Feature, Freight News

Top marks for UK freight forwarders

[ January 23, 2017   //   Chris ]

The British International Freight Association (BIFA) revealed the winners of its Freight Service Awards competition 2016 at its annual luncheon in London on 19 January, hosted by former swimmer and now TV presenter, Sharron Davies.

The winners of the nine General, Modal and Specialist categories were Delamode, DSV Road, Greenshields Cowie, MIQ Logistics,  Panalpina, Priority Freight, U Cargo, Uniserve Group, Unsworth Global Logistics,
In the Individual category, the winner of the Young Freight Forwarder Award was Nikki Hall of Embassy Freight.
BIFA President Sir Peter Bottomley MP again welcomed guests to the 28th BIFA Freight Services Awards luncheon ceremony and, along with Sharron Davies, presented all the finalists with their certificates.
Robert Keen, BIFA Director General, says: “The BIFA Freight Service awards are not just about rewarding excellence. The luncheon is an excellent networking event, cementing existing relationships between Members and guests, and making new ones.
“I congratulate every company and individual who took the time and trouble to enter our Freight Service Awards competition 2016. I continue to believe that the very act of entering allows Members to improve their business systems and learn a great deal about themselves.”

The finalists and winners in the 10 Awards categories were as follows:

General categories
The Project Forwarding Award – sponsored by Peter Lole Insurance Brokers
Winner – Ucargo – Having secured the project, the company found itself in the unusual position of having not one, but 35 clients as the owner operators of the carnival equipment, all of whom had a vested interest in seeing their equipment handled correctly and returned to them safely. Ucargo demonstrated exceptional supervision and planning with a very hands-on approach throughout this project.
Finalists – Laser Transport International, OIA Global, Panalpina World Transport

The Specialist Services Award – sponsored by Forward Computers
Winner – Priority Freight – The judges felt that Priority Freight demonstrated a high level of skill and specialism in the automotive industry by completing a multi-faceted challenge in an extremely tight timeframe. The team at Priority Freight coordinated a charter aircraft, flight permits and overland transport to destination in extreme weather to deliver on time and prevent a major manufacturing shutdown.
Finalists – Blackthorne International Transport, Charles Kendall Packing, James Cargo Services

The Staff Development Award – sponsored by Albacore Systems
Winner – DSV Road – Demonstrating a commitment to staff from day one the Young DSV programme sees trainees follow a two-year apprenticeship combining on-the-job training with classroom learning and examinations. Trainees are coached on all aspects of the industry as well as the DNA of DSV ensuring true engagement with the DSV brand and reducing attrition.
Finalists – Customs Clearance, Expeditors International, Uniserve Group

The Supply Chain Management Award –  sponsored by BoxTop Technologies
Winner – Unsworth Global Logistics – Unsworth demonstrated a pro-active approach towards identifying bottlenecks in its customer’s supply chain. Its focus on improving efficiency far exceeded the customer’s expectations and consequently provided its customer with substantial cost savings, reduced its carbon footprint and streamlined the delivery process.
Finalists – Allport Cargo Services, Expeditors International (UK), Ligentia UK

Individual category
The Young Freight Forwarder Award – sponsored by Virgin Atlantic Cargo
Winner – Nikki Hall of Embassy Freight – Nikki joined Embassy Freight on leaving school and has not looked back. Her go-getting personality has enabled her to progress from trainee to Business Development Manager with special focus on the India market which she has visited frequently in order to meet with customers and suppliers.
Finalists – Simon Arnold of Unity Logistics, Adam Harris of Heritage International Freight, Lee Wells of 512 (Sheffield)

Modal categories
The Air Cargo Services Award – sponsored by IAG Cargo
Winner – The Uniserve Group – The judges felt that Uniserve’s use of the 360ULD was an excellent response to changing logistics sectors and economic pressures. Showing clear evidence of cost savings, customers in the supply chain benefitted in both product integrity and profitability.
Finalists – 512 (Sheffield), MIQ Logistics, MOL Logistics (UK)

The European Logistics Award – sponsored by TT Club
Winner – Delamode – The judges agreed that Delamode had demonstrated the successful implementation of an innovative solution in providing a cost effective parcel delivery service to the Romanian and Baltic state markets. The service solution provided cost saving benefits to the business whilst clearly benefitting the customer base in offering a more efficient delivery service.
Finalists – Espace Europe, International Forwarding, Uniserve Group

The Ocean Services Award – sponsored by Port of Antwerp
Winner – Greenshields Cowie – The company demonstrated an effective use of ocean services from four continents in order to manage the delivery of solar panels and associated equipment to remote areas of Africa in a bid to bring clean energy to health facilities and schools in developing regions. The judges were impressed by the presentation and the “green” spirit of the team at Greenshields Cowie.
Finalists – 512 (Sheffield), Ucargo

Specialist categories
The Cool Award – sponsored by American Airlines Cargo
Winner – Panalpina – Through its “Pan Cool” product, Panalpina has proven itself to be the global leader in the cool chain sector. Using its own freighter aircraft it is able to offer unique cool chain solutions at a global level. Its continued commitment to innovation and development of the “Pan Cool” product is testimony to its professionalism and ambition.
Finalists – Metro Shipping, Morgan Cargo

The Extra Mile Award – sponsored by Descartes
Winner – MIQ Logistics – MIQ Logistics went the extra mile by providing direct customer support on behalf of its client. An area not traditionally supported by a logistics provider in the B2C supply chain and added valued to their client by securing increased purchases and ensuring customer satisfaction as a result.
Finalists – OIA Global, Shippio Car & Motorcycle Shipping, Simarco International

Tags: BIFA