Vol. 11 No. 23                            #INTHEAIREVERYWHERE                              Monday March 11, 2013

hey Got The Seafood Mama—International Boston Seafood Show (IBSS) launches its annual show at Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in Boston, Massachusetts, from March 10-12. It’s considered one of the best annual shows for business leads, business decisions, and just plain fun, and this year it will host more than 19,000 visitors and 1,000 exhibits.

      IBSS is stocked wall to wall with decision-makers from all parts of the food chain.
      There are manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, shipping experts, and container manufacturers everywhere at IBSS.
      But in addition to meeting up with guys in air cargo perishables from Scotland to the Cone of Chile, IBSS exhibitors offer up samples of some of the best dining imaginable.
      What a scene!
      Twenty-ounce draft in one hand, skewered shrimp in the other, Zantac within reach, then back to the airplane, ready to take on the world.
      “We’ve had very positive feedback from every group involved in the show,” said Liz Plizga, Show Director for Diversified Business Communications, the company that produces the International Boston Seafood Show
      “The seafood community recognizes that IBSS consistently provides the most progressive and comprehensive forum for knowledge-exchange and networking.”
      “The Boston Seafood Show is not only a show with a great history, but is one of the most effective marketing tools for reaching the seafood business community,” she said.
      “This event provides an opportunity to meet with a great deal of potential customers in a very short period of time,” said Soren Kaplan, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of the book Leapfrogging and 2013 IBSS keynote speaker.
      “The International Boston Seafood Show is always a great forum for us to generate leads and showcase our product, and we are looking forward to another great event,” said Jan Krems of KLM Cargo (see next story).
      A much anticpated part of the IBSS is The New Product Conference, providing seafood buyers a look at the latest value-added products, new species, packaging and services.
      A panel of industry buyers screens products based on uniqueness and appropriateness to the market and chooses several winners from various categories for the Annual Seafood Excellence Awards (SEA).
      Another nice tradition at IBSS comes at the close of the show, when hundreds of exhibiting companies donate more than 20,000 pounds of fresh seafood leftover from the show, providing many thousands of meals for hungry men, women, and children throughout Eastern Massachusetts via the Greater Boston Food Bank.
      The National Fisheries Institute is the official sponsor of the International Boston Seafood Show.
www.bostonseafood.com



Seafood is a substantial part of our global fresh business, so KLM Air France and Martinair recognize the importance and participate yearly at The International Boston Seafood Show,” said Jan Krems, Vice President The Americas for KLM, Air France, Martinair Cargo (AF/KL/MP).
     “We have been regular attendees for years, and for the third year in a row, we will be exhibitors.
     “The International Boston Seafood Show is very valuable to us, as it represents a large group of shippers, distributors, and freight forwarders that are specialized in the seafood business and that have representation in the U.S. Northeast and Northwest, Canada, Europe, and Latin America.”


     “Shipping frozen and fresh fish, scallops, and live lobsters from our U.S. Gateways in the Northeast, as well as from Eastern Canada to Europe, is part of our regular business year-round, with yearly peaks around the holidays.
     “Further, we have regular flows of seafood from Europe to North America as well as to Asia, and from South America to Europe, especially now that Chilean Salmon is fit for export again.”


     “For certain markets, including the U.S. Northeast and Norway, the transportation of Seafood is very important. However, we recognize that, like for other perishables, flows are subject to many factors, including weather, disease, rate of exchange, and of course, the demand at destination.
     “We recognize that we should focus on a product diversification on board our flights, so that we do not overly rely on one specific commodity.
     “A good example of the importance of preparation and diversification can be illustrated by the following:
     “Our Canadian Team had planned to ship a large volume of salmon for one of our key customers in Vancouver last summer.
     “However, their shipper dealt with an unexpected disease in the pens of their salmon in British Columbia, which brought to a halt the export of their salmon to Europe.
     “Although we had anticipated shipping large volumes of the salmon, the failure of this project to materialize hurt our business plan in Western Canada.
     “Luckily, our local Team was quick to recognize that other business had to be sought after so that our flights still performed successfully.”


     “In general, we work with specialized freight forwarders that are familiar with the required paperwork for export and import, including Inspections along the way.
     “We have special products and handling codes in place to ensure proper handling of the goods at the correct temperature.
     “In addition, we insist on a pre-alert system that allows our Competence Centers at our hubs in Paris and Amsterdam to prepare for veterinary inspections for arrival or transit.
     “Also, we train and inform our sales and customer service staff of new developments on an as-needed basis.
     “We take shipments of frozen fish, with a relatively low intrinsic value, as seriously as pharma shipments with a high intrinsic value.
     “With the support of a dedicated global ‘Variation Fresh’ Team, led by Pieter Fopma, Director, Fresh, we keep the communication lines and calls for action efficient.”


     “With our partners Delta Airlines and Alitalia, we feel that it is very important to be present and talk to our customers who are all gathered under one roof, face to face.
     “Also, the IBSS Exhibition allows us to get to know and learn more about the requirements of shippers and consignees alike.
     “In fact, in the seafood shipping world, many decisions are made by the consignees. Having recognized that, our Variation Fresh Team has assigned Business Development Managers for Export, as well as for Import, and they work closely to develop new business and to maintain a good relationship with our existing customers.
     “With that in mind, examples of ‘on the spot bookings’ are few, but our success lies in the enhancement of existing relationships and the development of long term partnerships.
     “For the same reasons, we will attend other fresh and seafood conventions, including the European Seafood Exhibition in Brussels in April as well.
     “However, we will not exhibit there.”


     “The design of our stand is the same as what we displayed in the two previous years, representing our three familiar brands—Air France, KLM, and Martinair Cargo—forming one company named Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo.
     “With our unique combination of airlines and extensive global network, we offer service to more than 350 destinations in 170 countries.
     “We are due for a new design because our company logo has slightly changed during the past year, and we proudly represent a company that is keen on development and changes for improvement and success.
     “We will definitely consider a new design for the future.
     “Regardless, we all look forward to a successful and enjoyable show once again!”
Geoffrey/Flossie


     Not only does KLM have the touch when it comes to moving fresh seafood, they have also figured out how to take the oil from the fish & chips fry to power their airplanes.
     Last Saturday True Blue made history when an eco-friendly B777 landed at JFK from Amsterdam, completing the first of 25 round trips this year.
     “I was with the guy fueling the plane this morning, and he said it smelled like fries,” Camiel Eurlings, Managing Director, KLM, told The New York Post.
     The Boeing 777s are fueled with a blend of 25 percent cooking oil and 75 percent jet fuel.
     In the picture are (L-R) Joop Atsma (Dutch minister of Infrastructure and Environment), Camiel Eurlings, and Johan van der Gronden (director WNF - World Wide Fund for Nature WWF) who celebrated the event as the first flight took off last June.
     While the folks on the main deck are enjoying the ride, waste oil left over from frying up crawfish, cracklins, catfish, and other Cajun treats is being refined at a plant near Baton Rouge, after which it is trucked to JFK Airport, where it can help spin the giant KLM engines all the way home.
     Works for the planet; works for us.
Geoffrey

yle Gray is Manager of Go Logistics based in Jacksonville, Florida, which brands itself as a trucking resource for the seafood business.
A quick glance at the outfit’s distinctively designed big-rigs fishtailing down the highway says that Go Logistics is fishing for bigger consignments by leveraging what Manager Kyle points out as a “core four” set of value-added services.

     “Our emphasis is on timely communication, reliability, customer service, and efficiency through technology utilization.
     “With communication, we can proactively avoid so many issues before they actually become problems.
     “In the rare case where we are running behind our normal itinerary, we proactively notify all customers along the route to let them know as early as possible to allow for proper planning and adjustments.
     “We also provide delivery confirmations and expected arrival times so that our customers are not left wondering if their product arrived to the destination or guessing what time the truck will arrive.
     “We aim to be on-time 95 percent of the time.
     “Our driver’s pay is tied into many incentives, one of which is on-time deliveries.
     “We know that customers incur excessive cost when a truck is late so we view our customers as partners, knowing that we cannot be successful if they are not also successful.”


     “Our customer service is 2nd to none.
     “We ensure that a live person is available to answer calls or questions 24/7/365.
     “At times when nobody is in the office, our calls are forwarded to the on-call rep’s cell phone.
     “We never want to be unreachable.
     “We also provide same-day billing so that the accounting offices of our customers are never waiting on us.
     “Finally, our efficiency through technology is the area that I am most excited about!
     “We have outfitted each tractor in our fleet with real-time GPS and speed tracking.
     “At any given point, I can see where our drivers are and how fast they are driving.
     “We also invested in on-board tablet technology that will eliminate paper Bills of Lading to customers that elect this option. Customers will sign our tablet electronically and that will automatically generate an email with the BOL along with triggering the invoice process.
     “The customer will receive the BOL complete with their receiver’s signature.
     “Go Logistics will also be able to provide suppliers that have prepaid freight a signed BOL for their records.”


     “We are a new company that started in April 2012.
     “Go Logistics started initially with one truck running from Miami to Jacksonville, FL.
     “Within 5 months, we were up to 4 tractor/trailers running out of Miami as far north as Boston and as far west as central TX.
     “Today 98 percent of the product we carry is fresh or frozen seafood.
     “We are at the point at which we need to add at least one more tractor/trailer to our fleet to be able to keep up with demand.
     “Go has been very encouraged by our customer’s reception and instant loyalty to our company.
     “In the future, we hope to increase our service area as well as increase the frequency of days that we deliver.”


     “We use Go Fish Cargo as our freight consolidator in Miami.
     “They make pick-ups at all of the Miami suppliers in addition to the public cold storage facilities.
     “Go Fish takes all of the product and consolidates it onto pallets for us to pick-up.
     “Our truck is loaded at their warehouse and then we start our route.
     “We run temp recorders in our trailers and guarantee the product in terms of temperature abuse, with a full refund on shipping charges in addition to the purchase price of the product.
     “Since we do not own any of the product, the quality is generally left to the customer/supplier relationship unless temp abuse is considered the cause of the spoilage.
     “In 10 months of shipping fresh/frozen product, we have had only 1 claim for temp abuse.”


     “This is the first trade show that we are exhibiting in. We wanted to take advantage of the draw of people that will be attending the show this year.
     “Due to the cost of exhibiting in shows, we will probably limit our trade shows to only the essential shows—Boston included.”
www.gologisticsusa.com
Geoffrey/Flossie

     “United Cargo’s message to the seafood community gathered in Boston is: we want your business, and we have everything it takes to provide the specialized service you need.
     “United completed over two million flights last year to 381 airports on six continents, so we have the planes, the network, and the schedule to get your fresh seafood to its destination quickly without changing carriers.
     “We’ve been in the seafood shipping business a long time, and we execute proven processes that put the emphasis on speed and consistent, quality handling.
     “On the sales side, we have a veteran team of knowledgeable experts who stay close to our customers and are committed to exceptional service.”


      “Seafood shipping—particularly the fresh fish, “short shelf life” segment of the market—is extremely important to United Cargo.
     “United values the trust these shippers place in us every day and we never take their business for granted.
     “In cities like Boston, where seafood represents about 70 percent of our origin business, everyone is keenly aware of the importance of seafood traffic.
     “But the entire United Cargo team appreciates what this business contributes to our bottom line.”


     “As our integrated network has grown, we have seen an accompanying growth in worldwide seafood traffic.
     “To cite one example, in recent months we’ve experienced steady growth in the movement of lobsters from the U.S. Northeast to Asia—particularly to Shanghai.
     “Seafood is an exciting, ever-changing market with new suppliers and new customers emerging constantly.
     “The scope and strength of our network puts us in a great position to gain a great share of these emerging markets.
     “United sees a very bright future in both domestic and international seafood shipping.”


     “Because speed is important, we keep our booking and tendering process as simple as possible, while ensuring that security and packaging requirements are always met.
     “These specialized packaging requirements are designed to minimize the impact of any weather- or mechanical-related delays on sensitive commodities.
     “Ensuring the viability of the product at destination is one of the most important challenges in seafood shipping.
     “As noted earlier, we ensure that everyone who touches the product at origin, transfer points, and destination is well-trained, understands the ‘need for speed,’ and is cognizant of the importance of maintaining an environment that supports the cargo's viability.”


     “United Cargo exhibits at the Boston Seafood Show because it’s the largest and most important seafood event in North America.
     “It’s the only seafood show we participate in.
     “If you’re only attending one seafood show in the world every year, Boston is definitely the one to choose.
     “Also our team is in Boston to connect with and thank our existing customers.
     “We have the opportunity to meet potential new customers from all over the world.
     “While we do not book shipments directly at the show, there’s a definite correlation between the contacts we make and the amount of seafood business we carry.
     “That’s one of the reasons we come back every year!”
     An experienced team of professionals will represent United Cargo at the International Boston Seafood Show. Leading the team is Charlie McCarthy, United Cargo’s Northeast Region Sales Manager. Charlie will be joined by Cargo Sales Account Executives from our Northeast, South Central, and Northwest Regions: John Curran, Michael Dos Reis, Joe Heinz, Maria Jones, and Nancy Muramoto.


     “Currently, and for the first time ever, United Cargo is the focus of the in-flight video welcoming passengers on board their United flight.
     The last words spoken in the video come from Maddy Marrero, United Cargo’s Latin Region Sales Manager.
     “Speaking about our transport of perishable freight around the world, Maddy says ‘Not just next day, same day . . . faster and fresher—that’s what we do.’
     “I don’t think we could find a better ‘theme’ for our presence at the Seafood Show, or a better way to describe our global seafood shipping.”
Geoffrey

Get On Board Air Cargo News FlyingTypers
For A Free Subscription
Click Here To Subscribe

If You Missed Any Of The Previous 3 Issues Of FlyingTypers
Click On Image Below To Access

FT022613

FT030813