FORWARDER Move it Like... Bradley & Spencer Waller, Alliance

MOVE IT LIKE...

It’s a family business so Spencer and I have been surrounded by the shipping world since we were born. We were exposed to customers and overseas visitors from a very young age whilst our mother and father entertained them. During the Summers we would work in the offices as a courier ferrying documents to and from London or sometimes in accounts to help cover for holidays. So in short, we didn’t really get into the freight industry, we were born into it!

SPENCER & BRADLEY WALLER ALLIANCE SHIPPING GROUP

ALLIANCE: 5 DECADES, 2 GENERATIONS

MOVE IT LIKE...

YEAR FOUNDED

1975

EMPLOYEES

66

SPECIALISM

Proprietary ASL-Flo© banking services, Client Interface service and ASL-Trak © tracking system plus sea & air freight consol. services to and from: China, USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, African continent TURNOVER

USD 45 million SALES INCREASE

19.4% year on year SITES

4 sites: London (Basildon), Birmingham, London Heathrow and Atlanta Ga. (USA) MODES

Sea, air, land and intermodal MAIN TRADE ROUTES

USA, Australia, South Africa, China, Canada, New Zealand, African Continent ACCREDITATION

IATA agents, AEO (2017), FIATA, BIFA Members, Institute of Directors accredited and fully FMC bonded licensed forwarder NVOC and brokers in the USA

BRADLEY & SPENCER WALLER,

MILESTONES

43 years in a cut-throat market!

ALLIANCE GROUP

BRADLEY SAYS... ...we didn’t really get into the freight industry, we were born into it!.

How did you get into the freight industry?

I

t’s a family business so Spencer and I have been surrounded by the shipping world since we were born. We were exposed to customers and overseas visitors from a very young age whilst our mother and father entertained them.

During the Summers we would work in the offices as a courier ferrying documents to and from London or sometimes

in accounts to help cover for holidays. So in short, we didn’t really get into the freight industry, we were born into it!

MOVE IT LIKE...

Q A

What’s your background in shipping?

In fact we have a rich freight heritage and we can trace our freight roots back, more than 165 years, to Joseph Ross Waller, our great-great-great-great-grandfather, who was a lighterman in the 19th century. The Wallers have been in and

SPENCER SAYS...

We offer an unparalleled level of customer service and attention to detail.

Q A

What do you think you offer as a company that sets you apart from your competitors?

In a world that is increasingly driven by cost cutting and efficiency, we find that both are generally achieved at a price, with the customer’s needs and requirements being put

around the industry ever since, with our great uncle being part

aside. We offer an unparalleled level of customer service

of the convoy that towed the Mulberry harbour to Normandy

and attention to detail at competitive rates and this is how

in the days following D-Day in WW2, then subsequently

we are different. For instance, when running our air and

spending the rest of his working life in the docklands as a

sea freight consolidation services, it is important for our

longshoreman; and our grandfather, being in the Merchant

wholesale customer base to know when something changes

Navy throughout WW2, serving on the treacherous North

on a sailing or if a container is short shipped by the shipping

Atlantic convoys. This then brings us up to date with our

line. They inevitably have a customer (the shipper) who they

father, Gary Waller, starting up Alliance Shipping in 1975,

have to satisfy and we appreciate that if we can give our freight

nearly 43 years ago.

forwarding customer base good information quickly, then they too can serve their customers with a similar level of customer service. Ultimately, keeping our freight forwarding customer’s clients happy is the aim of the game!

Q A

What has been your biggest challenge in the role?

We have lots of big challenges, such is the nature of our roles, but I would say the biggest is finding the right staff for the job. We are very fortunate that we have a solid staff

Q A

How do you get the best out of your team?

Working with them when they need us, but also giving them the freedom to work independently.

It is important, particularly with the less experienced

contingent, but increasingly the freight forwarding industry

members of staff that they learn 'on the job' with

is becoming less and less attractive to younger professionals.

careful supervision, but that supervision should not

A lot of our generation are working in the financial or

turn into micromanagement. It is a fine line to draw but

media professions because they appear more glamourous.

one that if it is drawn carefully creates independent-

There is something to be said for that, but I believe that is a

thinking employees who can exceed the expectations

short-term viewpoint. The shipping industry has a lot to offer

of the customers they are dealing with.

young people looking for a long and fulfilling career and our job is to sell that concept to the younger staff we employ.

Also, by giving credit where credit is due. It is important that good, hard work is acknowledged

Q A

I am pleased to say we are succeeding and are five years into

internally, because a lot of the time customers don’t

a succession plan employing a solid mix of all ages to ensure

see hard work that goes on in the background to make

the future growth of the company.

things happen seamlessly.

Your biggest achievement?

It’s hard to pinpoint one stand-out achievement because over the course of working at Alliance we have achieved a lot in a small amount of time. Our biggest achievement will come when we can equal our father’s 43-year-plus reign

Q A

at the helm!

Q A

What’s the most important thing you're working on right now and how are you making it happen?

Our succession planning is extremely important to the future of the business and it is progressing nicely.

As mentioned before, we are actively employing a mix

How would you define your company culture?

of all age groups to ensure the knowledge gleaned by our more experienced members of staff is passed

Outward facing, we are a conscientious, customerfocused workforce. Looking inwards, we reward loyalty

onto our younger staff members, who are the future managers and leaders of the business.

and hard work and strive to create an environment where people enjoy coming into the office. We work hard to ensure

We are also embarking on several training

all four of our offices—Basildon, Birmingham, Heathrow and

programmes, with the staff members earmarked

Atlanta in the USA—subscribe to the same ethos so that

for management positions attending management

regardless of which office our customers deal with, they get

courses and our sales staff planning to carry out in-

the same level of service.

depth sales training.

MOVE IT LIKE...

Q A

What are your thoughts on the new alliances?

In terms of service options and choice of service, it has opened up a few new routings and efficiencies and we think operationally that is going to be useful. There was a lot of talk about the Alliances bringing stability to the West Bound trade

BRADLEY SAYS... ...things rarely go without a hitch in freight forwarding.

Q A

What about market disruptors – how do you see outsiders changing the industry?

There is a lot of talk about online tech start ups coming into the industry and making the traditional freight forwarder redundant by automating the process. In an ideal

lanes from the Far East and ultimately stability in the market is

world, we would be worried, but as your readers will know,

good for the freight payer so we hope that the Alliances will

things rarely go without a hitch in freight forwarding and no

bring this stability. However, in reality, that probably won’t

algorithm or automated booking service will be able solve

happen. The issue is that there is still far too much capacity

that customs issue that requires a phone call to customs or

in the market and that creates peaks and troughs with the

your overseas agent and no workflow can rearrange haulage

freight rates. When demand is high, the rate increases, when

through its network of drivers if a truck breaks down on

demand is low, the lines get into a race to the bottom with

a delivery or collection to ensure urgent goods are still

each other and it becomes unsustainable for them.

collected to make a fl ight or a sailing. There is a plethora of issues that if not solved quickly and effi ciently can cost shippers and consignees a lot of money. Therefore, we are not too worried as we fi ll the niche of providing top end customer service at competitive rates.

Q A

Q A

What are some of the common challenges you face?

Ignorance is by far the most common challenge! Even now in a push button online environment, it amazes us how naive many companies’ staff are and this applies to both sides of

Q A

What are your expansion plans over the next 12/24 months?

Spencer is currently finalising our AEO (2017) accreditation which lays the foundations for us participating in the large freight tenders which are

the shipping fence!

increasingly calling for AEO status.

There is still not enough time and money spent in training

We attend trade shows conferences every year, and

logistics staff both from a shippers’ perspective and on the

effect face to face calls upon our client bases here

forwarding agency side.

and overseas. We work closely with our 200 strong agency network and are members of several blue chip

How do you decide which new business to go after?

agency organisations, networking with them here and on-site in the target trade areas. I (Bradley) am off to a conference in Cambodia in May, and Spencer

We evaluate...

is attending a 4 day symposium in Miami with our Birmingham Manager Richard Dodd, these events are

1) The nature of the cargo 2 )Is it export or import or cross-trade traffic 3) The trade lanes (does the client’s routes interface with our strengths?)

4) Is it FCA, CPT, DDP and do the potential clients have a good trading record and do their financials check out. There are many scammers out there especially on import cargoes!

very useful for business development.

GLOBAL LOGISTICS

• • • • • • • •

Strict neutrality assured Dedicated weekly services DDP shipments a speciality Discounts for volume bookings Weekly Import FCL/LCL services Very competitive rates Nationwide receiving sea/air cargo Special airfreight rates (IATA) for forwarding agents and NVOCs

Sea and air freight consolidations to and from: • • • • • •

Middle East USA & Canada Southern Africa Australia & New Zealand China, Taiwan & Hong Kong Korea, Indonesia & Singapore

For rates and bookings please contact: ALLIANCE LONDON HEAD OFFICE

ALLIANCE HEATHROW

Peter Murphy Malcolm Hernaman Jack Woods Julie Mathews team@forwardermagazine.com +44 (0) 1268 410211 +44 (0)1454 628 771 +44 (0) 1268 413071 @forwardermag london@agc.as

ALLIANCE USA

David Cook Tracy Russ

Simon Button Steve Adams

+44 (0) 20 8818 7780

+44 (0) 1527 597777

+44 (0) 20 8890 3876

+44 (0) 1527 597697

heathrow@agc.as

birmingham@agc.as

www.forwardermagazine.com

www.agc.as

ALLIANCE MIDLANDS

Freight Media Ltd (1-770) 434 3516 Unit 8 00 Apex Court 00 (1-770) 434 4137

Almondsbury Business Park atlanta@agc.as

Bristol BS32 4JT