Growing its footprint in the Far East has been a priority for Vanguard Logistics Services which has almost 50 offices across the Asian region. “In China we now have 16 own offices with class A licences and operate more than 150 000 sqm of owned or dedicated container freight station (CFS) operations,” Far East trade manager Kevin Taylor told FTW. The company has more than 30 additional offices throughout the rest of Asia and 162 points of presence – either through agents or third party CFS operations in the region. “It allows us to offer more direct routes at a greater frequency and at more competitive rates than any other non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) in the market at present,” said Taylor. This was good news for South African shippers, said Taylor, considering that South Africa was officially China’s largest trade partner in Africa. In September, multi-billion dollar agreements were entered into between South Africa and China to enable further economic growth. Taylor said Vanguard’s large owned network and presence was not just a boon for big companies needing to strategically and cost-effectively add reach to their own networks, but also for smaller forwarders looking to serve a broader range of routes. With the continued growth of e-commerce and digitisation changing the dynamics and economics of freight markets, Taylor said delivering ease of use, transparency and on-demand solutions for international shipping were critical factors as were speed, flexibility and reliability.
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In China we now have 16 own offices with class A licences. – Kevin Taylor
