In our latest ‘Inside Apollo‘ interview, Paul Driscoll from Australia explained us how they turned the challenges of the pandemic into a unique business opportunity and what COVID-19 taught him about the resilience of freight forwarders.
If there is one thing that you could change to the logistics industry, what would it be and why?
Even though Australia is somewhat sheltered from the European and American rates, I would decide to put some more vessels back in rotation and increase the air freight capacity in order to give the consumer a bit of a break.
How did you experience the COVID-19 pandemic and how did you adapt your daily operations?
From a business perspective, Australia was very lucky in the sense that the government put together a strong stimulus package to help businesses through the first year of the pandemic. A lot of our clients switched from a shop-front presence to an online presence, however. It was remarkable how many people were just buying things to make them feel better, and this caused a massive increase in online sales here in Australia. We were lucky enough to ride that wave and keep business going. We even saw strong growth of our business during that period.
We also took a look at what we could do differently to make the best of the situation. Specifically, we put together a package that allowed us to consult with our customers and give them very in-depth knowledge about what is happening in the shipping industry, like for example the equipment shortages, blank sailings and extreme weather conditions. Instead of being just their freight forwarder, we opted to become their trusted adviser, really working with them intimately so they would have as little business disruption as possible. This approach not only allowed us to continue and increase our existing relationships, but also to grow organically through word of mouth to their clients and suppliers.
On top of that, we also used Covid as an opportunity to invest back into the business, such as our IT infrastructure. Given that we could not go out on the road and sell, we really tried to be as constructive with our time as possible. There were so many things on the whiteboard that we had been talking about for so long, this was really the ideal time to put them into play.
What do you like about your job and the logistics sector in general?
The current challenges remind me of the old-fashioned freight forwarding of the 1990’s, so it has been great for our younger team members to experience what it once was like. The daily struggles and adversity have really taught them to quickly adapt to changing circumstances and our team has grown tremendously because of it. I believe freight forwarders are resilient no matter what, but this pandemic has just shown how important we are to our clients. We became the subject matter experts so they did not have to be.
What are your company’s goals for the next 5 years?
We are on an acquisitional path, so we are always looking for new markets to expand our business. We recently opened a New Zealand branch, so we are very excited about that. We also would like to expand in the United States though our LA office. The sky is the limit and we are taking a positive vibe! In 5 years, we can see our business grow 3 or 4 times the size of what it currently is.
How did you get started in the logistics industry and what has your journey been like so far?
I kind of fell in the logistics industry by default. After finishing high school I went to study accounting, then quickly realized that I did not want to be an accountant, it was not something that picked my interest at all. My dad always said to me, “you either earn or you learn”, so I had a choice. I opted to earn and started knocking on doors for career opportunities. I was lucky enough to get a chance with a logistics company called Wilson Australia. Later I got transferred to the UK operation and worked over there for a couple of years. After that I got back to Australia and got into general forwarding again. At the end of 2020 I bought into my current company, which had been created by a friend in 2013 and became their Commercial Director.
— Thank you, Paul !