Steve Parker’s Column
Exciting times!
BIFAlink is the official magazine of the British International Freight Association Redfern House, Browells Lane, Feltham TW13 7EP Tel: 020 8844 2266 (A company limited by guarantee. Registered in England: 00391973. VAT Registration: 216476363) Director General Steve Parker s.parker@bifa.org Member Policy & Compliance Director Robert Windsor r.windsor@bifa.org Member Support Director Spencer Stevenson s.stevenson@bifa.org Member Services Director Carl Hobbis c.hobbis@bifa.org Member Engagement Director Denise Hill d.hill@bifa.org International Relations Advisor Robert Keen r.keen@bifa.org Policy & Compliance Advisor – Customs Igor Popovics i.popovics@bifa.org Policy & Compliance Adviser – Sustainable Logistics Mike Jones m.jones@bifa.org Policy & Compliance Advisor – Air David Stroud d.stroud@bifa.org Editorial Co-ordinator Sharon Hammond s.hammond@bifa.org Membership Supervisor Sarah Milton s.milton@bifa.org Web site: www.bifa.org E-mail: bifa@bifa.org Published by Park Lane Publishing peter@parklanepublishingltd.com Contributors Steve Parker, Robert Windsor, David Stroud, Spencer Stevenson, Carl Hobbis, Sharon Hammond, Igor Popovics, Robert Keen, Denise Hill, Mike Jones, Pawel Jarza, Natalie Pitts Note to media: If you wish to use items in this magazine that are older than one month, please contact the editorial co- ordinator to ensure that the item in question still reflects the current circumstances. Please be advised that BIFA DOES NOT OFFER LEGAL ADVICE. BIFA is not a law firm and the authors of this publication are not legally qualified and do not have any legal training. The guidance and assistance set out herein are based on BIFA’s own experience with the issues concerned and should not be in any circumstances regarded or relied upon as legal advice. It is strongly recommended that anyone considering further action based on the information contained in this publication should seek the advice of a qualified professional.
I wrote this column around the time that England played Denmark in the Euro 2024 championship, and while a leaders’ debate took place on the BBC. I am not sure what was worse, but certainly neither could be described as exciting. So, let BIFA improve the mood. If you are reading this, you should also have received a notification by email and seen our first edition of BIFAlink TV. If you haven’t received an email, then your name and email address are not set up correctly on our database. Let’s get that sorted asap. Please contact us at bifacomms@bifa.org with the subject line ‘Register for BIFAlink TV’ and we will help. BIFAlinkTV developed as a result of me speaking to Members during the 18 months I have been in the Director General’s role about how BIFA
communicates. There was a range of concerns from ‘too many’ to ‘not enough messages’. Hence, we came up with this idea of a short video each day, flagged by a daily email message. We are calling this our “daily dose of industry information”. The email will be clearly marked with the topic introducing a short video, with the result that in a few minutes you will be fully informed on whatever the subject for the day is. We hope that you not only like this way of communication, but you find it useful and interesting. But please remember, this is new to us and your feedback is important, so let me know (s.parker@bifa.org) if you do or do not like this new way of communicating BIFA’s thoughts on key issues and news affecting our industry. Multimodal As I wrote this, I had just returned from Multimodal 2024, and I understand that there were even more attendees than the record achieved in 2023. Personally, I really enjoyed the three days. I met numerous friends and colleagues and had a chance to discuss several of the issues facing our industry and listened to many comments and opinions around the upcoming General Election. Being able to network with so many people in one place is great for me and, although I drank far too much coffee, I do very much value the opportunity to meet. I know you are busy people but if you could put the date of next year’s event (17-19 June 2025) in your diary, BIFA plans to be there with our Forwarder Village once again. Business Leaders Forum I know this is still a little way off, but I would like to highlight the event now. Following the last one (for which over 130 registered) I have had several Members request that in addition to updating those attending on the items we discussed in May, we also cover some important topics in October, such as AI and its impacts. I am already working on this and have some key experts in this field lined up to attend. So, if you are a business leader, please put 10 October in your diary for the event which will again take place in Central London. By the time that you read this edition, you will know whether England or Scotland made the quarter finals of the Euros. Depending on when you remove the issue from its packaging, you may even know who has won the General Election. Whilst there were uncertainties about both at the time of writing, you can rest assured that BIFA will be working very closely with the government that is elected come 5 July, to make sure that the needs of BIFA Members are addressed in any policy initiatives that are forthcoming.
Director General
July 2024 | 3
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