In the past few years, as world trade has increased dramatically and dynamic global supply chains have developed, SEKO has caught the attention of the logistics industry by bucking the consolidation trend that has seen many freight forwarders swallowed up by larger ones. This trend often occurs at the expense of customer care and concern.

For instance, in 1997, less-than-truckload company U.S. Freightways purchased privately-owned SEKO and immediately abandoned the then-independent contractor business model for a corporate-owned organization that sought to become one of these large, consolidated logistics companies – with an expanded global reach. The experiment did not take hold, and revenues quickly dropped into the red.

Then, in October 2002, with an eye toward a better international business model for freight forwarding, current management bought the Company and reverted its operation back to one that had previously served it well. Within one year, we turned the newly re-formed Company into profitability and our growth rate has continued to climb each year as we’ve built upon the strength of our partners around the globe and expanded our customer base.

We have accomplished this by ignoring the “popular” consolidation trend and changing the manner in which the industry looks at global freight forwarding. Our unique, rapidly expanding global operating network is an entrepreneurial-based business model that is focused on geographical and localized services that provide customers with industry focused, flexible, hands-on freight forwarding services specific to their distribution requirements and changing market demands. This is the type of integral services customers deserve; one that large, integrated carriers just can’t offer with a “one size fits all” approach.

SEKO’s business model is more than just a network, however; it is a unique relationship between corporate and independent strategic partners who share in the equity and success of the Company. The SEKO brand name is backed by a strong IT commitment through a common worldwide Windows and Web-based operating system, a strong sales network, real-time tracking and tracing of shipments, free communications between SEKO offices that enable a global reach, and a strong financial base that reduces risk. We are proving that what worked once can work even better in today’s global economy and we’re changing the manner in which the industry views logistics.

In a move to enhance and further integrate our global freight forwarding operations, SEKO has named Joseph Abboud as Director of Ocean Services for SEKO Global Logistics. Based out of corporate headquarters in Itasca, IL, he will be responsible for product development, operations enhancements, ocean procurement, LCL and FCL revenue, regulatory issues and ocean operations excellence.

Mr. Abboud has more than 20 years of experience in the ocean transportation industry. Most of his expertise spans across two organizations and a series of roles such as: branch manager, area ocean manager and most recently, regional international manager, where he oversaw the development of airfreight, ocean freight and customs clearance. He also spearheaded new office openings, oversaw operations and conducted training seminars for sales and operational staff. Abboud was the Chicago branch office manager with Schenker International, Inc. and most recently, he held various managerial positions at UPS Supply Chain Solutions (formerly Menlo Worldwide). He has a strong background in both operations and sales, which will enable him to help SEKO drive service improvements while maintaining a focus on customer requirements.

“Mr. Abboud has a great deal of operational experience in the ocean transport industry,” said William Wascher, President and CEO of SEKO, in making the announcement. “He brings to SEKO a wealth of knowledge in the areas of fully integrated logistics and supply chain management, both on an international and domestic basis. He will be a great asset to SEKO and will help to further benefit our customers’ integrated logistics demands.”

SEKO has released MySEKO Version 2, an updated Web-enabled shipment management tool, boasting of stellar tracking and tracing enhancements and a new user-friendly look and feel for easier navigation. It comes packed with added features designed for our customers’ shipping convenience.

Issues Management:
• Customers can create and manage online dialog, similar to an Instant Messenger (IM), with their SEKO representative regarding any shipment. This is a great tool to use when a customer wants to notify SEKO of a new contact or in the event that SEKO needs updated information in case there are small discrepancies.

User Settings:
• Ability to set up various automated shipment notifications
• Enhanced options for our customers to manage permissions and supply chain visibility.

International Shipments:
• A very important new tool is the ability to create and schedule international shipments. Customers can now book and track international air and ocean shipments.
• For both international and domestic shipments, MySEKO v2 now has a document loader that enables SEKO to upload a POD; or a customer can upload a commercial invoice.

New Reports Include:
• Real-Time Update Report – a real-time view of shipments in process with personalized remarks from SEKO staff is now available 24/7.
• North American Invoice Report – invoice details for North American shipments.
• International Invoice Report – invoice details for international shipments.
• Monthly Business Recap – breakdown of shipments and charge information starting with the selected month, going back one full year.
• Driver manifest – a driver manifest for sign-off on any given day’s shipments.
• Delivery Performance Report – performance report by ship dates.

The corporate office holds regular Web demos for customers using MySEKO and we encourage you to sign up for one if you haven’t already. Please contact us at: Sales@sekoworldwide.com if you would like to find out more about MySEKO V2.  

In the neon, non-stop world that is Las Vegas, not only the entertainment is on the move 24/7. SEKO has opened a new full-service logistics operation that is in full swing around the clock in this fastest growing metro area in the U.S.

Based on SEKO’s strategic partner business model, the new office utilizes an independent contractor with an entrepreneurial spirit and combines a seamless global logistics approach with local business, cultural and regional expertise. It is just one of several new offices opened by SEKO recently to help stay abreast of growing customer demand and increase its presence in growing marketplaces. SEKO-Las Vegas is strategically located near the busy McCarran International Airport and provides full-service domestic and international forwarding operations in a 150 sq. mile radius throughout southern Nevada via our Web-based operating system in 40 countries.

This continuing expansion is in direct response to the needs of our growing customer base, as well as the increased customer requirements for integrated logistics services across the globe. Being situated within one of the nation’s ground transportation hubs, it targets manufacturers shipping medical technology equipment and pharmaceuticals and specializes in trade show services and expedited airfreight.

Station owners Dave Openshaw and Shane Reynolds head the SEKO-Las Vegas office and have 14 years of combined experience in the transportation and logistics industry. “With all the potential the Las Vegas market holds in several different vertical marketplaces, we look forward to growing our business in the area,” stated Openshaw. “Having a presence in Las Vegas is especially important for SEKO’s many trade show clients. We do not specialize in trade show freight only, but we are well-positioned to support all of our stations and their trade show clientele with customer-driven and flexible logistics operations through a locally owned office.”

The implementation of a unique supply chain solution that saved a customer more than $1 million in supply chain costs has earned SEKO-UK the prestigious International Freighting Weekly (IFW) Supply Chain Excellence Award for 2006. The annual IFW Freighting Industry Awards were established in the UK as the premier international accolade for each sector of the freighting industry. This award is the second presented to SEKO-UK for its innovative customer supply chain solution this year.

Announcing SEKO’s success at IFW’s annual Freighting Industry Awards Ball held on June 19, 2006, at the Royal Artillery in London, the judging panel commented: “SEKO’s China Direct solution, which introduced pick-and-pack at origin with shipment direct to store, was a fresh and rational approach, bringing order to the management of the customer’s supply chain.”

In this case, a retailer approached SEKO for a solution to its supply chain needs because the degree of its business growth had placed a virtually unworkable level of operational pressure on its UK distribution center. The customer’s successful $244 million turnover business was founded on the strength of its Internet and home shopping business model. However, in recent years, it moved its product range into main shopping districts and now operates more than 130 stores across the UK, Europe and Middle East.

“At first glance, many companies might have just recommended that the retailer build another UK distribution center, but that advice is exactly what the retailer’s supply chain executive team did not want to hear,” said David Emerson, Director of SEKO-UK. “Our client felt it would be possible to re-engineer the supply chain for its retail stores to move them outside of the current internal logistics network, thus releasing the current operations to focus on its home shopping and Internet logistics operation.”

After a two-week evaluation process, working alongside stakeholders in the retailer’s supply chain, SEKO-UK identified a number of key issues that were contributing to the pressure felt by the customer’s distribution center and causing a significant loss in time from shipment to delivery of its product to stores. The client’s merchandise was being picked and packed in the already over-burdened UK distribution center even though the client’s merchandising team already knew the products’ destination three weeks in advance of the initial shipment from Asia. The congestion at the UK distribution center meant that the product received from a supplier might take as long as two weeks to be processed, picked and packed, adding to the length of time between shipment and delivery to stores. In addition, although the quality of products sourced from Asia was generally high, the client was incurring a five to eight percent rejection rate. Quality control was being conducted in the UK some six weeks after the product left the supplier, which meant the retailer was not returning a faulty product but instead had to sell it a at a highly discounted rate elsewhere in the market.

The assessment of the UK retailer’s supply chain led SEKO to develop a solution that became known within the company as ‘Speed Trade’ and focused on five main points:

• Do the pick and pack at origin, which is now managed at SEKO’s 80,000-sq.ft. logistics center in the Futian Free Trade Zone in Southern China
• Bypass the UK distribution center and current infrastructure
• Ship direct to store from China
• Offer a true non asset ‘pay as you go’ solution
• Free up the existing UK warehouse capacity to focus on planning and Web operations

Speed Trade enabled products to move from Free On Board (FOB) at origin to store delivery in less than six weeks without the need for any intervention from the UK client organization.

Emerson added, “The Speed Trade solution can work for a large number of businesses and does not have to be limited to China. As sourcing locations are driven country to country, we have the ability to deploy this solution in any location. As long as we have a warehouse with access to the Internet we can deliver the solution.”

The IFW Supply Chain Excellence Award adds to a running succession of the British International Freight Association (BIFA) Gold Awards that SEKO-UK has won over the years. In 2004, SEKO-UK was awarded BIFA’s Technology Gold Award for a Web-enabled logistics enterprise solution and in 2003 SEKO-UK won the BIFA Award for Air Freight. Earlier this year, SEKO-UK was awarded a BIFA Supply Chain Management Gold Award in its Freight Service Award category.

SEKO-India is enjoying rapid growth due to expanding foreign business opportunities, increased customer demand for outsourced logistics services and aggressive sales and marketing efforts. SEKO opened its first independent office in India in June 2005, and recently opened a SEKO-India headquarters in Mumbai, with main operations and sales operations in New Delhi. The Company also has additional offices operating in Ludhiana, Jaipur and Coimbatore, and will soon add a sixth, larger facility in Chennai, India.

“We are witnessing increased demand for our personalized freight forwarding services due to our SEKO branding, projection of the SEKO Global Logistics network and the strong IT platform we offer our global customers,” said Director Ashwin Didwania, who along with Station Manager Alok Handa, run the SEKO-India operation. “Customers like our ability to provide localized services with the flexibility to adjust quickly to any distribution situation with quick, hands-on services.”

Didwania points out that India is an increasingly attractive foreign trade market due in large part to its highly-educated, English-speaking workforce, vastly improved IT and Telecom infrastructure and recent foreign direct investments, which include numerous Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) opportunities. Currently more than 60 percent of BPOs from the U.S. and UK are conducted through India.

“We are benefiting from the growth of several major industries,” he said. “We are exporting a great many flooring tiles, textiles and fashions to the West and importing electronics and consumer goods from the East, many from China and Southeast Asia. Some of our largest customers are CMC/CISCO (Cisco Systems) in electronics and TJ Maxx and Marks and Spencer in the retail garment industry.”

“India’s economy is currently growing at a rate of eight percent,” said William Wascher, SEKO’s President and CEO, “and this figure is expected to increase to 10 percent in the near future. With the largest population of consumers, India is playing a major role in the global economy and attracting more and more consumer goods into the nation. We expect SEKO to play a key role in handling the logistics operations for the multinational companies conducting business there.”

In addition to its independent stations, the Company also enjoys a close working relationship with SEKO/NEWGLOBE, a freight forwarding agent with 16 offices and 220 employees throughout India, which is in the process of converting many of its operations to SEKO-only offices. Located in close proximity to all major ports and airports across India, SEKO-India offers a broad range of services, including air, ocean, and ground transport, warehousing and customs brokerage.

So well is SEKO-India performing under the SEKO banner that it recently was presented with three “Awards of Recognition” for its logistics performance in 2005 by three different airlines: Air France, Cathay Pacific and Eithad Airways.

Due to the growth in the Benelux area marketplace, SEKO recently launched SEKO-Rotterdam as a separate facility from SEKO-Benelux to keep up with growing customer demand. SEKO-Rotterdam is centrally located in the Botlek area of the harbor in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The new operating facility includes a 2,750 square meter state-of-the-art warehouse with six loading docks and cross docking capabilities for European distribution services, where much of its logistics business is currently concentrated.

SEKO-Benelux is responsible for a region in Europe consisting of Belgium, Luxemburg and the Netherlands. As part of this important trade zone, Rotterdam is considered the main ocean port for Europe and until last year, was the biggest port in the world (Shanghai, China is now the largest). The Port of Rotterdam is also well known as the gateway to Europe because a majority of European freight arrives there prior to being distributed throughout the continent.

SEKO appointed Arno Huisman as the Branch Manager for SEKO-Rotterdam. Huisman has an extensive background in the shipping industry. For several years, he worked for Karl Gross (a German forwarder) in the role as forwarding manager. Huisman’s previous position was logistics manager for an importer of natural stone, a company he then brought on as a customer when he began his position at SEKO. The SEKO offices in China and India also benefited from this customer because most of its imports come from Asia. In addition to Huisman, Umit Darici and Yvonne Lamens have joined SEKO-Rotterdam as part of the operations team.

SEKO-Rotterdam’s 13 highly experienced employees manage the office’s operations, including its new container and international trucking operation, ensuring a high level of customer service. For instance, utilizing its secure warehouse operation, the Rotterdam office handles all prepaid ocean freight for a major U.S. computer manufacturer, and ships a considerable number of computers and parts to African and Middle Eastern destinations.

“Since we handle sensitive shipments from this location, we have invested in a very well-secured warehouse,” stated Bob Van der Putten, Managing Director of SEKO-Benelux. “Our warehouse facility is surrounded by a two-meter high fence with two cameras overlooking the loading docks and 10 cameras inside the warehouse. We are also presently in the process of adding new scanning equipment for enhanced safety measures; and the emergency room of our security company is just down the road.”

“We are currently in the last phase of negotiations with a medium-sized U.S.- based company regarding the set up of its EDC (European distribution center) in our warehouse in Rotterdam,” said Van der Putten. “On the information technology side, our Web-based MySEKO system has been updated for global use, which provides our customers with greater visibility throughout the network, giving SEKO an advantage over our competition.”

As international trade continues to grow, and transportation and logistics play an enhanced role in world trade, SEKO Global Logistics has expanded its network to include new operations in several major trade zones throughout the Americas. This greatly expands our global strategy of increasing our worldwide reach by entering into growing export/import markets with established, experienced, local partners who serve important customer bases in the increasingly global marketplace.

SEKO-Canada:
North American Partner

With an existing infrastructure and experienced staff of 375 people, in 25 Canadian cities, including the major metropolitan areas of Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton, this new North America office provides SEKO with an integral link to freight forwarding services to a broad base of international customers. It currently handles $411 billion in exports and $356 billion in import business annually.

Established in 1958 as The Cole Group, this new strategic partner, is operated as two divisions – the cross-border business between the U.S. and Canada, which is headed by David Venning, and the international division, which is headed by Walter Krancevic and his group. Don Lucky is the President & CEO of the offices and Stephen Elliot is a main contact for the U.S. Between them, they enable SEKO Global Logistics to expand its offshore and cross-border freight forwarding, customs clearance services and warehousing operations.

Trans-border freight forward services include and air and truck import to the U.S. and air and truck export from the U.S. Offshore freight forwarding operations include import and export airfreight, import and export ocean freight, as well as NVOCC and IATA cargo services. Major industries served by this new strategic partner include: petroleum and natural gas, motor vehicles and parts, aircraft and components, fish and forest products, minerals and machinery and equipment.

“SEKO-Canada is not only a major cross-border trading partner, but is an important addition to our global logistics operations,” said William Wascher, SEKO’s President & CEO. “We are very pleased to have them join our international operation. This is a significant new link for SEKO Global Logistics in the Americas.”

SEKO-Chile:
Strong Latin American Link

Chile is a small South American country on the Pacific Ocean with one of the strongest economies on the continent. A recent addition to SEKO Global Logistics in the Americas, SEKO-Chile is headquartered in the capital city of Santiago and has agents throughout the countryside.

Historically, much of Chile’s trade has been based on the export of copper, of which it is the world’s largest producer, but it has recently greatly diversified its foreign trade industries and boasted the fastest-growing economy in Latin America during the 1990s. Today, it has exports surpassing $39 billion a year, including copper, fish, fruit, wine, wood products, chemicals, pulp and paper. Imports now exceed $31 billion annually and include: consumer goods, chemicals, motor vehicles, fuels, electrical machinery, heavy industrial machinery and food.

With its newly stabilized economy, its major trading partners now include the United States, the European Union, China, Brazil, South Korea, Japan and Mexico. In order to provide full-service freight forwarding services to its growing customer base, Managing Director Abdon Izquierdo and his agents provide integrated multi-modal logistics services, air and ocean freight forwarding operations, ground transportation and warehousing facilities for their customers. Its international services are handled through a number of ports, as well as the Santiago International Airport.

SEKO-Chile’s value added logistics operations also include, door-to-door service, online tracking and tracing, domestic courier service, international and domestic cargo insurance, an integrated Web-enabled operation linked to corporate headquarters, consulting, inventory management, customs brokerage, freight consolidation of pallets, packing and labeling.

SEKO’s strategic partner in Chile brings to our Americas network a stabile economy, legal simplicity in foreign trade matters, knowledge of local business and culture, excellent trade relations, a high-tech infrastructure, quality of life and an educated population from which to draw employees.

“Our SEKO-Chile operation is an important new focal point in meeting our strategic plans for the Americas,” said William Wascher, President & CEO of SEKO. “This Latin American economy is stable and expanding rapidly and provides us with a critical link in our global logistics network.”

SEKO-Brazil:
Now Part of Americas Network

SEKO-Brazil is now a significant new partner in the SEKO Global Logistics network, serving the Americas and beyond. Our new strategic partner, headquartered in São Paulo, near Rio de Janeiro, in the important industrial southeast section of the country, provides a broad range of freight forwarding services throughout the growing Latin American marketplace.

Managing Director Lourenço Cortiço, with 30 years of logistics experience in foreign trade, heads up a large staff at SEKO-Brazil that generated $96.5 billion in exports and $62.8 billion in imports in 2005. Among the major exports of this major foreign trade zone are: textiles, footwear, coffee, sugarcane, soybeans, beef, poultry, iron ore, tin, automobiles, parts and electronic components. Among major imports are transportation equipment, machinery, electrical equipment chemical products and oil.

One of the reasons for Brazil’s rapid growth in the foreign trade market is its excellent infrastructure, which includes modern highways and railroads, telecommunications, energy sources and excellent air and ocean port facilities via the Atlantic Ocean, and a vast inland waterway system.

SEKO-Brazil offers customers comprehensive, customized supply chain solutions for shipments of any size via air, ocean, and ground transportation, as well as consulting and customs brokerage services. Its export and import services include: pick-up and delivery, export registration, customs clearance declarations, bill of lading issuance, brokerage, negotiation of freight rates, export documentation, warehousing, both full container load and less-than-container load ocean services, shipment tracking and tracing and the handling of dangerous and perishable goods.

In addition, this new operation provides various training programs for new hires, update training, new project training and special certification training to remain current with changing international trade requirements. While Portuguese is the official language of Brazil, Spanish, is also widely spoken, which provides greater flexibility for SEKO-Brazil’s international operations.

“Our new South American partner is a key component in our global logistics network in the Americas due to its growth rate and logistics experience,” said William Wascher, President & CEO of SEKO. “We welcome them to the SEKO family.”

SEKO-Colombia:
Gateway to South America

Headquartered in the Bogotá Free Trade Zone in central Columbia, with offices throughout this culturally diverse country, is the newest member of SEKO Global Logistics in the Americas – SEKO-Columbia.

The only South American country with coasts on the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, as well as the Caribbean, Columbia is considered the gateway to South America, with major trading partners such as the United States, Venezuela, Ecuador, China and Brazil. Major exports are approximately $20 billion a year and include petroleum, coffee, coal, textiles and garments, bananas and cut flowers. Annual imports are in the range of $18 billion and include industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products and fuels.

Supporting this growing foreign trade is a transportation network of railways, highways, inland waterways, several ports and harbors and numerous airports – all supported by a strong IT, telecommunications and mobile communications infrastructure that provides integrated supply chain solutions for its customers. Airfreight services include: direct-to-consignee, consolidated shipments, direct-to-door shipments, tracking and tracing, packing, documentation and consultant issuance, and banking documentation.

Ocean services include: less-than-container load and full container load services, OTI/NVOCC, pick-up and delivery, cartage and inland services, tracking and tracing, as well as banking and vendor management inventory (VMI) services. Non-inbound ground transportation includes full truckload, LTL, parcel service, expedited shipments and dedicated service. “We offer our customers a wide range of logistics options,” said Hilario Cortazar, Managing Director, who heads up this experienced international operation. “We can even provide customs brokerage, warehousing, contract logistics and we have an inbound and outbound call center.”

While Columbia’s import/export business is diverse, SEKO-Columbia is currently focusing on textiles, medical technology, automotive parts, food & beverages and electrical spare parts, with plans to expand into other industries. “This newest link in our global logistics network provides a great opportunity as Columbia is the fourth most populous nation on the continent, with an annual economic growth rate of about five percent,” said William Wascher, President & CEO of SEKO. “It is an important new link to our efforts in the Americas.”

As customers continue to demand improved services, SEKO constantly enhances its service offerings while seeking to control internal costs. One such area the Company has been expanding into is the addition of more internally owned truck operations, which enables more in-house logistics control, expedites customer shipments, and at the same time, reduces outsourced cartage costs.

As costs are rising for various modes of transportation, one area where SEKO saw an opportunity to advance its services was with these local trucking operations as it became apparent that in order to control costs, some offices are finding it necessary to bring cartage services in-house.

The SEKO-San Francisco is one office that has implemented cartage services, using 24 ft. bobtails and a 16 ft. straight truck. All trucks are equipped with lift gates and are used primarily for recoveries, expedited jobs and the local San Francisco city route. The trucks are owned by the office and are being used on a daily basis. Cynthia Wright, Managing Director for SEKO-San Francisco said: “Running a cartage company has been challenging. We are still working out the bugs, but overall we expect improved customer service and greater control over both costs and the logistics process.”

Currently the trucks are being used everyday for expedited pick-ups and deliveries in the San Francisco area, which greatly enhances customer satisfaction while improving SEKO’s productivity. If the initial entry into the world of trucking continues to save cartage costs and improve logistics operations, SEKO-San Francisco will continue to expand its program.