Delivering Promises

Fabrizio Messina, Regional Director at Kerry Logistics Network Middle East on the solutions provider offering broad range of supply chain for better business footprint

With more than 28 years of experience in the industry, Fabrizio Messina, Regional Director of Kerry Logistics Network Middle East and concurrently Managing Director of Kerry Project Logistics Middle East, has been leading the organisation, going above and beyond to cultivate an operating environment that ensures consistent customer satisfaction. He sat down with Khaleej Times to discuss the progress of the company.

What are the core services that Kerry Logistics provides?

Headquartered in Hong Kong, Kerry Logistics is a leading third-party logistics (3PL) company with a global footprint across six continents. Our unique strength is in having an asset portfolio that includes logistics and express centres, port terminals, inland container depots and truck fleet, enabling us to provide our customers with high reliability and flexibility to support their expansion and long-term growth, particularly in key emerging markets.

What were the challenges you faced, in recent times, and how did you overcome those?

There’s no denying the fact that the recent global pandemic, supply chain interruptions and market disruptions have been tough challenges. From a manufacturing and selling perspective, a lot of current infrastructure that has been built in the past two decades, has been compromised and I believe it will take at least two or three years to return to pre-Covid 19 levels with respect to global supply chain.

Fortunately, we are in 58 countries as Kerry Logistics Network, and especially in the Middle East, we have had a strong presence for quite a while. This means we continue to possess the infrastructure, the competences, the flexibility, and the people dedicated to maintain our mission.

Hence, no matter how complex the situation is, our staff, being our main asset, is committed to work at the frontline to offer stable, non-stop services for our customers.

What is the competitive edge you have?

Kerry Logistics offers a broad range of integrated supply chain solutions from international freight forwarding (air, ocean, road, rail and multimodal), warehousing and industrial project logistics to cross border, ecommerce — express courier, last mile fulfilment and infrastructure investment on a global scale.

All the above is complemented with a strong local footprint in the Middle East region, a dedicated team, powerful network (Kerry Logistics Network ranks in the top 10 global freight forwarders) and a long-standing reputation in the region.

So, if you ask me to synthetise our competitive advantage, I can say that the integration of solutions, verticals, footprint, and people is our true source of success in the competitive arena.

Can you name some of your key milestones and achievements?

Kerry Logistics Middle East, having generated a revenue of more than Dh878 million in 2021 and, with more than 11,500 TEUs for sea freight and 20,000 tons of air freight were shipped in 2021, is a market leader in the Middle East region for sea freight export to Africa and from Asia to the Middle East. Kerry Logistics Network generated a revenue of more than HK$81 billion in 2021 and is the largest international logistics company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. As a group, we have also been selected as a member of the Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Index Series 2021-2022.

What are your future plans and where do you see Kerry Logistics over the next few years?

While there is no way of knowing when the negative effects of pandemic will subside and things will return to normal, we are always preparing to deal with uncertainties and dealing with upcomings in a new way.

So, while we’re dealing with many different challenges due pandemic’s impact in various verticals we are also simultaneously at work to consolidate in the Middle East region a one-stop-shop integrating logistics solutions, sustainable development towards the environment, economics, society, and ultimately cutting-edge technologies.

— ali@khaleejtimes.com