Phuket- a staggering 90 members from the world’s first virtual freight network, Conqueror, gathered for its inaugural conference, 23rd-25th May. An unprecedented number of delegates for a first conference, 90 in total from 40 countries, made the journey to Thailand. “Considering what other networks have managed at their initial conferences, this number is a great achievement,” said Antonio Torres, the brains behind this one of a kind freight forwarding network.

This one off Virtual Multinational is paving the way for a new generation of networks which want to mobilize independent freight forwarders to work together as global mega-forwarders. This desire to join forces was evident at the conference as members vied for each others time across every aspect of the conference. “At the heart of Conqueror is mutual cooperation,” explained Torres. “Without it, the network simply would not function.” The 3-day conference provided over 1,600+one-to-one meetings to enable members to strengthen this cooperation. “One perk of Conqueror’s focus on cooperation, is that all the members do business with a give and take attitude,” said one member. “This cooperation is made even easier by each of us being the only agent in our city which, of course, cuts out all competition. What’s left is a desire to work together.”

Conqueror is aiming to set up an exclusive virtual branch in each of the 472 major cities in the 175 countries it has identified. This is clearly one of Conqueror’s charms. “I can provide global coverage, under a common global brand as if I am part of a multinational and, more importantly, work with agents I trust,” said one satisfied delegate.