to understand the shipping world from the ground up, Louis began his career in the warehouse whilst studying a degree course in Logistics and Transport. In the relatively short period of ten years, Louis has worked his way up to director level within Hemisphere Freight Services.

Finalists – Irene Borghi (Cargonet Limited), Scott Showell (Damco), Kate Town (TPS Global Logistics), Lee Wells (512 (Sheffield) Ltd)

The Lifetime Achievement Award

Winner: Colin Joyce. In addition to the regular awards, this year BIFA made the decision to recognise a stalwart of the freight forwarding industry, with a Lifetime Achievement Award. This was announced by Kevin King of ceremony sponsor, the TT Club, and awarded to Colin Joyce of Stansted Training Services. Having found himself redundant following the demise of the forwarder Thomas Meadows, Colin set up Stansted Training Services, specialising in the delivery of training in the areas of freight forwarding, exports, imports, and customs procedures. For over 30 years, Colin has delivered courses on behalf of BIFA and retires this year having trained hundreds of individuals and leaving a huge legacy of knowledge.

Modal categories

The Air Cargo Services Award – sponsored by IAG Cargo.

Winner: Metro Shipping. Metro led a successful collaborative approach with Birmingham Airport that demonstrated material benefits to the supply chain: reducing costs, reducing transit times, reducing carbon footprint and growing Birmingham Airport as an air freight centre. This winning submission is a shining example of the benefits of air freight.

Finalists – 512 Sheffield Ltd, Ligentia UK ltd, NNR Global Logistics

The Ocean Services Award – sponsored by CLECAT

Winner: Moto Freight. The winner of the Ocean Services category presented an innovative solution addressing the needs of a niche market. Moto Freight demonstrated sound knowledge and expertise in its field. Recognising the need for best practice in the stowage and shipping of a challenging cargo.

Finalists – 512 Sheffield Ltd, Hemisphere Freight Services, Ucargo

Specialist categories

The Cool Award – sponsored by American Airlines

Winner: Pharmafreight. Pharmafreight has consistently proven to be an innovator and leader in providing logistics solutions to the pharmaceutical business. Its collaborative approach, involving suppliers, clients, and end users has resulted in leading-edge technologies and processes.

Finalists – GBA Services, Morgan Cargo, Unsworth Global Logistics

The Extra Mile Award – sponsored by Descartes.

Winner: Morgan Cargo. Morgan Cargo worked extremely closely with their customer and the customer’s suppliers to deliver better quality products to the CIS market, improving sales and profitability. Managing the UK operations completely, they also saved miles in unnecessary transit movements.

Finalists – Connaught Air Service, MIQ Logistics, Ucargo LLP

 

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