In the past few months, the pandemic has rewritten the dynamics of every trade, and the international supply chain is also facing challenges. In a war with the virus, the world is facing new challenges daily, and cargo services are no exception. Global restrictions and nationwide lockdowns have delivered big blows to the air as well as water cargo services. Initially, cargo services shrunk to 35% of their capacity. At one point, many cargo service companies witnessed a situation with no loaders, no drivers, and no unloaders. It seemed that the $200 billion cargo and logistics industry had come to a standstill by March. Some feared the collapse of the entire industry. But in the course of due time, this industry started to spring back into action as the need for medical equipment started to increase. It was soon seen that to survive the storm, one of the biggest cargo companies, Bin Yousef Cargo, has re-engineered its ways to weather the storm with more stability.
Bin Yousef Cargo is playing the part of a reliable and efficient cargo service. It has become the forefront of delivering medical supplies across the world. Although this sector has one set of problems that get augmented due to the global pandemic, Bin Yousef Cargo is a perfect example of how it could consolidate cargo in this virus-dominant era.
Bin Yousef Cargo
Bin Yousef Cargo was established in 1985 in Doha, Qatar. It is a third party global logistics supplier that has its business centre around middle-east Asia and around different parts of the world. The company has been working for over 35 years to provide leading services in cargo shipment. It has chartered Boeing 777-200 freighter flights to deliver goods across the globe in the pandemic times.
Cost Efficiency in the Pandemic Era
When cargo services started functioning, there were a lot of restrictions and traffic changes at air and seaports that led to an increase in the cost of freight charges that reduced the cost efficiency of the cargo services.
Some of the factors that led to a decrease in cost efficiency are:-
- Change in traffic of airports and water ports – Since many countries have stopped travel from different countries, there was a complete change in schedule.
- Freight rates have increased abnormally – There wasn’t much fluctuation in freight rates, but with the increasing demand for PPE kits, rates got increased tremendously.
But even in this tough time, Bin Yousef Cargo was able to consolidate cargo and manage cost-efficiency. At the peak of the pandemic, when there was much constriction of the volumes of cargo, Bin Yousef Cargo adopted a more disciplined approach with its cost-cutting strategies and reduced air and water transport costs to maintain profitability. They kept freight rates stable despite the low demand. To cope with the disruptions, shippers in the market adjusted various operations as per safety standards and the financial situation.
The company shipped critical medical supplies like gloves, face masks, sanitizers, and PPE kits in several air charters, giving price leverage to customers than in regular flights. To pacify costs further, Bin Yousef Cargo started regular services from Chinese ports to Doha and Europe. Additionally, they also provided customizable freight options to shipments that were required to be delivered at a specific time.
How Bin Yousef Cargo was able to consolidate cargo services?
Jiju Haneef, director of cargo operations at Bin Yousef Cargo, said that when many freight forwarders were struggling to consolidate cargo services, they worked hard day in and out to keep their operations afloat. They also ensured to transport the shipments on time. From different Chinese suppliers, they consolidate cargo. Further, they arranged all the documents beforehand so that there is no delay in the shipment due to paperwork. The company played an important role in delivering over 1200 tonnes of medical equipment, PPE kits, medicines, and other such supplies to different countries through their collaborative relationships with airlines and extensive agent network. The company also paid proper attention to coordinating various cargo services on time, which led it to function properly.
One of the biggest challenges faced by the company was adhering to rules made for the pandemic. Since every country had different rules for the pandemic. This ensured the company working efficiently and delivering goods without any delay.
Air Freight and delivery of various goods
Another huge challenge posed in the pandemic was the delivery of certain perishables, pharmaceuticals, and other goods that needed to be delivered on time. The company was able to consolidate cargo to ensure that the below-mentioned goods reach the customer on time and in optimum conditions in a particular time frame. The goods are:-
- Fragile goods like medicines stored in glass bottles and under temperature-controlled packings.
- Pharmaceuticals
- Perishable cargo
- Hazardous goods necessary for medical purposes
- Oversized cargo
In this pandemic era where any business’s survival is quite difficult, let alone its growth in the economic debacle that all countries are facing, Bin Yousef Cargo flourished as a leading and consolidated cargo service that can deliver goods across the world in any scenario. Over the years, the company has provided its service with dedication and attention, and even in this virus-dominant era, it continues to offer flexibility, customization, and reliability. It has built excellent relationships with its clients by accommodating time-critical shipments.
