JCtrans: Hello, Mr Seshan Janik. Firstly, will you please make a brief introduction of FREIGHT SYSTEMS CO. LTD.?
Mr Seshan Janik: Freight Systems was established in the year 1988 at Jebel Ali Dubai, which is our Global Headquarters. Today, we have strong presence in 18 countries around the world which include UAE, USA, CANADA, UK, GERMANY, FRANCE, KUWAIT, QATAR, SAUDI ARABIA, INDIA, SRI LANKA, PAKISTAN, NEPAL, BANGLADESH, SINGAPORE, MALAYSIA, HONGKONG and SHANGHAI. We are a total Logistics Solution provider under the guidance and leadership of Mr. David Phillips, our Managing Director and CEO. How Mcdonalds is for burgers and starbucks for coffee, our name is synonymous with LCL in the middle east region. We are very strong LCL consolidations, Air consolidations, Project cargo, packing and removals, Sea-air logistics, exhibition logistics, fine arts logistics, 3 PL and I-T solutions provider for the whole freight forwarding and logistics Industry worldwide.
JCtrans: Would you please talk about your core-competitiveness?
Mr Seshan Janik: Our Core competitiveness is our People. As you know people make lot of difference. If I am good, customers will say Freight systems is good, if I give a bad service, they will say Freight systems is bad, hence it is very important to have good people to create competitiveness in this fierce market. Back to business, we have an excellent infrastructure and state of the art I-T systems to cater to the growing needs of our customers. We have already created a paper-less office scenario and our employees carry the latest electronic gadgets to be available on the job to all our customers. Added to this, we have our own ware houses, own state of the art Container Freight Stations, own trucks and heavy equipments and own buildings.
JCtrans: Founded in 1988£¬FREIGHT SYSTEMS CO. LTD. has grown rapidly. Will you please share with us how can FREIGHT SYSTEMS develop steadily in the fiercer and fiercer competition?
Mr Seshan Janik: Planning and strategy are the most important factors for success in any Industry. No doubt the planning and Strategy deployed by our Top Management paid rich dividends in our competition for increase in market share globally. As I replied to your earlier question, it is the people who make all the difference. With the help of our excellent team spirit, we have managed to breeze past the economic crisis and do well. Our MD is always open to new and innovative ideas, which is actually a dominating factor for our success story.
JCtrans: Would you please talk about the situation of logistic industry in Kuwait?
Mr Seshan Janik: The country already has an extensive port network, with six maritime cargo facilities - three for the export of hydrocarbons and the remaining three serving other trade requirements. Though there are road links with other GCC states, and air freight services connecting Kuwait to the rest of the world, ocean trade remains the country's main mode of cargo transport.
With this in mind, the government, in conjunction with the private sector, is developing a massive new port and logistics facility, to be built on Boubyan Island in the northwest of Kuwait. The first stage of the $3.4bn Boubyan project is nearing completion, with most of the initial infrastructure in place, including bridge links to the island.
The expansion to the seaport development foresees a container-handling facility with the capacity to process 2.4 million containers annually.
Kuwait has also signed up for the $15bn trans-Gulf railway project, which will see the country linked by broad gauge rail lines with Oman, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Initial contracts for the scheme are expected to be awarded by December, with work on the 2200km network scheduled to be completed in 2016.
According to estimates, Kuwait's share of the project cost is $1bn, which will give it 145km of track within its borders, linking up with a planned internal rail network.
While both the rail and port projects will directly serve the local economy, they also have a wider objective, namely putting Kuwait on track to tap into potentially one of the region's largest logistics markets in the coming years.
Kuwait already has extensive experience in serving the Iraqi market, having been used as a forward logistics hub by US and coalition forces during the 2003 war and the subsequent years of occupation.
Even after the main withdrawal, which will see some 1.5m pieces of military equipment transported from Iraq, at least 50,000 troops will remain in the country, requiring logistics support, much of which will continue to come through Kuwait.
With the increased port capacity that Boubyan Island will provide, combined with a proposed main line rail link with Iraq that will also be connected to the trans-Gulf network, Kuwait will be well credentialed as a main entry point for Iraq.
However, Kuwait still has some way to go before it claims the mantle of the best logistics hub in the region. A recent report by the World Bank ranked Kuwait 36th out of 155 countries in terms of how well the movement of goods and services is facilitated through the provision of logistics services.
Regionally, Kuwait was placed third, behind the UAE and Bahrain, in the bank's Logistics Performance Index (LPI) survey, but ahead of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman. Though only just behind Bahrain, both countries are well off the pace set by the UAE, which was placed 24th on the World Bank's LPI ladder, having scored highly in the categories of infrastructure; efficiency of the cargo clearance processes, including border control and Customs; and competence and quality of services.
Kuwait is already moving to improve its performance in some of the categories covered by the World Bank report, funding the expansion of its infrastructure is of course a significant step along the way. It is likely that an upgrade in rankings will follow soon enough.
JCtrans: Finally, will you please talk about the prospect of FREIGHT SYSTEMS CO. LTD.? Mr Seshan Janik: We expect tremendous growth in terms of Volumes, infrastructure and revenues. Our aim has always been to stand tall in the crowd and prove the difference to the whole industry. Our prompt payment to all our overseas partners on time has lifted our image to new heights and has put all the associates making a beeline to work with us. I personally take this opportunity to invite potential partners who are serious about growth of business to join hands with our Group to grow together. I thank JCTRANS network for having given this opportunity to ventilate my mind on our Group and the excellent working atmosphere that has been created for us by our Top Management. Thank you so much JCTRANS. |
