Customs star wins young achiever award

20 December 2006

Customs star wins young achiever award

A 20-year-old customs supervisor from Cunningham Gill Ltd has been named the Singapore Airlines Cargo-CBAFF New Zealand Young Achiever of the Year.

The Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation annual award
is designed to recognise a high achiever within the international freight forwarding and logistics industries.

Aucklander Nick Philp wrote an essay, “Onboard couriers – the forgotten forwarders”, which examined the benefits that shipping companies could derive from providing personal couriers to deliver time-critical or high-value goods around the world.

“Nick’s essay is a timely reminder that we need to foster young people with innovative ideas in the New Zealand freight forwarding and customs broking industry,” says CBAFF president Willie van Heusden. “His essay examines the expansion of large global shipping companies and delves into the reasons why personalised service has slipped from many of their core activities.

“He argues that small to medium sized shipping companies can create a lucrative niche by offering personal courier services. In turn, companies that are dependent on the safe and timely delivery of important goods can relax in the knowledge they won’t get tied up in lengthy customs delays, or worse, get lost in the complex global shipping network.”

Nick’s winning essay has secured his entry to the FIATA Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year Award, and he will enjoy a trip to Singapore, courtesy of Singapore Airlines Cargo, to meet with international experts and view an airport and seaport in action. Nick will also speak at the annual CBAFF conference in Nelson in 2007.

“Singapore Airlines Cargo is very keen to discover young talent coming through the ranks of the airfreight industry,” says Maurice Bearsley, manager New Zealand, Singapore Airlines Cargo.

“Nick has dispelled any notion that young people in the freight industry do not have initiative or innovation and will be a good role model to other young people entering into the industry. Nick’s prize of a trip to Singapore to see how the airfreight is handled at Changi Airport will be a real eye opener for him. The sheer magnitude of the operation will blow him away,” he says.

Nick says that medical equipment, commercial machinery parts, precious gems and sensitive documents are all examples of the types of goods that would benefit from the personal courier services described in his essay.

“There is an elite client base that would benefit from these services. The initial setup costs for companies are low but the profits have the potential to be huge. There is also the opportunity for New Zealand companies to collaborate with other businesses to deliver such services all over the world.

“The prize is a great chance to bring back ideas and information on global industry trends to New Zealand. I want to develop my career in the freight forwarding industry so this is a great chance to look at what is happening internationally and what we can do in New Zealand to keep up with changes,” he says.

ENDS

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