Mar 08 | 2019
Pessimism is not the order of the day: that was one of the messages from global security provider Al Safina Security’s General Manager Kateryna Yakunchenkova at Breakbulk Middle East 2019.
Pessimism is not the order of the day: that was one of the messages from global security provider Al Safina Security’s General Manager Kateryna Yakunchenkova at Breakbulk Middle East 2019.
Speaking in a session at the event, held in the UAE’s Dubai, which was focused on driving optimization through technology, Yakunchenkova — whose firm is based in Dubai — argued that it is not the time to be thinking about what the shipping sector will deliver in the next 10 years.
“Now it is time to be adjustable, perceptive and innovative in order to follow sustainable development goals (SDGs) and in order to make operations efficient, safe and secure,” she said.
The SDGs constitute 17 United Nations-set objectives that cover social and economic development themes.
Also presenting in the session was Kareem Naouri, chief executive of Jordanian freight forwarding software firm LogistaaS.
He claimed that increasingly, the clients of freight forwarding businesses are millennials who are comfortable with technology and demanding a supply chain that is more transparent.
In response to this, the majority of global freight forwarders have now put digitalization at the center of their growth strategy, according to Naouri.
Just one of the 20 top freight forwarders had an online pricing option (for limited products) five years ago, Naouri said during the session, but today, most have some form of online pricing solutions and online freight forwarders also exist.
“The average small to medium freight forwarder is willing to spend up to $30,000 to improve their IT competitiveness and systems today,” he noted.
