Newsletters

Message from the President

Dear members, Welcome to the June edition of Conqueror’s quarterly newsletter. Before anything else, I would like to share with you the news about our upcoming Annual Meeting. For the first time in more than two years, Conqueror members will come together in Doha, Qatar, to strengthen their networking and make way for fruitful collaboration. Conqueror’s 9th Annual Meeting will be held from 6th to 8th February 2023 at the Intercontinental Hotel, Doha. Inside this newsletter, you will find relevant details about our meeting along with an article on the importance of face-to-face communication for freight forwarders.

In the Members News section, we have published all the latest news from our members in Hangzhou, Barcelona, Venice, Genoa, Ljubljana, Chengdu, Casablanca, and Penang. Our sector news in focus is the acquisition of Deutch Afrika Linien by Hapag Lloyd and how it will boost the container shipping company’s presence in the African continent. Additionally, you will also get to take a quick look at all the news that are making headlines in the transportation and logistics industry.

We have included a special article which will inform you about the importance of the Panama Canal which connects the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean for the global shipping industry. Read on to get a deeper knowledge of the intricacies of the international shipping sector.

Before concluding I would like to congratulate all our members for getting ahead with their businesses regardless of the inflation, the port congestion, the hike in fuel prices, and several other constraints. In spite of all the challenges the freight forwarding industry is having to face, the spirit of collaboration within Conqueror Freight Network is still intact. I would encourage all of you to keep on collaborating to increase the project volume within the network.

Our PR and Event team is working round the clock to create a seamless experience for you during our upcoming in-person meeting in Doha- the precise purpose of which is to help you find new businesses from partners across 258 cities around the world. So, make sure to do the needful for in-person networking with your logistics partners and for taking your business to the next level.

Remember to send us all the recent news and achievements of your organization, so that we can promote your company by creating and publishing a news on our website’s News Section and in our upcoming newsletter.

Happy reading!

Kind regards,

Antonio Torres
President and Founder - Conqueror Freight Network

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Conqueror’s 9th Annual Meeting

The dates of our next Annual Meeting have already been fixed!

For the first time since the pandemic Conqueror members will reunite to strengthen their networking and discuss the prospects of new projects and collaboration.

Our next Annual Meeting will take place from 6th to 8th February 2023.

Conqueror’s 9th Annual Meeting will take place in the multicultural city of Doha, the capital of Qatar. Our meeting venue is the Intercontinental Hotel located on the city’s longest stretch of private beach. The hotel with its luxury rooms, plush restaurants, splendid ocean view, and landscaped gardens will provide just the right ambience for a freight forwarders meeting.

The importance of face-to-face communications

In-person meetings are important for building trust and loyalty
Face-to-face meetings with your partners help to boost the emotional relationship which in turn leads to loyalty building. Before entrusting valuable cargo to your partners, it is important to meet and interact with the forwarders you’re doing business with.

In-person communication is imperative for relationship building
Talking to your partners one-to-one demonstrates that you value their services. In other words, the fact that you have travelled all the way to a new country will prove the dedication and motivation of your company. This in turn will encourage your partners to consign their valuable projects to your company.

Face-to-face meetings help to avoid misinterpretations
Communicating your requirements is extremely crucial in a freight forwarders’ meeting. An in-person meeting allows you to clearly discuss all sensitive issues and explain your points without the possibility of misinterpretation. It gives more clarity to your meeting and helps you achieve the purpose of the conference.

The purpose of our Annual Meeting is to help you find new businesses by touching base with trustworthy network partners.
In a time when the freight forwarding industry is struggling to find new businesses and stay relevant in the sector, it is imperative for small and independent freight forwarders like you to do their level best to increase the scope of your companies and Conqueror’s 9th Annual Meeting will present a perfect opportunity to do the same.

Why now more than ever do you need to be a part of our Annual Meeting?

In the last two years, we had to make do with Virtual Meetings because of safety concerns. Finally, after more than 3 years of a long wait, we are finally preparing for an in-person meeting to facilitate more effective communications and foster engagement and relationship building.

Meet Old Friends again in Doha!
Reunite with partners you have been working for long to reconnect with them and create new business opportunities

Establish new relationships
Relationship building is the cornerstone for the success of a freight forwarding company and this is exactly what our Annual Meeting will help you achieve.

Reduce travelling costs
Instead of travelling to country after country and city after city to meet the same amount of people and exchange the same amount of business, you travel to just one and meet all of them at the same time.

Increase your business & expand your outreach
Active networking will also bring many new projects your way from your international network partners.

Promote your business
The Annual Meetings are the perfect platform on which members can promote their businesses internationally, do deals and build long-term partnerships.

Formal & Informal settings
Apart from the one-to-one meetings, Conqueror organizes a welcome cocktail, a Gala Dinner and a half-day sightseeing tour for you to spend some quality leisure time with your partners.

These meetings are without doubt the biggest benefit of membership.

Be there to make a difference in your business.

Register today by visiting the Members' Area and by entering your username and password.

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MEMBER NEWS

Conqueror Hangzhou moves 693 Kg of sliced fruit from China to The Netherlands by airfreight
Read more

Conqueror Barcelona saves a life by moving an urgent shipment of bone marrow
Read more

Conqueror Genoa/Venice successfully handles an OOG cargo weighing over 200 tonnes
Read more

Conqueror Ljubljana completes three decades in the industry!
Read more

Conqueror Chengdu redesigns their website to make it more user friendly
Read more

Conqueror Casablanca teams up with Conqueror Genoa/Venice for moving a project cargo shipment
Read more

Conqueror Penang wins the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards
Read more

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Network

Conqueror offers a new online certificate attesting to the membership of the agents

Conqueror members can download the certificate from the Members Area of the website
Conqueror Freight Network is presently offering an online certificate that corroborates the membership of the network agents. They have made available this online certificate to provide better accessibility to the network’s intranet from where members can obtain the soft copy of this certification. Precisely for this reason, Conqueror’s IT team has put together a new section in their intranet. The online certification also comes with the date when the network accepted the member.

In the words of Conqueror President and Founder Antonio Torres, “As the largest exclusive freight network of the world, we only accept the most professional, reliable and financially solvent companies to our network who need to pass a rigorous selection process. With this certificate, our members will be able to confirm their expertise and competence that allowed them to become a part of our network. Furthermore, this official certificate of membership forms a part of our digitization endeavours that facilitate every aspect of our member’s work.”

Conqueror members can download and print the soft copy of this document from the Members Area. They just have to access Conqueror’s intranet, and click on the “Certificate” tab and download it from the Dashboard.

Access the members area

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Network

Already opened the registration for the Essentials in Freight Forwarding Course, provided in cooperation with CIFFA

In this course you will learn about commercial documents and regulatory compliance, export packaging, transportation of dangerous goods, how to devise alternative transport solutions for clients, and properly cost and quote on a shipment, and how buyers and sellers manage risk with a variety of international payment methods and cargo insurance.

• The course will start on 15th September 2022.
• Around 65 – 75 hours aproximately of dedicated study time are required to complete it
• The deadline to complete it is 15th December 2022

Once you are enrolled you will have access to fully narrated lessons that contain case studies that will put the learner into real world scenarios, e-textbooks are provided and can be viewed on up to three devices.

Give a boost to your business through online education! Enroll NOW!

Visit the Course Section    Contact information@conquerornetwork.com

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Network

xChange doubles the discount offered to Conqueror members thanks to the enhancement of their partnership

The updated agreement will provide agents with a 10% discount on xChange subscriptions, enabling them to save up to 1000 USD. In addition, Conqueror members will have access to exclusive industry reports and insights. Also, they will be offered a discounted pass to annual Digital Container Summit and other xChange events.

The aim of xChange is to provide with a neutral platform for container owners and users to collaborate easily and efficiently. The platform enables users to find new partners and manage end-to-end container logistics operations; including services like payment handling, trading buyer protection, container tracking premium and wallet management. Members will gain greater market transparency, avoid demurrage and detention charges and enhance operational flexibility.

Hamburg based company Container xChange connects industry players and brings members on one simple and efficient infrastructure to help them digitize their container logistic operations. Conqueror members will be able to join more than 1000 companies such as Kuehne+Nagel, Seaco, Sogese, Ocean Box, VMR Lines and Sarjak in revolutionizing their container sourcing method.

Claim your member benefit when joining xChange by using the referral code: CONQXC to receive a 10% discount upon sign up. If you would like to get to know more about xChange check the below interactive product tour.

See how it works   Watch the video

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LOGISTICS NEWS

Container shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd acquires Deutsche Afrika-Linien (DAL)

This acquisition will enormously strengthen the position of the company in the countries in southern Africa

Hapag Lloyd has successfully concluded the takeover of DAL (Deutch Afrika Linien)- a container liner based in Germany. This acquisition will allow Hapag Lloyd to offer value-added services, an enhanced network, and additional port coverage in South Africa and its neighbouring countries.

As stated by Rolf Habben Jansen, the CEO of Hapag Lloyd, “We are very pleased with the closing of the transaction and looking forward to welcoming the DAL colleagues…With their broad experience and market knowledge, they will significantly support us to further grow in Africa, which remains an important strategic market for us. We will now fully integrate the DAL’s container liner activities into our business.”

DAL is a reputed container shipping company operating 4 liner services between South Africa, Europe, and the Indian Ocean. They are one of the foremost operators of containerized cargo in southern Africa. Last year, Hapag Lloyd took over another carrier servicing the African ports- NileDutch. The acquisition of NileDutch and DAL will open up a new phase for the company’s operations in South and West Africa.

More logistic news at a glance

FedEx teams up with supply chain intelligence platform FourKites to create a platform for order tracking and delivery optimization

According to a statement by FedEx, “Our vision is to deliver comprehensive supply chain intelligence — to provide prescriptive analytics that can help businesses optimize supply chains, lower costs, drive higher service levels, improve communication and create greater network transparency.

Einride, a Swedish transportation company specializing in electric vehicles starts testing their self-driving trucks on US roads

Einride is planning to run their self-driving trucks on a mile-long stretch between two warehouses in Tennessee

On the International Day of Seafarers, UAE has launched a new initiative named ‘Salmeen’ which will prioritize the welfare of the workers in the maritime sector

To quote UAE’s Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Hon. Suhail Al Mazrouei, “Launching the ‘Salmeen’ initiative confirms our continuous support for seafarers and reflects our firm belief in the active role they play towards strengthening UAE as an unparalleled global maritime hub.”

IATA Director General Willie Walsh criticizes the governments in the EU for failing to provide enough incentives for the transition to sustainable aviation fuel

According to Mr. Walsh clean energy solutions are now cheap and widely available and the EU authorities should have done more to provide incentives to transition electricity production to renewable sources like solar or wind work

Container handling in post-lockdown Shanghai finally reaches pre-pandemic levels

After the lifting of the two-month lockdown, the average container throughput in the port of Shanghai has reached 126,000 TEU which amounts to 95% of the pre-lockdown level

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Special

The role of Panama Canal in global shipping

Since its inauguration back in 1914, the Panama Canal has come up as one of the primary maritime canals of the globe serving over 144 routes to more than 160 countries. On average around 14,000 transits are made through the canal every year.

Things to know about the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is 80.46 km in length and ships take an average of 8-10 hours to cross this canal and move from ocean to ocean. It employs over 280 pilots who are responsible for the 14,000 transits that take place every year. Every day an average of 38 vessels cross this canal.

The canal employs professionals responsible for numerous operations. This includes tug captains, traffic controllers, line handlers, boat operators, car drivers and administrative officers. Moreover, the canal authority constantly undertakes maintenance programmes to ensure optimum shipping conditions.

Most importantly, despite the high shipping volume, this canal is one of the safest on the globe with an accident rate below 0.01%.

Importance of the canal in international shipping

The Panama Canal is an engineering marvel that is of vital importance to the global container shipping industry. Additionally, the remodelling of this maritime route in 2016 has been allowing larger container ships to ply the waters thereby increasing the flow of vessels. It allows the passage of ships with beams measuring 32 feet, specialized ships, and even warships. Each lock chamber of this canal measures 1000 feet (length) by 110 feet (width).

This canal allows ships crossing from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean and vice versa to save around 15.000 Km. Moreover, ships moving between the East and West Coast of the Americas get to save 6,500 km. The total time that ships can save by using this canal is close to 22 days. It takes just 8 to 10 hours for ships to cross the Panama Canal. Therefore, it doesn’t just help to save an enormous amount of time and money, it also helps to cut down massive carbon emissions thereby allowing the container shipping industry to lower its carbon footprint.

The Panama Canal expansion project and its benefits for the shipping industry

The Panama Canal expansion project has more than doubled the canal’s capacity allowing for a greater number of ships to pass the canal. Moreover, the widening and deepening of the Panama Canal are also allowing ships of larger capacity to move through the canal.

The expansion has increased the number of daily transits and even led to quicker transit time. Additionally, the cost-effectiveness of using the Panama Canal prompts the shipping lines to choose this canal rather than using the Cape Horn route, the multimodal route or the Suez Canal route.

The official coat of arms of the Panama Canal aptly bears the words- ‘Pro Mundi Beneficio’ which translates to ‘For the benefit of the world’. It has a tremendous commitment and socio-economic responsibility toward the global container shipping industry and to this day it has remained at the forefront of sustainable growth and development of the maritime sector.

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Refer&Earn

We still have room left for more members

We’d like to take this opportunity to remind our agents once again about Conqueror’s Referral Programme.

Refer&Earn

As an agent, all you have to do is suggest the names of reliable freight forwarders who are potential candidates for CQR membership.

In case your recommended company makes it to our network then you as the referring agent will get a 25% discount on your next annual membership fee!

That’s not the end of it! If you can refer more agents who successfully becomes a part of our team then you can get as much as 4 discounts every year making your annual membership fee as less as zero for the coming year!

So make sure to tell your peers about the benefits of being a CQ R member and you might get yourself a discount on your next membership fee!

Examples of cities where we need coverage

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PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

You can check all the public holidays and details on www.officeholidays.com

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CONQUEROR BIRTHDAYS

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ENDORSED MEETINGS

Conqueror has a collaboration and presence at many industry events. Members can enjoy exclusive discounts.

Check the list of events