Peters and May Appoints Agent in the Middle East: Consolidated Shipping Services L.L.C.

PETERS & MAY ENHANCES NETWORK WITH STRATEGIC PARTNER IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Peters & May, a world leader in the provision of marine logistics, has appointed Consolidated Shipping Services L.L.C as its agent for the Middle East. Strategically headquartered in Dubai, Consolidated Shipping Services L.L.C, has fully operational bases in Jebel Ali Freezone and the key DAFZA (Dubai Airport Free Zone) as well as benefits from a further five offices in Dubai alone to allow the smoothest and specialist on-the-ground support. The company provides freight forwarding and logistics via air, land and sea, which is handled by over 1,000 employees working across its network of offices around the world, including locations in key areas within the UAE and throughout the Gulf.

Gerald Price, Managing Director of Peters & May comments, “It has always been our goal to select partners that are well-placed and capable of meeting the requirements of our worldwide customers. We recognise the proven ability of Consolidated Shipping Services L.L.C to deliver service to the highest calibre because of its set-up of offices in key locations, strong contacts and access to local officials and customs clearance for quick and efficient support.

“Due to the increased volume of business being carried out by our local Dubai office, we have found it necessary to appoint an agent with an existing network of offices in the region, which will support the growth that we are anticipating in the Middle East. Following this appointment, we will be integrating the work of our existing local Dubai office into the operations at Consolidated Shipping Services L.L.C, which will enable us to further extend our reach of skills and expertise beyond Dubai and into the far reaching corners of the Middle East. We have great faith in the future development of the leisure marine industry in the Middle East and are putting these plans in place to maximise opportunities throughout the region.”

T. S. Kaladharan, CSS Group Chairman says, “We are extremely delighted to work hand in hand with Peters & May and together we will be able to utilise the extensive experience of Consolidated Shipping Services L.L.C in managing turn-key projects and handling specialist cargo movements in the Middle East. With the growth of marine activity and developments in the UAE we too recognise the need to partner with a firm that has received global recognition in yacht transportation. We share the same level of professionalism that has made us recognised leaders in our specialist fields and are confident that this co-operation will be mutually beneficial for both CSS and Peters & May.”

Peters & May has over 30 years experience in the provision of marine logistics and offers global boat transportation and freight forwarding via air, road, rail and sea from a global network of offices and exclusive agencies. The company ships 8000 vessels through more than 150 ports in over 60 countries and is the preferred shipper for many of the world’s leading boat builders, including Correct Craft Inc, Gulf Craft, Princess Yachts, Sunseeker and Viking Yacht Company.

Customers interested in receiving information on Peters & May’s services in the UAE and throughout the Middle East should contact Julian Sutch via emailing dubai@petersandmay.com, or alternatively by phoning 00971 4299 5353.

HOW TO BECOME A WINNER DURING RECESSION

It is recession the medias, economics gurus, politicians, journalists everybody has to talk about. Even though it is difficult to quantify the intensity or predict the impact period, the effect of recession influence on differently to different people. A retailer see fall in sales, a stock broker a fall in stock prices and for a manufacturer its impact will be on production side. But how do you overcome it has no authoritative theories or definitions.

Recession is a reality of business life. Managing to navigate and come out of the economic downturn is a critical business capability. In the past companies who have managed to emerge as winners must have had an approach which made it possible for them to do so. Trying to improve the business performance during these times may not take you all the way long , but companies who built financial strength during the good times acquired liquid assets , limited debt and focused on cash flow to remain flexible and unscathed.

It would be wise to narrow rather than broaden business portfolios focusing in areas on which a clear lead can be established. These acts can be described as a very conservative financial management, but there are other factors as well. Investing on Information systems to manage and gain insight about their key value drivers, to have more enhanced outputs and responsive systems.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at CSS

At CSS Group, CSR is first demonstrated within the organization from confirming to all legalities to high quality services and to promote high standards of ethics all over the company. According to CSS Group Chairman T.S. Kaladharan, “From the inception stage itself we are continuously pursuing the initiatives related to quality management, environmental preservation and humanity. The CSR activities towards the employees will be based on working towards a diversified workforce, a fulfilling workplace environment to achieve improved working conditions. To ensure safety and healthy working environment we constantly revise the measures within the organization.”

No smoking Please
One of the recent health care courses of action issued by the Group was Non Smoking Policy for CSS across its offices. This was introduced in Jan ’09 for prohibiting smoking within the working premises for all the employees in CSS Group offices world wide. This was well acknowledged by everyone.

Empowered with E- Recruitment

As an ongoing research & development process with the IT department of CSS Group, many new innovative findings have been formulated with in the existing group site as well as the upcoming portal of the company. Recently, the CSS IT department had announced the implementation of the e- recruitment solutions with in its system. ERecruitment is a part of FINS Portal application to give scalable solution for HR recruitment. It is an integrated version of HR module available in FINS platform, which are responsible in supporting the applicational part of the Group’s software solutions. This process gives managers and recruiters full flexibility in vacancy posting, identifying & recruiting. On the other hand, an applicant will have transparency in the application status and tracking new employees. This e-Recruitment process is developed with the vision of providing self service recruitment capabilities to companies and to attain complete hassle free recruitment management. Users can view vacancy position by logging into the portal with their email address and a unique password. Email alerts are equipped for timely notifications. Online test can also be conducted successfully using this application.

Promenade into Paradise- CSS Kolkata family Pic-Trip

CSS KOLKATA family had their get together at the nature blessed Dooars, an exotic tourist destination at the foothills of the mighty Himalayas. It was a joining filled with energy & understanding. Taking care of each & individual member, Arup Ray, Director CSS India led the group’s family get-to-gather in the month of January 2009. The entire team enjoyed the scenic beauty with the Murty river where the wild elephants come in the very early morning for drinking and bathing. Later in the evening having the Bon Fire and watching the Adivasi (Tribal) dance with their beats & rhythms along with the sumptuous wild cuisines CSS KOLKATA team has experienced a new smell of Unity with nature.

Pongal Celebrations at CSS Chennai

CSS Chennai office celebrated Pongal this year in a grand manner with traditional customs and all the festive joys. Pongal is one of the most popular harvest festivals of South India, mainly Tamil Nadu. Pongal falls in the mid-January every year and marks the auspicious beginning of Uttarayan – Sun’s journey northwards. Pongal festival lasts for four days. Celebrations include drawing of Kolam, swinging & cooking of delicious Pongal (A delicacy prepared with Rice, Daal & Ghee as the main ingredients)

Consolidated Shipping Logistics Centre2- SCM completes 5 years

The Supply Chain Management facility CSLC- 2, of CSS Group, completes its fifth year of operations at Jebel Ali, successfully. Supply chain management (SCM) is a necessity in today’s business. It is a dynamic issue. It is the focus of key issues such as the global marketplace for sourcing and sales and with outsourcing. Consolidated Shipping Group, being a front runner in the field of freight forwarding in the Middle East and Indian Sub continent, their customer base and the requirements have to be successfully harmonised with the state-of –the art infrastructure and service qualities. CSLC-2 is a towering example of CSS Group’s commitment towards its clients. CSLC-2 has an operational space of 100,000 sq ft with 21,000 CBM capacity. The 12,200 pallet positions, comfortable racking, storage areas, and the designated space for handling the value added services, makes CSLC-2 distinct. The entire warehouse comes under special security surveillance with the most modern equipments. For the hi-tech industry, dedicated storage area and special handling equipments are also available here. The SCM facility has wireless handheld and truck mounted technology to support both barcode and RFID methodologies. The value added services offered at the CSLC-2 are:

•Re working & Modifications
•Repacking
•Promo pack
•Palletizing & Shrink-wrapping
•Transportation & door delivery

Hareesh M Haridas, Asst. Manager, CSLC- 2 states that now the clients of CSS can take the full advantage of a standardized business, evenly supported by the Information technology solutions, affirming its motto of being the one stop solution for logistics. “We have become a significant SCM provider in the region, giving emphasis to innovation. CSS Group has always been keen in professional wokers and quality service. Company’s global network and image has always been a catalyst for CSLC-2 in its growth process. The global presence of CSS Group has brought in a handful of reputed names as clients to CSLC-2,” says Hareesh. Supply chain management seeks to reduce inefficiencies as to time, inventories and cost. Today the clients need best quality services at justifiable rates without compromising on the supplies. and RFID methodologies.

CSS Group, with a firm determination, started CSLC-2 with in the most competitive segment of UAE, with a vision to innovate and improve the quality. Today, the success story of this establishment re-affirms the far sightedness of the company and its management. From an average of 12,000 CBM per month in the first year, CSLC-2, is handling 20,000 CBM per month on an average basis today. According to Hareesh, “Eventhough the changing economic scenario and the globalization is inviting more challenges and stringent competition in the industry, CSLC-2, with its uncompromised service quality, is gearing up to conquer more heights in the future.” The advantages of an association with the Supply Chain Management facility of CSS could be cited in a few simple terms like enhanced customer satisfaction, cost conciousness, information sensitivity and quality. At CSS Group, Supply chain management is a process that crosses the organization.

Contact Details:
Consolidated Shipping Logistics Centre -2 –SCM
PO Box 18595, Jebel Ali, Dubai,
UAE Tel: +971 4 8873999
Fax: +971 4 8818696
Email: info@fmcglogistics.net

Shipco Transport – Global Agents Meeting

Shipco Transport hosted a Global Agents Meeting in October 2008 in Weehawken, New Jersey.

With representatives from 58 countries, the meeting was truly ‘global’ and was the first time that all Shipco offices and agents had assembled since April 2000.

The guests had the opportunity to get together in the world-famous Shipco Bar in Hoboken on Thursday October 23rd.  This was the first social occasion of the event but was followed by more serious business on the Friday.

Klaus Jepsen, Group CEO for Shipco, opened the proceedings with a welcome and key note address.   This was then followed by presentations from other senior Shipco personnel. 

With the formalities out of the way, everyone got down to the real business of the day – one-on-one meetings.  This allowed Shipco offices and agents to meet individually, to further develop their relationship and, in some cases, start new working partnerships.  It is rare, with such a diverse crowd, that people have the opportunity to sit down, face-to-face and with the buzz in the meeting room, it was obvious that much business was done that day. 

Following a busy but beneficial day, the group left Weehawken for Liberty State House – a beautiful restaurant located on the banks of the Hudson River, overlooking the dramatic New York City skyline.  The ‘global’ nature of the event then took a very American twist with the theme of the evening being ‘Country & Western’.  As well as listening to some good old country music, the participants were given lessons in ‘line dancing’.  Everyone had great fun with this but whether their dancing skills improved remains to be seen.

On the Saturday, guests had a choice of leisure activities – golf, shopping or a New York City tour.  Unfortunately, the New Jersey weather was somewhat uncooperative although the golfers swear it was dry on the course.

However, the weather really did take a turn for the worse in the evening with hurricane-like winds and torrential rain – all the more unfortunate since the night’s entertainment was a dinner cruise around Manhattan.  With that plan ‘sunk’, the group had to make their own entertainment in the hotel.  This didn’t
seem to be too much of a problem and, although it was not quite as planned, the evening was still a success.

Sunday marked the end of the two day extravaganza and while many participants were tired, all agreed that it was a fruitful – and fun – event.  Let’s just hope it’s not 9 years until the next one!

30 years young- Shinyei Shipping Co. Ltd.

Shinyei Shipping Co.,Ltd. based in Tokyo prosperously commemorated
the 30th anniversary at The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo, in Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan on October 8th, 2008 then invited approximately 400 guests from home and abroad, i.e. the customers, the shipping companies, the customs brokers and the overseas agents. 

Established in 1978, they started LCL cargo business for Singapore and Hong Kong as a
specialist of the consoli-cargo transporter in Asia. They are now acknowledged widely
obtaining the legal basis as a pioneer of expanding the basis in this field having built
the network that covers all over Asia including the Middle East even from the time when the NVOCC was not yet common.

‘We’ve got all kinds of inquiries at the beginning, but NVO’s been established legally and acknowledged ever since. Nowadays the market is even seriously competitive.
Even though we’ve been through a lot, we wouldn’t be here without all your supports and would like to thank you for it. Keeping ourselves motivated, we’ll keep striving for the improvements.’ the general manager of the company, Mr. Nagashima greeted.

Representing the overseas agents, Mr. Iskandar Zulkarnain, the chairman of FPS Group congratulated and presented gifts. Representing, CSS Group, Mr. T.S Kaladharan Chairman and Mr. Paul James D’Souza, Senior VP- Sales & Marketing attended the function.

FPS AGM

This year FPS Annual General Meeting was held between 27th- 29th of October, 2008 at the Melia Galgos Hotel in Madrid, Spain.The meet was attended by FPS network agents and general agents. There were 113 delegates from 60 offices who represented 41 countries. “Your vision is our mission” is stated to be the motto /theme of the meet.

Iskandar Zulkarnain, Chairman was pleased to introduce 6 new companies to all the delegates. During his presentation, specially mentioned the spirit of togetherness during the time of economic crisis. Invitation to CSS proved to be an ideal opportunity for the team to cement the existing relationship with FPS. It was such a great honour for CSS Group to be part of this meet. It was always a strategic business relationship from the inception for both the groups.

CSS Group delegates headed by Paul D’Souza and the team consisted of Siby C Kurian from CSS UAE, Narayan R.T from CSS Bahrain, Dean Landers from CSS Kuwait, Jairam K R, Arup Ray, Rampal Tandon, Hemant Bhanushali from Console Shipping Services India and Asim Saeed Khan from Console Shipping Services Pakistan Private Ltd.

There were presentations given by FPS members on various functional activities of the Group such as Oliver Ward GED, Marina Rollan–SC Header of IT Development, Kettivit Sittisoontornwong, Ian Matheson–Impress Communication. The meet truly witnessed a great networking opportunity for all the delegates.

Professional Talk

NGL is a leading transportation and logistic solutions provider in Germany with an enviable international network of partners and agents. As a European company, NGL offers a comprehensive service portfolio to the customers through their extraordinary and sophisticated logistic solutions.
Face to face with Mr. Mathias Brosowsky, Managing Director, NGL Logistics Company. The Company is 2 years old in the market.
Mr. Mathias is a pioneer in the logistics industry with an experience of more than 2 decades


What would you consider as the USP of NGL in the cut throat market conditions of today?
Ans: More Performance equals More Success. This is the philosophy that we would like to carry on towards servicing our customers and maintaining the relationship with our business partners. We are in the logistics service industry, so service means  to us more than the routine handling of logistics and transportation jobs , we believe in personalizing our services by tailoring our products to suit the customers .
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Can we please talk about the NGL team?
Ans:   Every NGL team member is empowered to be the decision maker on-the-spot who believes in understanding the customers’ needs and giving a new dimension to the service with our personalized logistics solutions. We are available 24 hrs for our customers needs.
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What are the core products/industries that NGL has focused primarily?
Ans:  Our core products are Air & Ocean freight, as well as Logistics. Our understanding of Logistics ranges from classical consulting up to the realization of complex outsourcing solutions.
Our customer portfolio ranges from small and medium sized companies, as well as stock exchange listed global acting companies.

Brief about NGL network (countries)?
Ans: It is our goal to cover the major industrial states with network partners that share our philosophy and business understanding. A major benefit for us is working with Partners that are able to offer services in different countries under one brand. For example, our exclusive Network Partner for US and Asia is Phoenix Intl. For Dubai and other GCC Countries we are associated with the CSS Group.

Has the recent economic crisis had any effect on your business?
Ans: We are associated with a group of networking partners whose reputation and experience has taken them beyond small size business. Of course worldwide economy crises will also affect the forwarding industry, but such crises can also be a chance for forwarders that offer personalized and sophisticated logistic solutions.

Can we please discuss about NGL’s association with CSS?
Ans: Mr.T. S Kaladharan, Chairman CSS Group and I go long back together in this industry. His foresight has helped to place CSS Group as one of the leading freight forwarders in the region.
Apart from our excellent personal rapport, we have zeroed down on CSS Group as our Middle East networking partner because of the Group’s enviable world wide network and professional team service.
We have always received excellent support and service from the team and will look forward to enjoying a mutually beneficial and supportive working relationship.

Corporate Backchat

Would you like to hear some “Corporate Backchat?” How about a little light teasing, some slightly audacious or perhaps adroit and clever replies?  Backchat makes the world a livelier place and also more challenging. What though does backchat mean for management and staff, especially in the context of a company’s internal communications??

Well if you were asked, “What do you think about the painting – Backchat” what would you say? “It’s nice”, “I do not like it”, “It is bright and colourful” or “Why should I care?” maybe some of your short responses but if we consider these replies they do not really tell us anything constructive. An art critic would examine the emotional thoughts of Kerala artist, Rajesh Ragendran and interpret the composition design. Is it two ladies who have fallen out or are they defending themselves, united together, “back to back”, fighting off a verbal attack? For someone who is trying to be investigative and look for the meaning, all sorts of ideas spring to mind. It is these same qualities of constructive investigative comments that a company seeks in responses and feed-back from their staff. Whereas backchat might be seen as sometimes cheeky or impulsive it often provides, for those who are alert, an insight into what is uppermost in the speaker’s mind. Remember many a true word is said in jest.
Recent findings
A recent study by The Work Foundation, a London based non profit making independent research consultancy, recognised the importance and potential of corporate internal communications.  Based on a study of over 500 organisations, many of which were multi-site, it found that departments who developed good internal communications were able to enhance closer contacts and responses between executives, management and staff. This resulted in improved organizational cohesion and performance. To be effective it is important that internal communications move both upwards as well as downwards within the corporate structure. This is why staff feedback, throughout all levels of management, is so important for the development and well being of a company.  So why is it in many companies that the staff seem reluctant and shy to give meaningful feedback? Why, when asked for “feedback”, are the few comments which are received usually so general and vague?.
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Barriers to be breached
Feedback responses, to be helpful, need to explain or give suggestions for discussion otherwise they are not much use. Probably the main difficulty for staff is that they wish to be seen as “team-players” so making individual comment is tantamount to “sticking one’s head above the parapet”. This may not only cause jealousy or problems but also there is no obvious possibility of a reward. If this is so, why bother to respond? This is the barrier that needs to be breached and broken down so that a company may achieve greater things. That’s why backchat within internal communications is an innovative concept. “Backchat” requires that all involved within a company need to be proactive as well as reactive. Those who ask for responses and comments should never primarily look to apportion credit and certainly never blame. Their “backchat” motivation should be an endeavour in discovering information on which to develop opportunities.  The upside of getting involved, by sending in comments or feedback, is that it stimulates staff to focus their own thoughts which has a beneficial effect amongst team members.

The current global economic challenges demand that every opportunity to rise above them should be seized upon. “Backchat” provides an advantage.  Remember, “Great oak trees from little acorns grow”. One small seemingly insignificant piece of “backchat”, if spotted and acted upon, may well increase a company’s good fortune…….and “Good Fortune” is, without doubt, something everyone wishes for in 2009. Thank you for the great support from our readers..
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Good Luck and happy reading !!!.
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Unnikrishnan G
Head- Corporate Communications

CSS Sales Review Meeting

CSS Group always strives for excellence amongst its employees and to review the performance, meetings for all the departments are conducted on a regular basis. The latest review meeting was held for two days from 12 to 14 September 2008. The destination was chosen in the culturally rich northern emirates of UAE –Ras Al Khaimah. The review meeting was held in the luxury Hotel Al Hamra Fort and proved to be the ideal get away from the hustle & bustle of the city. The components and plan that defines the target achievement and channels of execution were the main focus of the meeting. Presentations were given by each team manager for their entire team. Along with the senior management the team managers who attended the meeting were Rakesh Menon, Sreenath, Siby C Kurian, Narayan, Sanal Haridas, Nelson D’Souza ,Qais Abdullah, Ajit Puthran, Fida , Renjith Pillai, Angeli, Gillian, Amith & Suku. The performances of all the teams were reviewed by the senior management in open and forum discussion.