Monday, April 20, 2009

Selangor Freight Forwarders and Logistics Association (SFFLA)


THE Selangor Freight Forwarders and Logistics Association (SFFLA) is spearheading efforts to improve the level of professionalism in the industry via education and development of standardised regulations.

President Tan Ah Beng said the association would submit an application to the Government for a RM1mil grant to develop certificate and diploma programmes in logistics and freight forwarding.

“We are awaiting the endorsement from the Transport Ministry to be submitted together with our application. The grant is under the Government’s stimulus package for training.

“It will also be used to subsidise the fees of the programmes that will be offered to its members and the public, especially school leavers, at competitive rates,” he told StarBiz.

SFFLA also needed the grant to provide professional training for its members that would be responsible to teach the programmes, he added.

Selected members will be trained by representatives from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (Unescap) and the association also plans to use professional lecturers to teach some subjects.

SFFLA is working closely with Unescap in developing the modules and the association has bought a building equipped with educational facilities.

Besides that, it is also working on standard requirements and rules for the freight forwarding industry as there is no mechanism currently to govern the industry.

“According to the plan, all freight forwarders doing business in Port Klang must register with the Port Klang Authority,” Tan said.

“We will also come up with the standard requirement for a freight forwarding company in terms of paid-up capital and insurance liability.

“By doing this, it is hoped that the level of confidence of international clients will be strengthened when dealing with Malaysian freight forwarders.”

On the current business volume, Tan said the industry suffered about 20% fall last month year-on-year.

“But freight forwarders that had enjoyed good business growth of 7% to 8% in the last 10 years should be able to withstand the current downturn.

“In addition, the freight forwarding business belongs to the service industry which is not capital-intensive,” he said.

However, according to Tan, the logistics industry with assets in terms of warehouses and trucks might be hit harder by the economic slowdown.

He said the current situation could have been better if the country had strived harder to become the hub for transhipment and consolidation of cargo in the region.

“We cannot rely on our direct import and export volume alone as it accounts for only about three million twenty-foot equivalent units annually via Port Klang.

“Red tape and unnecessary charges are a hindrance to make Malaysia a conducive cargo hub,” he said.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/maritime/story.asp?file=/2009/4/20/maritime/3721025&sec=maritime, 20 April 2009

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Tripathlogistics said...
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