Nothing short of a total devotion to customer care and best-in-class services will do where it comes to serving the air freight forwarding industry says MICHELLE LEUNG, CEO of AIRPORT FREIGHT FORWARDING CENTRE CO. LTD.
Michelle Leung: “AFFC’s success rest with the sustainability of Hong Kong as a leading logistics and aviation hub in the region.”
In 1989, the plan to construct a new airport at Chek Lap Kok was announced by the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir David Wilson, as a part of an overall port and airport development strategy. The commissioning of the spectacular new airport at Chek Lap Kok laid a new milestone for Hong Kong’s air freight forwarding industry.
“As an integral part of Hong Kong, our parent company, Sun Hung Kai Properties Group committed to build a massive Airport Freight Forwarding Centre to meet the growing demands of air cargo industry through the provision of high quality facilities and professional management, yet contributing to Hong Kong’s continued growth as the premier air cargo hub in the world,” says Michelle Leung, CEO.
Strategically situated at Hong Kong International Airport, AFFC can accommodate time-critical air cargo consolidation at very short notice. Located right next to the three air cargo terminals in Hong Kong, its tenants can transfer consolidated cargo and collect empty pallet in the most time-efficient and cost-effective manner.
Fast and easy access to Hong Kong’s integrated sea and road network – just 20 minutes away from container terminals and warehouse cluster in Kwai Tsing area.
Closer link with Mainland China after the completion of new transportation infrastructure developments (Tuen Mun Chek Lap Kok Link and Hong Kong -Zuhai-Macau Bridge) should improve AFFC’s hub advantage for time-critical cargo.
Reliable Service
AFFC is the only warehousing and office leasing facility at the airport. “We offer more than 1,300,000 ft2 warehouse space. All warehouse units are well-furnished to facilitate tenant’s immediate operation at the point of moving-in. Provision of 175,000 ft2 grade “A” office on top of the warehouse floors also provides additional benefits to tenants to closely monitor the progress of cargo operation and to respond swiftly in cases of emergency.
Coping with the New Reality
“Our business is prone to global trade and air freight forwarding industry fluctuations. Taper-off growth in exports coupled with intensified competition from PRD airports also pose challenges to AFFC. To stay competitive, we will continuous to improve ourselves in both hardware and software to retain our sitting tenants. We also act aggressively to optimize our tenant mix by capitalizing on niche market e.g. specialty storage demand and other non-freight segment in need of airport presence. Lately, we focus on expanding our scale of cargo x-ray screening centre to cope with the increasing demand due to tightening of international cargo security standard.”
Market’s Demands
AFFC prides itself on building and sustaining close engagement with our tenants, Leung says. “By knowing each tenant’s uniqueness in operation flow and traffic pattern, as well as keeping abreast of their business condition and future expansion plan, we can tailor specific leasing package to best fit their need.
“We need to remain sensitive to the happenings in the industry and respond to changes. We believe AFFC’s success rest with the sustainability of Hong Kong as a leading logistics and aviation hub in the region. It is vital to leverage our collective strengths and insights, and to amplify our efforts through the close collaboration with all stakeholders in the airport community. We need to know each team member’s value and make them accountable, passionate about what they do. We need to utilize the combined expertise of the team to accomplish the company objectives which is one goal – excellence in the quality of customer care,” concludes Leung.
For additional information, please visit www.affc.com.hk
