Steve Parker’s Column
Doing things differently
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 & External Affairs Director Pawel Jarza p.jarza@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 Senior Policy Advisor – Ocean & Legal matters Robert Windsor r.windsor@bifa.org Policy & Compliance Advisor – Customs Igor Popovics i.popovics@bifa.org Policy & Compliance Advisor – Sustainable Logistics Jamie McKean j.mckean@bifa.org External Affairs Consultant – Sustainable Logistics Andy Cooke a.cook@bifa.org Communications Manager Natalie Pitts n.pitts@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, Spencer Stevenson, Carl Hobbis, Sharon Hammond, Igor Popovics, Denise Hill, 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 am not a big fan of this time of year. Shorter daylight hours and a slight chill in the air, which reminds us that winter is coming. That said, I was cheered a bit when I noticed a couple of boys playing conkers, the traditional children’s game played using the seeds of horse chestnut trees. I’m not sure if you also played the game, but in my younger days, I certainly did. I was a mean conker player – I had a niner (if you are not au fait with the game, that meant it had triumphed in nine consecutive conker fights).
As I watched these boys battling it out to see who would win, I thought some things don’t change. However, as I got closer, I noticed they were recording wins and taking pictures of their prized conker on their phones. Some things do change! It is the same for our industry and certainly here at BIFA, whilst we still do many of the things that we have always done, there have been some changes. Training and communication For instance, we still offer training, but now so much of it is undertaken via our eLearning platform. We still communicate regularly with our Members. But these days this BIFAlink magazine is only produced in a digital format and our core communications channel is BIFA TV - our daily dose of industry information. If you haven’t subscribed, please do so now via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/@BIFA_TV Representation and engagement We still engage with government to lobby for and promote the interests of our sector, sometimes independently, sometimes alongside others with a common interest. Last month we hosted a meeting of the Alliance of Logistics Trade Associations (ALTA), a collaboration of 12 trade bodies with a shared common purpose, to advance the interests of the logistics industry and the wider economy. Its aim is to provide a single consistent voice to government and regulators on major issues that impact the whole logistics sector, and to advocate for policies and regulations that support a thriving, sustainable logistics industry. Its success will be defined by the level at which freight is considered in cross-government strategies and decisions. As part of BIFA’s efforts to get freight onto the government’s agenda, in late September we had a presence at the Labour Party Conference. We hosted a fringe session focusing on issues related to the UK border, which was attended by MPs and other important stakeholders. We still operate on the global stage and try to influence change. During October I will be at the FIATA World Congress leading a panel on ‘Trump, Trade and De minimis’. On the same day that this issue of BIFAlink is published digitally, our latest Business Leaders Forum will be taking place. We still try to inform our Members about industry changes that may affect their business. The Business Leaders Forums permit us to do this in a face-to-face format, allowing us to include key stakeholders as presenters with which attendees can engage. If you haven’t made it to one of them yet, make sure you sign up for the next one in May 2026. To close on a lighter note, I still find many people having problems in pronouncing the trade association’s name, with many calling us BIFFA, instead of BIFA (BE-FAH). To those still offending, I always say, we do not deal with rubbish!
Director General
October 2025 | 3
www.bifa.org
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