The WCSA trade route is one of the most active ones in the world, and Chile’s long stretch of land on the South Pacific coast makes this country’s ports among the busiest in the region in container transport.

Of course, all the major shipping lines are present operating out of the Chilean ports, and France’s CMA CGM could not be an outsider. With offices out of capital Santiago, the company maintains its essential approach to business: to meet the growing needs of customers from a sustainable development perspective.

CMA CGM Chile’s new general manager, Laurent Calvino, believes that this premise is not complete unless the service aims for excellence, from a technical and human perspective. “It is the market who dictates how companies should behave. In Chile we have high export activity with Asia and Europe, especially with reefer containers, which require a specific transit time. Therefore, the most important thing we can offer our clients in Chile is much more than a lower price. We want our service to go beyond the technical and documentation aspects, and we want to build a relationship with the customer”, said Calvino.

The recipe for success

Calvino identifies three essential pillars as the fundamentals for success, two of which are technical know-how and competence and a client-focused strategy.

Using these principles as the foundation for doing business, CMA CGM differentiates itself from its competitors, as the combination of the three pillars result in the highest quality service the company aspires to deliver. “In Chile, transit time is very important for our customers, so it also becomes very important to us. We also know how important information services are for our customers, as they want to be informed about where their cargo is all the time. And, of course, direct relationships. Our executives are dedicated to understanding how the different industries work, in order to meet clients’ needs timely”.

As part of the company’s approach to building closer relationships with the customers, it is very important that employees know the industries the company serves, that they understand, for instance, how the fruit industry works, or what the highlights about transporting wine are, or what are the key issues when transporting goods in reefer containers. “Clients appreciate that there is more than just a name on the other side of the business relationship, they also want a face to go along with it so that they may identify with”, Calvino expressed.

The third pillar is a pleasant work environment and solid HR department. CMA CGMS Chile knows that a happy and committed employee is key for the business’ success. Since the shipping industry has seen better days in a world-wide sense, higher wages are out of the question, but Calvino knows that there are other investments that are considered important when it comes to making employees happy, and those investments do not always entail dishing out more money.

Local development for global growth

“Chile agency is CMA CGM’s second most important organization in South America after Brazil. Thus, the country contemplates a dynamic but very competitive market. In 2011, total volumes (import- export) exceeded 2 million TEUs. In 2012, we are anticipating a one digit growth of the market, especially on the imports. The region is key at group level with dynamic exchanges especially on the export side on reefers”, Calvino said about the local offices. 

To achieve its goals, CMA CGM Chile will have to face the challenge to adapt capacity to demand, in the face of the industry’s global offer-demand crisis. “Thanks to a large fleet chartered vessel, CMA CGM has a sufficient flexibility, that is, to renew and re-condition size of ships to meet demand as it comes along”, Calvino said. This is what flexibility means, to be able to reorganize the fleet so that there never is a surplus or shortage of offer facing the demand. “The demand is still growing, over 5% on some trades, and between 0% and 5% on others. Last year was very tough in the shipping industry at a worldwide level, and despite the drop of the freight rate and the excess offer on the market, CMA CGM Chile managed by optimizing its resources and thanks to the commitment of its team to remain break even”, said the company’s local general manager.

Finally, since the Chile office is so important to the company, CMA CGM is very conscious about how it affects the local economy. “Chile key asset is definitely the quality and professionalism of its staff. We are currently working on a specialization of the some back office functions regarding the WCSA. We will start with Bolivia in the forthcoming weeks. Besides the Chilean sales activity development, this back-office cluster development shall definitely bring additional work locally”, said the executive.

Looking forward

It is safe to say that, in light of the current situation, that the shipping industry -which is pretty young compared to other industries- is changing and adapting itself to market needs. Calvino believes that in the forthcoming months the industry will contemplate concentration moves, where the larger companies will probably buy out the smaller players, leaving the market with a few giants competing against each other. Therefore, the advantage will no longer be the lowest fare price available, but rather the quality of services offered such as IT services. Tracking services, on line documentation, etc., will be where the highest-quality/lowest-price game will be played, and the advantage will go for those who foresaw the change and prepared for it.

About Laurent Calvino

With a Master's degree in Management Control, Accountancy and Financial Management, Laurent Calvino has more than 15 years of professional activity, having occupied executive positions in companies such as Ernst & Young before becoming part of the CMA CGM group.

In 2006 he joined CMA-CGM Group subsidiary Somarig, a shipping agency, trucking & stevedoring company in the French Guyana. In 2010 he assumed the position of area manager for the group’s agency network in North & South America and French Dom., based in Marseille. Most recently, in 2011 Calvino became the group agency network’s department director for the Americas, Caribbean and French Dom.

By MundoMaritimo