BIFA Awards
water, however. During the grad scheme phase of his career with DHL, he worked on a project to minimise loss-making fi les (LMFs), creating a nationwide SOP and leading workshops to educate resounding success, with stations achieving signi fi cant reductions in LMFs – in 2023, combined LMFs for the fi ve stations visited decreased 63% over a six-month period,” he said. Tom has also helped conduct employees on the topic. “The workshops were a DHL’s Engagement Roadshows – a series of 40 events that take place at 15 different sites around the UK each year and are aimed at DHL employees. In 2023, his role involved presenting and coordinating. In 2024, he was responsible for planning and managing the roadshow in its entirety, as well as presenting at all the events. YFN chair Currently, he is chair of the Heathrow region of BIFA’s Young Forwarder Network, making good use of his inter-personal skills and interest in both gaining and sharing knowledge. He added: “I’m a facilitator at DGF. I did the internal training course for it in Poland last year. Leading training sessions, facilitating, coaching and teaching are things I love to do. Training people is separate from the day job but the skills will help me when I have direct reports of my own.” Also likely to come in useful in the future is his lifelong experience as a passionate sportsman (he enjoys football, tennis and paddle tennis), which has taught him teamwork and leadership. For now, Tom is very happy in his role as a project coordinator in DHL’s motorsports division. “I did an apprenticeship in project management through DHL and then I looked for roles that would use the skills I had learnt,” he explained. “Motorsports aligned well, and it’s a really interesting area to work in. It’s de fi nitely niche, and a bit manic; it’s a fast-paced, dynamic environment. “You do still think about price in motorsports but more importantly it’s very time critical. The consequences of any delay are massive for a Formula 1 event,” he concluded.
Thomas fi nds top gear in motorsports logistics Tom on board a Virgin Atlantic aircraft during a tour of Heathrow Airport
There are many paths into the freight industry. Having switched from sports science to waste management to motorsports logistics, Young Freight Forwarder of the Year Thomas Bedöcs has taken an unusual route – but he is here to stay
T om Bedöcs completed a degree in sports science. Unable at that time to fi nd a suitable graduate scheme, he took a job with a waste management start-up. It was then that he fi rst became curious about logistics and successfully applied to the graduate scheme at DHL Global Forwarding (UK). “The grad scheme was amazing because it situated me in placements in different areas of the business,” he said. “Experiencing different areas can help you be open to things, and I met a good network of people.” It was certainly a change from his
“ I’m a fairly extroverted person but having the courage to ask people for help can be daunting, especially in a big company. Networking
previous role. “Going from a small start-up to one of the biggest companies in the world, I’ve had to get used to all the hierarchies, processes, procedures and compliance requirements. Also, I’m a fairly extroverted person but having the courage to ask people for help can be daunting, especially in a big company. Networking is a big thing to learn.” Tom appears to have taken to the new environment like a duck to
Virgin Atlantic Cargo is proud to sponsor BIFA’s Young Freight Forwarder Award to recognise and encourage the Young Freight Forwarder Award
is a big thing to learn. – Thomas Bedöcs
next generation of industry leaders. As well as rewarding the progress of the best young people, this award helps to highlight the vital role freight forwarders play in the growth and development of the industry. VAC recognises the importance of developing and retaining talented young people and is confident this award will help to attract more recruits that want to build a future career in a sector that is so important to the economy and international trade.
18 | March 2025
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