Interview with Dustin Brown, Membership Development Coordinator of Globalia

“We are a united team that helps each other out, communicates frequently, and comes together to solve the problems of our clients.”

This week we are publishing an interview with Dustin Brown, who is the Membership Development Coordinator of Globalia Logistics Network. Dustin’s primary job consists of researching and enlisting the most competent companies for membership in Globalia. His job also entails meticulous research of the background of the members before deciding if they qualify for membership. Prior to becoming a part of Globalia, he worked for 4 years teaching English as a second language. He also spent many years working at the administrative department of a top US university. Through all this, he has developed a talent for international relations and communications.

Interview with Dustin Brown from Globalia Logistics Network
Dustin Brown- Membership Development Coordinator of Globalia

Q. Tell us a bit about your experience at Globalia?

A. It’s been a few years now that I have been a part of the Globalia team and my experience here has been very satisfying. We have a small close-knit team who works together to help our members and solve any issues they might be facing. Moreover, working at Globalia has taught me a lot about client research, client communication and the job of enlisting new members to extend the coverage of our network.

Q. Tell us about your job. Do you find your everyday tasks interesting?

A. My everyday work is not only interesting, it can also become very demanding at times. My most important task consists of conducting in-depth research about the companies of the membership applicants to determine their trustworthiness. As you know, only the most competent, reliable and financially solvent independent freight forwarders make it to our network. Our strict membership criteria allow us to provide a safe work environment for all our members.

My task also entails connecting with potential members and informing them about how as one of the best freight forwarding networks Globalia can help them with increasing their business volume. I try to ensure that our network keeps expanding to cover all the major cities/ports around the world. Lastly, as the Membership Development Coordinator, I am the first person our members contact before becoming a part of the network.

Q. Which is the most challenging aspect of your work?

A. Conducting the thorough selection process to determine the financial solvency, competence, creditworthiness, business volume, market reputation and competitiveness of the members proves to be a highly demanding task that requires lots of time and effort. The territorial exclusivity that Globalia offers makes it even more important to conduct the selection process meticulously. Additionally, communicating with agents from so many different cultural and linguistic backgrounds is both exciting and challenging at the same time.

Q. What is the most important objective of your team with regard to sales?

A. The most important task of our sales team is to expand the coverage of Globalia Logistics Network. Our motto is to increase our outreach to cover all the important cities/ports in the world. To this end, our PR and Marketing team organizes many promotional campaigns. Moreover, as the Membership Development Coordinator, I reach out to the leading forwarders who have to meet all the requirements to become a part of our network.

I believe in putting myself in my customers’ shoes and easing any pain points they might have. The satisfaction of our agents is our ultimate objective and to this end, I will keep putting in my best effort.

Q. In your opinion, which is one of the less known benefit for Globalia members in terms of sales?

A. One of the less known benefit for members in sales terms is undoubtedly the referral program. The members need to suggest to us the names of trustworthy freight forwarders in cities that are vacant at the moment. If this referred agent makes it into our network, the member will obtain a 25% discount on their membership. They can avail of a maximum of 4 discounts of 25% every year by referring their industry peers. This implies the chance of paying zero membership fee in the next year! Moreover, agents who go for membership in more than one territory are required to pay just 50% of the membership fee for every additional branch.

Q. Globalia turned 5 last year. Is there any new benefit that you are offering this year?

A. That is a good question. In the last 5 years, we have developed a wide-coverage network with reliable freight forwarders, However, we are always looking for new ways to give our members the best benefits and service. That is why, this year we have launched new logistics courses exclusively for our members, in cooperation with CIFFA and Container XChange. The objective of this online e-learning platform is to allow members to upgrade their skills and knowledge base by training their employees.

Q. What do you like most about working at Globalia?

A. The best part about working here is surely the warm, friendly and positive work environment. My seniors allow me to exercise my creativity and allow me to try out new approaches to each aspect of my work. Additionally, my colleagues as well as my seniors are very considerate and encouraging. Even during a large part of the last two years when we were working from home, our team was constantly in touch and we coordinated all our tasks online. Despite finding my work challenging, I thoroughly enjoy it since I love to resolve issues and experiment with new strategies to improve our services. The positive and energetic office ambience further fosters my productivity. Lastly, over the past years, my work relationship with my colleagues has transformed into friendship. We are a united team that helps each other out, communicates frequently, and comes together to solve the problems of our clients.

Q. What are the work ethics that inspire you?

A. Honesty, ingeniousness and the expertise to solve tricky situations and come to the right decisions are a few of the qualities I have picked up during my career. I firmly believe that transparent communication, resourcefulness, and operational integrity can help us reach out to more forwarders and enable our agents to place them successfully in the industry. I believe in putting myself in my customers’ shoes and easing any pain points they might have. The satisfaction of our agents is our ultimate objective and to this end, I will keep putting in my best effort.

Interview with Maria Serrano the PR and Event Coordinator of Globalia Logistics Network

“I have to organize the events meticulously so that all our members are happy and get to connect in the best environment. When it comes to our members’ experience during the meeting we can’t make any mistakes!”

This week you will be reading an interview with Maria Serrano, who is in charge of PR and Event Coordination of Globalia Logistics Network. Maria plays a major role in the planning and organization of Globalia’s Annual Meetings. Additionally, she is also responsible for the network’s communication as well as the coordination and development of Globalia’s online publicizing strategy for members. Before joining Globalia, Maria worked with different international companies managing projects in trade shows worldwide, developing marketing campaigns and organizing events.

Globalia interview with Maria Serrano
Maria Serrano, Globalia PR and Events Coordinator

Q. Let’s begin with your experience at Globalia Logistics Network

A. I joined the Globalia team from the very first day of the network and in all these years I never had a cause to complain. I really appreciate working with my colleagues and as a team we get along really well. Since joining Globalia, my task has been to figure out several promotional strategies for our members. My prior experience in journalism has sharpened my writing/communication skills and research ability all of which are important in my line of work. Working with Globalia has taught me many new things and the perfect work ambience here allows me to do my job with utmost care and precision.

Q. What does your job consist of? Do you find your everyday tasks exciting?

A. The most important aspects of my job include organizational work for Globalia’s Annual Meetings, writing articles for our members and press releases announcing significant network news to the wider logistics world. Members write to me on a daily basis sending me the details of their latest achievement. It is my job to edit and publish a promotional news article about our member’s accomplishments and undertake several marketing initiatives.

Q. What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

Choosing the best hotel, restaurant, band, photographers, and making other necessary arrangements for the meeting is perhaps my most challenging task. I have to do this task scrupulously so that all our members are happy and get to connect in the best possible environment. Also, organizing the whole event is a complicated job since there are many details to take into account. Furthermore, as we are far away this task involves a whole lot of phone calls, emails and videochats. When it comes to our members’ experience during the meeting we can’t make any mistakes!

Q. What is the most important objective of the Marketing and PR team?

A. The primary objective of our PR and Marketing team is to promote our members’ companies in every possible way. Moreover, it is also our task to arrange for a seamless Annual Meeting experience and make sure that the members are making the most of it.

Q. What do you like most about your work?

A. The commendable office environment allows me to be creative and innovative about every aspect of my job. As an American writer and PR specialist Ronn Torossian puts it, “PR is a mix of journalism, psychology, and lawyering – it’s an ever-changing and always interesting landscape.” It goes without saying that in spite of all its challenges my work is highly engaging and I thoroughly enjoy brain wracking to find the best solutions for our members.

Q. In what way the members benefit from attending Globalia’s Annual Meeting?

A. The meetings help to foster a collaborative spirit by bringing together all the members. Moreover, the formal meetings and the informal chitchats, day tours and parties help to strengthen the bonding among the network members. Because of the Coronavirus we have shifted the meeting online and our upcoming meeting is all set to take place in October. We are very excited about it, since the First edition really met our expectations. We received loads of good comments about the organization and good connections made by Globalia members, which is by far our best reward.

Honesty, expertise, independence, loyalty, and fairness are some of the values that drive me… I believe that the success of our team lies with the success of our members.

Q. What are Globalia’s plans for the virtual meetings? Do you think they can substitute the face-to-face meetings?

A. I think nothing can substitute the efficacy of an in-person meeting. However, in 2021 a face-to-face conference is absolutely impossible because of the travel restrictions and associated health risks. After the success of our 2020 online meeting, we have decided to move our meeting to virtual format one more time until we meet again in the coming year. The online meeting will provide our members with a networking platform in the absence of in-person meeting. Moreover, it will allow them to forge lasting relationships with their partners. The result will be many new collaborative projects and increased business volume within the network.

Q. How does Globalia help to publicize the members’ activities?

A. We always encourage the members to send us the latest news from their end. This allows us to create a promotional news piece about our members achievement that we publish on our news section every Friday. The members are also interviewed from time to time so that they get a chance to give their option about the industry defining issues and get a chance to talk about their services, experiences and specialties. We also make sure to promote this news on our social media pages where we encourage all our followers to read that news. Additionally Globalia’s SEO optimization endeavours further increase the visibility of the news which translates to greater popularity of our members.

Q. What are the latest marketing endeavours of Globalia in 2021?

A. In 2021 we have implemented several different marketing actions. This includes the upgrading of our members area, addition of many new features to our website, the implementation of an SEO strategy. Additionally we have also created Globalia’s mobile app that will make it easier for members to connect with their partners. We are presently working on the implementation of many more useful marketing strategies. However, the details will be revealed at the right time!

Q. What are the values that motivate you?

Honesty, expertise, independence, loyalty, and fairness are some of the values that drive me. I try to incorporate these values in every aspect of my task and I make sure to abide by these work ethics. I believe that the success of our team lies with the success of our members.