There is no doubt that it is a time-consuming task to make sure all shipments meet the plethora of security and other regulations that continue to come into force. Obviously we all agree that security and safety are the top priorities, but it can be confusing for exporters and others when rules change or are interpreted in different ways.

For shippers, it is especially vital to be compliant as, in the end, the buck stops with them. It is the owners of the cargo who are ultimately responsible for meeting the requirements and who will be penalised if the requirements are not met.

Read the whole article on  http://www.internationaltrade.co.uk/articles.php?CID=&SCID=&AID=1214&PGID=1

For those starting out on the social networking scene it is hard to grasp the fine line between what is deemed as acceptable to post and what is considered unprofessional.

There are hundreds of social media experts online sending out mixed messages on the ways in which you should engage in social networking to highlight your company’s visibility online. In one seminar I attended a few months ago, I left more confused than when I came in as the speakers contradicted each other on whether it was important to have a large amount of followers on Twitter or not.

I have been taught to be friendly and engage in conversation.  I decided to try this out and in true holiday spirit posted a ‘Happy Valentines Day’ tweet on Monday to all my followers.  To my embarrassment, my unhappy client sent me an email 10 minutes later asking me to delete the tweet that had also linked to his Twitter and his LinkedIn profile pages. There was a reply on his profile saying “Thanks sweetheart, you too!! x” This reply immediately changed the tone of the tweet making it unsuitable for a business page. 

After this incident I decided it was time to look more into social media and understand the best way to engage in it when using it as a business tool. The Maritime, shipping and logistics industry is quite a niche market.  I wasn’t expecting to generate as many followers as Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber however my initial fear was that I wouldn’t be able to find many people online to engage with, as social media has been geared towards newer businesses and those in the creative and media industries.  Thankfully, I was wrong. 

There are many free websites set up to help you search for the appropriate ‘Tweeters’ in your industry.  My personal favourite is ‘Twellow’, which works just like the Yellow Pages and you can register your company under 10 different categories.  You can also search through those categories to find those that you would like to follow. Another great way to find individuals in your industry is to Google the trade publications you read which will often link you to their Twitter and Facebook pages. You can also search for publications, Government agencies or journalists who link to your line of work e.g. Lloyd’s List publication, and then follow their followers on Twitter as they should have the same interests as you. You are not a celebrity, so it is unlikely that you will ever receive an influx of followers without engaging in conversation or following people back.

Once you have built up your profile it is time to produce the content.  I went to a very interesting seminar the other day where they compared social networking to a networking event. My pet hate at these events is that you have to stand there and listen to someone waffling on about how amazing their business is and why you should take their business card when they have a lack of interest in what you have to say and cannot add to any conversation that isn’t to do with their company. The same rules should apply online. If you send out a sales message, ensure you post at least another two industry messages to make your visibility seem worthwhile.  By doing this, people will not get bored of your tweets and they will restrain from deleting you. Another thing to note is when you see an interesting tweet and you want to ‘retweet’ it, don’t just click ‘retweet’. If you were in a crowd and someone shouted ‘the petrol rises will result in a negative impact on freight forwarders’ and then you said ‘the petrol rises will result in a negative impact on freight forwarders’ all you are doing is repeating (rather than retweeting). Add an opinion to your retweet. It makes you seem more human and people are more likely to add to your conversation.  Another rule is, that when you have found an article you would like to share, rather than writing interesting article and pasting the link, try and summarise the article.  If I said to you there is an interesting lecture in room 2, you would be more inclined to walk in if you knew what the lecture in room 2 was actually about.

The whole point of social networking is to engage in conversation, build up contacts and share advice and solve problems. LinkedIn for example is a great site to help generate potential business opportunities and keep in touch with your business associates. There are many maritime, logistics and supply chain groups that you can connect to and then join in conversation to build up your industry knowledge and share information.

My original question was what is deemed acceptable to tweet about? From what I have learnt, it is encouraged to be friendly and to steer away from business chat, but remember that you are visible to everyone and your company’s reputation is on the line. Your opinions will reflect on the company, so stay clear of any political or religious tweets that may be viewed as controversial. Individuals who follow you on Twitter may have never been on your company website so you are reaching a whole new audience.  Let them know what you do but also highlight to them that you are fun, interesting and don’t just speak about yourself.

Another tip to save time is to set up ‘Tweetdeck’, you can manage all your social networking accounts all under one roof. You can also schedule in updates and add columns that search for posts more relevant to you.

We have entered the digital revolution; there is no excuse not to get involved and reap the benefits of reaching to a wider audience.

Check out our Twitter page www.twitter.com/ilcpr

Just gave a short interview on the implications of VAT increase to 20% and the effect on small businesses in my role as London Policy Chairman for the Federation of Small Businesses. Our recent survey showed that over 70% of members feel long term this rise will have a negative effect on their businesses. We are retail led economy and our transport clients rely heavily on the retail sector for their work. What are your thoughts on this – will it create jobs and the taxes the Chancellor requires or will it have the reverse effect?

The break up of liner conferences on European trades provides an opportunity to further develop collaborative relationships in order to reduce supply chain uncertainty and therefore cost. This was one of the messages from a speech by David Mawer, Joint Managing Director, JF Hillebrand, at a meeting of the European Shippers Council today.

“Optimum efficiencyis achieved by collaboratively working to reduce uncertainty, which means improving reliability and responsiveness in the supply chain. Minim ising inventory whilst maximising availability,” Mawer explained.

From 17 October onwards, shipping lines will set their own freight rates based on service levels, internal costs and market conditions. Furthermore, individual lines will be responsible for determining their own surcharges such as THC (Terminal Handling Charges), BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor) and CAF (Currency Adjustment Factor).

While it is unclear how carriers will react to operating individually, there are certain to be major changes for shippers and a lot more scope for negotiation. Certainly there are significant opportunities for both shipping lines and shippers alike, but there are also dangers. One of the major dangers is poor capacity planning leading to oversupply or undersupply. The lead time of putting a large containership into service from order to delivery is a matter of years, therefore the shipping industry is much less able to react quickly to changing market conditions. Oversupply of tonnage will push rates down and could put some lines out of business. On the other end of the scale, undersupply will push up freight rates and could affect global trade growth. 

Whether for good or bad, life is going to get a lot more complicated for all involved. But the key consideration in the post-conference world is not to base decisions purely on freight rates as these are not the sole cost in a supply chain. Shippers could find that cutting costs on the carrier could end up costing them more elsewhere in the supply chain.