PART 2 of 3 - How a Post-Millennial or Gen Z will want to WORK in Shipping & want to be serviced as our "Customers of the Future"

ARTEMUS has put together a 3 PART Series to identify, define and suggest how the new Transportation Employee and Transportation Customer will want to work within our industry in the next 2-5 years.  

This three part series will first define the way 18-26 yr olds promote themselves online and use online apps communicate (PART 1).  Then, ARTEMUS will define how those same people will want to work within the shipping industry and be serviced by the shipping industry PART 2.  and Finally!....what we see as a MUST HAVE and MUST PROVIDE to be successful for these new shipping people to grow and thrive in an international trade industry and how you will need to service these people as your future customers!

PART 2 of 3 - How a Post Millennial or Generation Z will want to WORK in Shipping and want to be serviced as our "Customers of the Future"

Written by ARTEMUS Internet, SEO and Social Media Expert -  Natalie Novkovic

The POST MILLENNIAL of today as we defined last posting (18-26 yr old) is GLUED to their hand held devices.  They type but only for “texting and tweeting” They don't email!
but a POST MILLENNIAL will swipe left and swipe right, up and down to surf sites.  

They want to push buttons, enlarge photos, make tons of comments in between their time between TEXTING and TWEETING. 

So, how will these “POST MILLENNIALS or GEN Z workers” want to work at a job, once its time to start working and earning a living. 

First, let’s not kid ourselves…these new workers still desire face to face interaction, socializing “in person” hanging out etc.  There is still the need to show their work, communicate what they stand for and speak out about their likes, dislikes, motivations and distractions.  So, let’s try to define the new worker now. 

The work place will not be confined to a certain DESK and a certain location.  There will be a home base, somewhere to say…I work there…but going to an office, 8 – 10 hours a day, staying in one place will have a limitation on this generation’s ability to provide high quality, productive work.  So, first, the workplace will be anywhere or everywhere.  So, for lack of a better word…mobile!  These workers will want to CARRY or HOLD their office…not go to it all day long. 

Next, the tools of the trade.  Sales will require the ability to not only face to face selling and communicating but high powered social media marketing and electronic selling….through words, photos or creations that can be sent quickly and visually attractive. Operations people want to eliminate double work…reuse previous work and copy/paste should be as easy as swipe left or swipe right.  Service people want to ensure they can communicate in a way that is more personal than ever.  So, call, chat, email but its personal. 

So, International Transportation and Trade – How does this work in Shipping?  Well, Information is still not centralized, not easily available and readable and the reliance on paper is nothing short of a joke.  These 18-26 year olds are going to laugh when we tell them…that shipment you just swiped right and sent to the carrier to book, save a copy of the receipt here or print one out and put it in a folder….WHY???  I sent it, there's the record…why do you need a copy?  Filings with Customs…why do I have to store that transmission in a folder?  Why do I need a copy of the source of information I entered and why do I have to fill out any forms?  

So, to end this submission, keep one thing in mind…the International Transportation and Trade industry is NOT ready for these type of workers.  In our next submission, we will provide some STATE OF THE ART suggestions on how these workers can work in our industry and how the industry can change to attract and accept these workers and thrive as this generation becomes our new customers!

Until next month, ARTEMUS OUT!

Global Expansion - How do you do it as a small shipping business?

Over the last few months, our staff and I have attended many seminars, lectures, forums and speaking opportunities regarding the expansion of your business into a global market. Most of these events are focused on manufacturing or distribution but they can also be applied to service and global shipping service networks.

So, are you a small NVO/FF, Importer or Exporter looking to expand globally? Well, this can be done and you might be surprised as to how this can be done and what is available. First, let me speak about the State of Virginia....(probably the same is available in any state)

State of Virginia has organizations like Export VA or Yes Virginia, or even VA Economic Development that provides free support to businesses that are looking to hook up overseas and expand. Most recommend a relationship, like a local distributor or sales organization that is already on the ground in the local area you want to get into.

There are also US Based sales representatives, representing a country, a port, or municipalities that will help introduce your business to like businesses or potential clients to expand your reach as a business...again, all FREE!

Finally, most states and the federal government have mission trips, trips where you pay a fee and the organization, local, state or federal, that will set up meetings with potential clients, partners and distributors, tailor made for your organization.

Yes, much of what is written here is "general" but there are specifics in each area that we can provide for you if you are interested. But, there are many cases where a small business has "blown open" their revenue line just by getting into one of these programs, making an outreach to an organization that can help and that these mission trips can be direct hits to expand your business and outreach.

Our organization here in Virginia is setting a strategic goal for 2012 to exploit all these opportunities available and let's see how it works for us.

If you want to discuss this further, please reach out to us and look for our new website, twitter feed, blog post and new software and online training products, being updated and deployed as we write this.

Have a great holiday season and we look forward to 2012...hope you will have a great year too.

ARTEMUS OUT!

Fees - Fees - Fees and More Fees

Good Day - all the talk in transportation for the public is the amount of money airlines and even banks are making millions on fees.  Fees for baggage, fees for the use of services provided by the service provider and as you all know, in the maritime business, we have surcharges, port fees, documentation fees, even fees to use the live customer service line instead of booking or using the online services provided by carriers and freight intermediaries. 

One good way to avoid fees is to get to know the details of the business and in doing so, do more yourself.  In international cargo shipping, you really need to understand the business in detail to avoid many fees. 

Documentation fees, for example...many exporters and importers can avoid many of these fees by doing certain processes themselves.  Exporters can file their own AES or Ex Dec.  Importers can do their own cargo customs reporting, to avoid paying brokers to do this for them.  Intermediaries can file their own AMS and ISF for their shipments and avoid this charge from the carriers.  Exporters and Intermediaries can electronically send in bookings to Ocean carriers without even picking up the phone. 
Understanding the details of how the business works and doing more yourself can avoid some fees that do add up over time.  These are also places where, if you are a carrier, freight forwarder, broker, importer or exporter, that you can add to your own revenue stream by doing these services for your clients. 

Yes, this is a self serving post because Artemus does provide training in how to "do it yourself" We even have a class coming up in Virginia Beach VA on November 28 that will review all the critical shipping process and give you the tools to "do it yourself".  If your not local, the same class is available online.

Artemus also provides software, systems and support to provide you with the tools and training needed to take your service under your own control, save money and hopefully provide more profit to your bottom line.

The bottom line is that the more you know about the process or service you are working with, the more you can ultimately save money by doing more yourself.   
And yes, TECHNOLOGY is key here so give us a call and ask us how we can help!  866-744-7101

Artemus OUT!

Import Security Filing - US Customs Bonds

Myth becoming a legend.......so many clients, importers especially, come to me and say, I cannot get my broker to do the ISF filing for me because they tell me I have to get a bond. They say it is required. How come I did not have to have a bond to file an AMS or ABI filing? Well, because a broker and an AMS filier live by different requirements. First of all, to make any filing, AMS, ABI or ISF, a bond is required. At a minimum, the bond is required by the company who is filing the information on behalf of another. So, let's say an Importer used to use a broker to do all import filings for them, that was ok, before because the broker had a license and a bond to cover them in cases where they needed it. For an ISF filing, the broker is requiring the bond, not US Customs. US Customs requires the FILIER to have a bond. A broker has a bond but chooses not to use it. In the case of an AMS Filing, the filier has a bond and that bond is also good to use for ISF Filings. Since the ISF filing and the AMS filing are similar...in data sets and in the overall purpose of the filing (an informational filing only) than the bond the AMS filier uses, they also use to cover the ISF filing they make on behalf of their clients.

Bottom line is that there are SO MANY options to getting your Import Security Filing done, a broker is not the only option and in most cases, is not the cheapest and the most cost effective option for an importer or a forwarder. If you want more information and proof of the above, just let us know and we can help. 100+ plus customers in 17 countries will vouch for what is written above....

www.artemus.us