The good times keep rolling for Air Logistics Group

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Air Logistics Group chief executive officer, Stephen Dawkins


There has been an upsurge in business in 2017 since the confirmation of Brexit and the appointment of a new US president, and Air Logistics Group is expecting double-digit growth, chief operating officer Stephen Dawkins says.

He says it is anticipating tonnage to rise 25 per cent in 2017 followed by 12 per cent in 2018, adding “it is the time for outsourcing”.

Exports have received a boost with many companies taking the opportunity to replenish their stocks as pressure remains on the Euro and Pound against the Dollar.

Dawkins says: “The general feeling amongst our principals is that this upsurge will even continue through the first quarter of 2018.”

All regions of the world have experienced year-on-year improvements, with key growth from Europe to Asia in the last six months, and transpacific from Asia to the USA. This brings opportunities to expand.

“We will continue to expand our operations worldwide, however we continue to see double-digit growth coming in our Asian operations, be it organic, or via acquisition,” Dawkins says.

Events such as Brexit have had an impact on business. “As our world is governed by micro-economics, where you see exports in the UK substantially improving due to the weakness of the Pound, so too you see a slowing of imports from the US and Europe because of the strength of the Dollar and Euro.”

Dawkins expects to see more consolidation and an increased need to provide additional services such as fiscal, sales or operations.

He says the Group’s approach allows partners to take advantage of a variety of solutions, from turn-key Total Cargo Management to local sales.

He says: “Air Logistics has moved with the times and has invested significantly in IT and back office functions, and will continue to do so as the demand from our airline clients is to have revenues and yields as quickly after flight departure as possible.”

The company has invested over $6 million in the last five years in IT development to strengthen its network and offer a cost effective solution to airlines in sales, revenue accounting, trucking management and business intelligence.

Dawkins says: “Adding value is key; through IT development, business intelligence, compliance and employee advancement via training and targets. These are Air Logistics Group’s core pillars, ensuring our employees are able to deliver and meet our principal’s demands today.”

Understanding the customers’ need is essential in any business, and air cargo is no different. It was the first GSSA to run its own compliance and ethics in-house training programme.

Dawkins says: “This brings added value to many of our clients who are looking for assurances in the challenging and complex legal climate that we live in today.”

Employee development is also key to the strategy, Dawkins says, while he is optimistic about the overall future of the GSSA market: “The size of the worldwide cargo airline market is 55 million tons of which the GSSA business is processing over 20 per cent, so there is ample opportunity for GSSA companies to invest in the future and increase this market share.”