We are pleased to launch our BBN broadcast “It’s All About……Breakbulk!” ! With these video broadcasts, we aim to provide more personal insights into what is going on in the breakbulk, project cargo and logistics world.
Committed to opening up the industry by Bringing Breakbulk Together and focusing on introducing you to new people, our Writer and Broadcaster, Gina Panayiotou, talks to our first guest Amanda Labee, VP Operations of Project Freight Network (PFN), who shares her thoughts on how industry-unique networks are a “superpower” in disguise and how PFN brings such value to its members.
Watch the full interview below or read the conversation here:
“It’s ALL about…Breakbulk” by Breakbulk News_Episode 1
G: We’re very excited to have you all join us in the launch of today’s new initiative, aimed to familiarise you with the breakbulk industry and its’ news. Today we will be discussing a quite important topic, of how industry unique networks are a superpower in disguise. Joining me is Amanda Labee, who is the Vice President Operations of PFN Project Freight Network. Amanda will of course be briefing you more on what the network is all about, so without further ado, I will hand the platform to Amanda to tell us what is the purpose behind Project Freight Network and define their “Why?”
A: Thank you Gina for having me today. Our “Why” PFN, that’s a good question. PFN is an exclusive network that brings members from all over the world together, so that’s already one of our why’s. We bring our members together to communicate, to build relationships. Our belief system is built on trust and transparency and technology, being one of the key elements, we also believe that trust and transparency is key for building good relationships, and relationships are needed for working within the project industry. I don’t think that’s news to anyone within this industry and it has been something that has always proven to be an important element for sure.
G: Exactly! It was actually one of the very first things that I was told when I joined the shipping industry, that it’s all about relationships and networks so I fully agree with you on that. PFN is quite a niche network though and it focuses on providing a particular kind of support for its members, so maybe you would like to give us a few more details on how it operates in this respect?
A: Of course, so yes we are a niche network and an exclusive network, for instance we work with a one member per country policy so that makes us exclusive, but the other elements that make us exclusive are also that we follow quite a strict application process for members that join. Next to that, we also operate with an NDA driven membership agreement which safeguards the transparency element of the network. As I said before, our backbone is transparency and trust, we try to enforce that with certain elements within our policies, so the extensive application process and the NDA driven membership agreements make it that they can communicate in a more open way and build stronger relationships in that way.
For instance, during our annual member conferences we also work with the Chatham House rules, so that everything just stays within that area and everyone can just discuss and talk openly and freely about the industry and share their knowledge together, so transparency trust knowledge technology all very important and I think that brings the biggest value to the network. When we talk about technology we always try to develop new technical platforms, mobile applications, and there is a variety on things that we can offer our members and that’s all aimed to support our belief system and our philosophy of sharing knowledge.
G: The mobile app is definitely very innovative and I look forward to hearing more later in today’s interview but I do want to highlight something before that. You mentioned how exclusive the network is in the selecting process, so what kind of members do you want within this community?
A: So, the members are all project freight forwarders so they have to be able to show that they are working within the project industry of course, and next to that there are certain elements within the application process that will be asked within an applicants form, but there will also be like an interview process where members that are already PFN members will be able to ask questions, so that they can kind of see and feel if they are on the same page when it comes to projects and how they operate with projects. It all boils down to the same as I said before, trust transparency technology, and sharing information, I can’t say that enough, sharing the information I think is very valuable. Of course it needs to be on the same page as the other members. So, we try to make sure that we are all on the same page and that we all work towards the same goal. Our members understand that building relationships take time, so it’s an investment of your time and being able to communicate openly with each other.
G: Going a little bit back in history though, because we are also going to move on to the vision going forward, PFN was initiated as a directory from what I understand and then it evolved into this support infrastructure which you just described for its members, what do you feel have been the drivers of this transition?
A: Like you said PFN started out as PFM Directory in 2004, and it evolved into a network in 2016, and this idea came from our CEO and President Peter Bouwhuis who has worked over 40 years in the project freight forwarding, and on the shipper side as well, and he saw a need within networking, and in building relationships that there were certain elements that were trying to be used but maybe not completely utilized or used in the right way. So, there need to be some steps within networking to actually make sure that you can build trusty relationships, and there are some things that need to be done to be able to communicate freely. Again, that was greatly needed, and I think that was one of the biggest reasons of why PFN has was set up and evolved into what it is today, and it keeps evolving as time goes on as well. The other thing that was needed for PFN to really become what it, was also a technology platform, and those are one of the elements that we offer our members as well is technology platforms support on elements like risk, andinsurance support, stuff like that they is needed to be able to build a strong platform and a strong network.
G: Indeed, collaboration between members and essential tools that they would need on an everyday basis to make the community better and their business better sounds absolutely amazing. Moving on to the challenge of Covid-19, which obviously changed our world and the way we do business and everything as we know it basically, requiring businesses to adapt swiftly to change and enforce mitigation mechanisms or do whatever was necessary to adapt to this. How has this journey been within the PFN?
A: For us as a network it meant that we had to, for instance cancel our last year’s members conference, which we have every year. We have a conference at least once a year face-to-face with all the members, so we had to make sure that we had everything in place to be able to do a live broadcast and, to do it in a different way, and a different platform, but that went well. I think it was not the same because face to face is always better, but I think we did a good job and it really gave all the members the same feeling of coming together, sharing, and being able to connect again, to reconnect. On the other hand, we had to focus on being more visible online, not only just as a network but also for our members, being able to create more visibility for them and also just adapting to certain things, like having one-on-one meetings online and being able to give them opportunities to connect and collaborate. For the members themselves, I’ve heard so many different stories, with members being able to help each other through challenges or during hurdles that they had, maybe with freight or with projects, and just really supporting each other through that and of course themselves and their own teams working as hard as they can. I’ve heard that some of them are doing good and are growing as before and others are growing even with numbers that they didn’t even dream of before a Covid came, growing like crazy. So that is the other side of Covid I guess, which is also good to be able to share with people and to be able to express but yes, I think it’s been challenging for everyone, and I think everyone has had things that they had to adjust, and maybe working from home or maybe looking at different opportunities within the industry or within shipping, buteveryone is doing really good and working hard and continue excelling, so that’s that’s fantastic.
G: It’s always lovely to hear these positive aspects of Covid and I think sometimes it just proves that indeed in crisis, there is opportunity when you can be more creative, and collaborative, so it was definitely great to hear thess positive tones after what we have been through. PFN has proved, as we mentioned earlier, over time that it’s evolving according to the dynamics of this industry but looking ahead how can such networks remain relevant to accommodate the industry’s constantly evolving needs. Especially now it’s such a disruptive period on many levels for this industry?
A: Yeah, you are you’re right, but I think networks will always be relevant as relationships will always be relevant, and so relationships within the industry within especially projects, because that’s such a different part of the industry, and so important to have human elements in there. I think it will still be very relevant to be part of a network or networks, I don’t think that will change. It might change in the sense that it will be more of a combined efforts with technology, so that we will be using more technology to be able to bring people together to have the right connections in place, I think that will certainly be in our future that networks need to really focus on that and really look towards developing, either their own or working with technology platforms, but the human aspect will never change in that we need strong and good relationships to be able to succeed in projects, and to make sure that that projects are successful and that will never change, thank god. It is is very important for sure and as PFN I think we are just going to work forward and to become even more strong, in the sense that we believe that it is so important to build a strong international team of experts in the project industry and that has always been our belief system and that will continue to always be our belief system and that’s working together with the three T’s we believe in, means a very bright and very nice future for our members and for networks as well.
G: It sounds very very promising, and I think it’s exactly what the industry needs, and the community needs, networks like this, which are its unique superpower, and I think probably now more than ever we have realized it even more and definitely going forward, this it will be even more important. So, well done on the amazing work that PFN is doing, we are really look forward to seeing what the future holds. I’m sure it’s very bright for your community and network.
Joining us today on this very first broadcast was Amanda Labee, Vice President operations of PFN. I am Gina Panayiotou, reporting on Breakbulk News, and our very first broadcast, thank you Amanda for being with us today and thank you of course to everybody for joining. Stay tuned for our next broadcast.
A: Thank you Gina.
Watch the full interview here:
