INTERNATIONAL freight forwarder Asialink Cargo Philippines, Inc will run a much tighter ship this year as it enters its 22nd year in the business.
“2009 and 2010 are very bad years for the industry, thus our main crisis management strategy is to cut cost and focus on improving volume particularly from small- and medium-scale enterprises,” president and chief operating officer Chris SA Coching said.
Asialink said the strategy better positions the company for such time when the international cargo volume rises once again.
“Considering the present crisis in the airfreight business, we are only maintaining short-term plans to ensure stability of Asialink amid this industry turmoil,” Coching told PortCalls.
The global economic crisis has dampened overall demand for goods, pulling down cargo volumes in all markets.
“Everything that relates to increases in investments has been sidelined until the airfreight industry has recovered,” Coching added.
Still, he said clients can expect to continue enjoying value-added services and competitive rates from the leaner yet stronger organization. “Clients can also look forward to Asialink still being around to continue its quality service and ready to attend to their air logistics requirements upon recovery of the world market.”
Coching is optimistic that businesses have nowhere else to go but up, considering the depths from which the industry emerged.
The company’s dedicated staff, conservative operations and strong network, he explained, have been instrumental in helping the organization weather the global economic storm.
In the meantime, Asialink is anticipating favorable election results next month. The company believes credible poll results are a key driver in the entry of foreign investments.
Asialink was founded in 1988 to offer air and sea freight forwarding services, including NVOCC cargo consolidation, breakbulk services, customs brokering, inland transport and secured warehousing. It operates branches in Davao and Cebu and satellite offices in the country’s various export processing zones, including Pampanga.
