About Nick Bartlett:
Nick Bartlett is a Co-Founder & Director of Sales & Marketing for CBIP Logistics.
Nick brings 12+ years of experience across logistics, e-commerce, marketing, supply chain, and traditional retail across multiple from Asia pacific to US and UK. Nick who founded CBIP in 2015 and saw a unique opportunity in the market for approaching logistics services differently.
About Chris Crutchley:
Chris Crutchley is the Finance and Operations Director for CBIP Logistics – a global B2B and e-commerce logistics company.
Chris brings 10 years of corporate finance and operational expertise throughout Asia Pacific to this role. He strives to continuously innovate and challenge the way traditional logistics business is done and enjoys working with a vast range of clients to make their supply chains more efficient, to break into new markets, to allow clients to focus on growing their business.
Listen to the full discussion here:
- Listen on Stitcher
Connect with the Host:
Rushit Shah: LinkedIn | E-mail
Connect with the Guest Host:
Connect with the Guest:
Nick Bartlett: LinkedIn
Chris Crutchley: LinkedIn
Some of the highlights from the podcast:
- How Nick and Chris started CBIP Logistics
- Working on sustainability offsetting and carbon footprint emission
- Challenges for the freight business and logistics in the next six months
- Future plans for CBIP Logistics and understanding what customers need
- The most important long term decision
- Soft skill required to be successful within the business
Show notes:
- [1:10] Can you tell us a little bit about how you both started this business?
- [2:07] I said to Chris, “I think we’ve got to leave the corporate rat race” and we’ve got to go and take advantage of what’s happening in the world, at the moment around ecommerce and around the big glaring gap and infrastructure and logistics and to be honest, it was really as simple as that.
- [4:05] One of the things that is so attractive is the idea that every carbon footprint emission, you’re gonna burn, you’re gonna offset it and that’s assuming that’s a unique selling point. But how is that compared to the cost?
- [5:02] Sustainability is really expensive. So you’ve actually got something that’s quite expensive versus a product that everyone’s trying to get the lowest cost on the lowest margin, it’s actually quite hard to put together.
- [9:39] Is your way of working with sustainability offsetting it just by going through ease or any other project with South Polish doing or do you also try to work with a freight company to select the LNG vessels or normal fuel vessels?
- [11:00] What we want to be doing is we want to be going through this audit process, get our customers and suppliers involved and really get people excited about it. And then sort of in the medium term, actually go up the chain and go up to our different suppliers and get them to have their own relationship, get them to actually understand what it’s all about, and get them to actually look at ways that they can be reducing their footprints as well.
- [14:55] Even if the bottom line is increased by let’s 5-10%, how much does it cost to be sustainable? When did you decide to become sustainable?
- [16:34] I think it’s definitely a significant investment but we see it as a key differentiator. I think customers that we really want to work with will care about this stuff too and then they’ll be the right customer for us. You need long term, loyal, good structure and good customers to do that and we see this as kind of one step in the right direction.
- [17:10] How digital are you? How are you making your operational costs low? How are you kind of working to make sure that you’re going to be profitable now?
- [17:46] From a technology perspective, we’re in a bit of a transformation stage at the moment. From that more traditional model into more of a stronger digital world, we have made some big strides in the technology side. So both internally, we’ve made some changes, but also externally, we have made some strategic partnerships.
- [20:15] Can you share a little bit about at least one success story with the kind of clients you work with?
- [20:35] Sure, this one Asia based brand, a number of different retail shops all around Asia, headquartered out of China and they’ve just started going online. So they’ve started selling online through different marketplaces through their own website, through Tik Tok through Instagram. So we’ve got a strategic relationship with them, the head office team out of China, and we’ve set up warehousing facilities with our warehousing partner in Vietnam.
- [24:03] What’s the challenge now? What do you think the next six months will look like for the business or even for the freight business and logistics will look like?
- [26:18] I still think the rest of this year is going to the big liners and the big boys are still going to report huge profits, because that’s what they’re doing. But, I think there’s definitely a little bit of downtown insight for sure.
- [26:28] And, Chris, do you have the same thoughts?
- [26:31] I’m probably pretty, pretty dovish, like Nick. I think just probably over the last two years, because of what’s happened with rates and supply chain problems, like operationally around the world. Everyone’s just been scrambling. So no one’s really been in a position to make long term decisions. And even where things are at the moment with sea freight rates, air freight rates at an all time high, oil prices at an all time high. People now are not scrambling so much.
- [29:17] I’m very curious about the long term decision you just mentioned. If you need to pick one, what would be the most important long term decision?
- [29:35] Customers and staff also come and go but one thing that’s within your control is sustainability.
- [35:44] What’s the expansion like for CBIP Logistics? Would you continue running out of Hong Kong and are you based in Hong Kong?
- [35:51] Yeah, we’re based in Hong Kong. Expansion for us is a big focus for us but our primary focus is in the southeast, it’s Vietnam, we really tried to double down and we’ve added more resources down there in the last quarter again, and for the Pacific, Australia, as well. So we’re in all of those markets today.
- [37:35] What soft skill is required to be successful within the business?
- [38:18] I think one thing we’ve learned is that we just have to listen to the clients and really hear what they need. The second one that’s worked really well for us is always just identifying problems really quickly as they arise, working out two or three solutions for them, coming forward with a recommendation of what to do and go and do it.
- [41:38] Do you want to share something with the business? What purpose can they reach out to you? You can take the next few minutes and talk to the audience directly.
- [41:45] I think if you are looking for someone to help you with your logistics, your supply chain considerations, your future, then Chris, and I definitely and our team, you know, definitely really well positioned to give you some options and present to you in a different type of way.
Quotes from the Episode:
About the Host:
The host, Rushit Shah is the Managing Director of APAC and North America at Alcott Global. Rushit comes with 20 years of Executive Search and Selection with 8 years of Supply Chain Consulting service within APAC. He worked for more than 40 countries with diversified industries and functionality.
Alcott Global connects and upgrades the supply chain ecosystem by finding the right talent through executive search, developing talent through learning solutions, and meeting supply chain technology needs through a comprehensive crunch base marketplace.
The supply chain executive search has been our focus since the very beginning, offering recruitment services for top-tier supply chain roles at every level of the end-to-end supply chain: plan, source / procure, make, and deliver. Our consultants have years of experience in placing top talent, in North America, LATAM, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and APAC, and besides speed, one of our biggest strengths is our network within the supply chain industry, and we capitalize on it to find the best solutions.
Through the years, we have grown as an organization and our offerings with it. One of our initiatives, the learning solutions- training and supply chain academy, is focused on transforming leadership- self-leadership, executive presence, influence capital, and business acumen. Through Supplify, we aim to match corporations with the top technology companies to solve their supply chain and logistics challenges with a focus on innovation and digital transformation.
We are in constant touch with the leaders in supply chain, inviting them to inspire the supply chain professionals in thought-provoking podcast episodes and events, and showcasing what is possible at the yearly Leaders in Supply Chain Awards.
Related Episodes:
Supply Chain Tech is Here to Stay
