Each week, CargoForwarder Global’s ‘Spotlight On…’ looks at a particular segment of the air cargo industry through the eyes of an individual working there. Freight forwarders play an indispensable role in this industry, acting as expert intermediaries between shippers and airlines (and other modes of transport) to ensure the efficient, cost-effective, and compliant movement of goods across the world. They need to be excellent problem-solvers, planners, and negotiators, among other things. Penny Estrada, Global Partnerships & Strategic Development at All Transport Network (ATN), shares her experiences, thoughts and insights.
CFG: What is your current function and company? And what are your responsibilities?
PE: I lead global partnerships and strategic development for my family’s group of logistics companies, anchored by our independent freight forwarding company All Transport Network (ATN). I focus on introducing the Philippine trade lane to markets, developing tailored solutions, and cross-industrial collaboration.
CFG: What does a normal day look like for you?
PE: When I am not traveling: my days start slow and ‘to myself’ for the first 2 hours – doing some errands, writing, listening/reading the news, having coffee/breakfast. This is followed by 4-6 hours of work – with 1-2 hours of tennis late-afternoon and picking up with work late in the evening. Mondays are ideally meeting-free, for planning and urgent matters. Tuesdays, Thursdays are collaborative – 1:1 brainstorming, addressing concerns, meeting external contacts. Wednesdays, Fridays are kept flexible for casual but important catchups and consolidating outputs, updating projects and ideas from the week.
When I am traveling: there is no typical day as each trip or destination differs in functions. Meetings with casual or new contacts are kept at 15-30′ for which many can be packed in a day, whereas meetings with long-term partners can be stretched to 3-5 days, especially with those who have become friends and even family. For instance, I have a previous partner and now father figure in Italy whom I can hike over the weekend with when I visit.
CFG: How long have you been in the air cargo industry, and what brought you to it?
PE: ATN was founded in 1986, handling air freight since then as a Danzas partner. Growing up, my brother (who is our COO) and I joined our parents on business trips, and have thus been exposed to contacts in airlines and partner agents, as well as the jargon, since we were children. My interest in fortifying our air freight products started 8-9 years ago – sparked by the development of our art handling expertise, my exposure to friends who are master consolidators, and being steered into a community that sees value in high value cargo.
CFG: What do you enjoy most about your job?
PE: That it continues to spark curiosity and feed practical knowledge, allows one to gain a macro perspective of the world but requires attention to the smallest of details. Air freight is particularly fun because the pace is dynamic, and it follows or dictates trends.
CFG: What do you see as the greatest challenges in our industry?
PE: Keeping the human touch alive in a world with ageing experts and rising technology. Learning from and working with people (making mistakes thus new discoveries are part of it) are the parts that bring joy. I believe in finding joy in work and that working is necessary, so this to me is the greatest challenge though there are more practical hurdles.
CFG: What advice would you give to people looking to enter into the air cargo industry? Any particular training they should aim for?
PE: My advice would be to remain patient with learning the basic foundations – as it can be very simple, sometimes mundane and obvious, but all necessary to form creative solutions and have fun. It is almost like basic maths – starts off with simple ideas, after which the puzzles/problems become more complex.
CFG: If the air cargo industry were a film/book, what would its title be?
PE: I love music and was a dancer growing up – let me go with “Volare: Dancing with Deadlines”.
Thank you very much, Penny.
If you would like to share your personal air cargo story with our CargoForwarder Global readers, feel free to send your answers to the above questions to cargoforwarderglobal@kopfpilot.at We look forward to shining a spotlight on your job area, views, and experiences.
