Expeditors International

A conversation with a WTCSav partner, Karen Oelschig, District Manager – Savannah, Expeditors International.

How many locations of Expeditors exist globally?

Over the last 40 years, we have grown organically to support our customer needs. Our global team currently consists of over 17,400 employees in 322 Expeditors offices in 103 countries, all working under the same mission. This accountability extends to agents representing Expeditors in 66 cities worldwide. We have a full-service office located right here in Savannah that offers the following:

• Air import and export (more than 1 billion kilograms of total airfreight in 2018),
• Ocean freight (more than $1.7 TEU’s in 2018),
• Customs brokerage (filed 4.5 million global customs import declarations with 3 million coming into the U.S. for 2018.),
• Global ground freight services, FTL, time definite, LTL, etc., (more than 1.6 billion kilograms in 2018),
• Freight forwarding (more than 360,000 TEU’s in 2018),
• Warehousing and distribution services (more than 2,000 distribution customers globally),
• Supply chain risk management services and consulting services through our wholly owned subsidiaries, Expeditors Cargo Insurance Brokers, Tradewin and Cargo Signal,
• Project cargo services globally,

How would you describe your ideal client or customer?

We work with companies of all sizes, many of which have freight moves within North America and around the world. We understand businesses are trying to compete in an ever-changing global environment. We love working with customers who have a partnership mentality and who like the idea of having a team come alongside them to understand their overall supply chain goals. Our continual focus is to help drive our clients’ supply chain efficiency.

What is it about coastal Georgia that your employees love?

Our Savannah district has 57 employees between our office downtown and the warehouse in Pooler.   With the Georgia Ports Authority being the fastest growing port in the nation, and Savannah being the first port of entry for many vessel calls on the East Coast, we can offer our customers speed to market.

Our employees overwhelmingly agree that living in the coastal Georgia area allows for an unparalleled lifestyle experience. Coastal Georgia offers picturesque views, easy access to larger metro areas, friendly and outgoing people, excellent food, water access, abundant nature, as well as history and culture.  Our employees like that while the area is ever changing, it remains the same in its own way. They love the weather and the absence of traffic, all of which gives our team a good work life balance.

Describe your experience with World Trade Center Savannah.

Expeditors Savannah appreciates the long-term partnership we have with the WTCSav team. We have supported WTCSav’s continual efforts to offer practical international trade education, and we encourage both importers and exporters within the community to take advantage of all the services they offer.

Our teams have benefited through WTCSav’s trade mission programs by participating in networking opportunities and attending educational events.

What advice do you have for companies as they expand their market presence and want to work in a global marketplace?

We would encourage companies to do the needed research and keep a strong focus on compliance as they develop their strategy to expand their brands into the global marketplace. It is important to have a firm plan and conduct strong market analysis regarding what it takes to succeed in the targeted domestic market they want to enter.

The research should include understanding the markets that are using products similar to those the company offers and understanding potential distribution channels among other things.

While in the planning stage, companies should account for any currency conversions, logistics costs, customs duties, insurance needed and any taxes or regulations that might affect the company’s product when entering the chosen target market.

We recommend using the resources available like the ones provided by WTCSav and working with a service provider like Expeditors that has a strong partnership mentality and a heavy focus on compliance as a company gets started. With such a large potential consumer base outside of North America, exploring new market entry is always a good idea in our book.

Expeditors is a full-service global logistics company that satisfies the increasingly sophisticated needs of international trade through a worldwide network of responsive, highly trained professionals and integrated information systems. Expeditors creates client-specific logistics programs that include all modes of transport in all regions of the world so that as a company shifts its buying and selling patterns, Expeditors can quickly react by having a customized and consistent logistics program in place. Expeditors is an $8.1 billion dollar company and growing with zero debt.