Within the complex world of air cargo logistics, the freight forwarder is the ultimate switchboard. At the World Cargo Summit 2025 in Ostend from 27-29JAN25, their role was discussed in the panel ‘Forwarders and the Future of the Air Freight Supply Chain.’
Danita Waterfall-Brizzi, Principal Cargo & Logistics Consultant, Hospitio, acted as the moderator. Participants were David Wystrach, Global Head of Air Freight, Scan Global Logistics; Jody Paulus, CEO, Optitune OY; and David Bellon, Head of Air Freight Belgium, DHL Global Forwarding.
The start-off question was: How are things looking in cargo now compared to last year? According to David Bellon, the current challenges and concerns are in the issues of capacity and stability, referring to both geopolitics and e-commerce. Forecasting, transparency and compliance are of the utmost importance. Other things that must be monitored are pressing talent and workforce issues and embracing sustainability more than ever while at the same time keeping an eye on costs. Mr. Bellon said: “Apart from the current state of the industry and the challenges we face, there are also internal issues such as collaboration. We pretend to be one industry, but there are different actors pursuing different objectives. As for us, with a good 2024 as a baseline, we are hopeful for 2025. After all, as freight forwarders, we have proven to be agile and resilient, enabling us to weather storms.”
The voice of the shipper
Jody Paulus represented the voice of the shippers. His company, Optitune OY, produces nano-coatings for various industries, designed to improve the durability, optical qualities, and sustainability of glass, plastic and metal surfaces, and offering corrosion protection for these and similar materials. The production plant is in Oulu, some 700 km from Helsinki. “A challenging place to ship from,” he said. “Our products are shipped as a liquid, and must be kept below 8° Centigrade.”
Optitune is also a scale-up, planning to produce approximately 8,000 kg in 2025, 14,000 kg in 2026, and 30,000 kg from 2027 onwards. “We need a price inclusive offer for shipment one year ahead,” said Mr. Paulus. “Our own clients are now asking the same price for multiple Asian production sites in China, Vietnam, Malaysia. So, our questions are: will we have the capacity to ship? Can we have a fixed price? How about avoiding peak times and maximizing off peak in multiple locations?” Important and difficult questions, in fact.
Game-changer
David Bellon admitted that the Covid pandemic was a great game-changer. “After Covid, we have stepped away from tradition and bad practice. Now is the moment to materialize these changes.”
He was seconded by the other David, David Wystrach, who said the crux is how to build a resilient pipeline. “Covid required empowered people to better understand the supply chain.” But the freight forwarders, too, have to be profitable. “Capacity, sustainability and compliance all come at a price. High quality and reliability are the key,” Mr. Bellon warned. According to David Wystrach, it all comes down to resilience: “We need to remain resilient. The better your relationship is with your client, the less likely is that they will be shopping around.”
