[photopress:logistics_ijs_1.jpg,full,alignright]Largely in response to the pull from their American client base, mid-sized US freight forwarders have been expanding aggressively in China. Typically, this has drawn them to Shanghai first, but as their customers move inland, regional and domestic activities in other locations are on the rise.
IJS Global is a relative newcomer to China. The company’s declared goal is to become a logistics firm with annual revenues of around US$500 million and a global footprint, employing 1,200-1,500 people.
Over the past two years IJS has opened offices around the world. By mid-January, it had offices in 36 locations, plus agency partnerships in a host of markets. According to chairman and chief executive officer Giorgio Laccona, the expansion is now largely completed.
The forwarder opened its first China office in Shanghai and subsequently added Shenzhen.
Giorgio Laccona said, ‘We used to cover the area from Hong Kong, but we saw good opportunities with people we knew in Shenzhen. Now you can fly cargo from Shenzhen, you can truck it to Hong Kong or to Guangzhou.’
IJS is currently talking with an undisclosed Chinese company about a possible tie-in, which would give the US-based outfit a presence in a host of Chinese cities.
Giorgio Laccona said, ‘If this does not work out, we can expand into another four facilities with our Class A licence. In that case, the most likely targets would be Beijing, Qingdao, Guangzhou and Ningbo.
Chris Coppersmith, president and chief executive officer of California-based Target Logistics Services said, ‘Our emphasis has been on specific sales to American multinationals. Our American clients have pushed us to those locations.’ Target currently has nine locations in China and has had its own licence in the country since 1997.
BDP’s first China branch opened in Shanghai, followed by a representative office in Beijing, as it was not permitted to open its own office in the capital at the time, Ken Wensel recalled. He said that the red tape has shrunk significantly in the meantime.
Ken Wensel said, ‘The regulations are not obstacles any more, they’re hurdles now. They used to be showstoppers.’
Source: CargoNews Asia
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