Qatari freight forwarder Tokyo Freight is looking for further growth and is planning on building a logistics complex near Hamad Port in Doha.
The company will consolidate all its services and capabilities into a single hub to take advantage of the proximity to imports coming into the country through the port.
At the new facility, the central warehouse will be divided between bulk, FMCGs, cold chain, pharma and other sectors, while the open yards will be consolidated into one.
Commercial manager, Pradeep Kumar says Qatar is similar to other Gulf Countries, and is a consuming market, as almost everything is imported and says the plan to have a new logistics complex near to Hamad Port is also driven by a need to diversify: “We want to consolidate and strengthen our entire operation and develop our own logistics complex from which we can run our operation in Qatar.
“We plan to build a temperature-controlled warehouse to expand our activity in the pharma and cold chain sectors.”
Tokyo Freight has significantly expanded its fleet over the last 12 months in anticipation of this latest move, and now operates a fleet of 85 (52 only) trailers, with 33 more on order and due for delivery in the second half of 2016.
Kumar says Tokyo Freight offers a one-stop solution to clients, and tries to provide all core services in-house: “Clearance of shipments is done using our own broker license and we deliver goods using our own fleet of trucks. We do work with key experts for some areas of the supply chain, but they are partners that we have been working with for a very long time.”
One of the sectors in which Tokyo Freight outsources work is in automotive transport. The firm works on the the Qatar side for several major auto manufacturers, the largest of which is Honda, which has been using Tokyo Freight for more than 15 years.
Tokyo Freight general manager, Muthanikkat Abdul Rauf says for airfreight it works with Qatar Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Lufthansa and Cargolux. He adds: “We do the majority of volume with Qatar Airways because they have the best connections to and from Doha. We also utilise DHL, UPS, and Aramex to handle our shipments that are considerably smaller or more specialised. If there is a shipment needed urgently for example, we’ll courier it in.”
Tokyo Freight managing director, Abdulla Moideen says it works very closely with Qatar Airways because it operates many connections to and from Doha.
Rauf adds: “Our company is very large now, but remains small enough to be flexible and adaptable to clients’ needs. So if a client calls me even at night and needs a solution to a particular problem, I’m able to help them on time.”
