The explosive growth that Transuniverse Forwarding has experienced in recent years means that we must adapt our operations. After a thorough analysis, we created a new structure for the Export team. The new Export team is headed by manager Frederik Boon, who is assisted by Alexander Bekaert (Western and Southern Europe) and Pascal Willaert (Eastern Europe, Maghreb, Turkey and Greece).
“There is an acute shortage of personnel in logistics. It is increasingly difficult to find the right people. Good planners, for example, have become very scarce. The question then is how to sustain growth. The answer: by ensuring that the planners can concentrate on their core task and relieving them of as many administrative tasks as possible,” says Frederik. He is responsible for general management of the Export team, which now consists of around 35 people. He oversees the quality (and profitability) of the export service, ensures a better division of tasks and sets up synergies with the other services. Alexander and Pascal handle the continuous coaching and training of the employees.
By reviewing the operation, the Export team can therefore concentrate on its specific tasks, particularly finding the right transport capacity, planning the transports correctly and communicating with the agents. “We are lightening their workload on the one hand by digitising – the customer can already find a great deal of information in the new customer portal – and on the other hand by transferring tasks to an administrative unit that works in a more polyvalent way,” says Frederik.
New expectations
“The Amazons and bol.coms of this world have created new expectations for many customers in terms of tracking orders, informing them of the status of shipments and so on. When the planners no longer need to manage this, it gives them breathing space and we can build greater continuity and flexibility into the service,” Alexander adds.
“Thanks to the division within Export between Western and Southern Europe on the one hand and Eastern Europe, Maghreb, Turkey and Greece on the other, we can also make better use of the knowledge of the operational people and increase flexibility. It also enables us to respond more quickly and to better streamline communication with the other services,” Pascal emphasises.
Administrative unit
The Export team can now concentrate better on operational matters. In a second phase, there will also be a multipurpose unit that will manage the various administrative tasks. These people will, for example, be in contact with the agents to know when a shipment was picked up or delivered.
“That communication process cannot always be digitised because the agents usually use different IT systems. The administrative cell will therefore ensure better follow-up of orders. They will also be able to react more quickly when something happens in the chain. As a result, the customer will also benefit from the improvement of the internal organisation at Transuniverse,” Pascal concludes.
Shown in the photo (left to right): Pascal Willaert, Frederik Boon and Alexander Bekaert.
