Representation
months in advance, but also the opportunity to debate current topics such as the stuff that was coming out of the TSA for the extra security or the extra data required for the US, Canada and Australia. Of course, we all want supply chains to be secure, we want them to be right, so we all want them to have the right data, but the speed at which the new rules were introduced made it difficult. Part of that problem is that the US government deals directly with the airlines. The airlines took that information and interpreted it as best they could, but consequently we ended up with a mishmash of The 61st edition of the FIATA World Congress took place in Panama City in late September and was attended by a delegation from BIFA. Steve Parker , BIFA director general, reports on the activities and sessions that took place BIFA attends FIATA World Congress “ It is interpretations by the time it reached us, the forwarders. Nonetheless it is a requirement, and if you follow it on the BIFA website we are doing our absolute best to keep our Members up to date with the latest information.
Now I’m a bit of a technophobe and that thought scared the hell out of me. For me technology is moving quickly already, but I sort of understood the point he was trying to make. As technology improves and ideas gather pace, new ways of working will come into play. In fact, those Members who attended our Business Leaders Forum in October heard a fascinating talk about AI and its potential. Encouraging youngsters The last thing, which I really like, is that FIATA hosted the final of the Young Logistics Professional competition at the congress before announcing the winner of the worldwide prize. I absolutely love this, the way that we engage our youngsters in their industry. As you may know, the winner of the BIFA Young Freight Forwarder of the Year award then gets put forward to the European category of the international award. This year the global award was won by Laura Cristin Egerer from Germany. It was great to see these youngsters at our global conference talking about what they are doing in the industry.
S o as many of our Members will know, BIFA is a member of FIATA, the global organisation set up for trade associations like our own, to represent us on the global stage. Every year it has a Congress and some of my colleagues and I have just returned from that. In fl uencing events BIFA sends a small delegation and we take an active part in what is going on because, in addition to holding various positions in the FIATA working groups, it is obviously important for our Members that we influence what goes on around the world. It is a week-long event so there is a lot that happens; there are lots of topics, lots of discussions planned
obviously important for our Members that we in fl uence what goes on around the world
Technological advances The other thing that caught my attention was a bit of talk about technology in our industry. One of the expert speakers used the phrase “there won’t be another time like this where technology moves as slowly as it does today”.
20 | November 2024
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