From DHL Global Forwarding to FedEx, Michelle Chen has been in logistics and freight forwarding for two decades, in roles from operations to marketing in one of the biggest logistics and shipping markets. Currently, she leads JAS Worldwide's marcomms efforts in Greater China. Michelle sits down with Telum for an industry deep-dive, discussing her journey so far. 

What is it like witnessing the industry’s growth in the Greater China region? What made you stick with the marcomms function?
Over the years, the Greater China region has become one of the strongest players in global transportation and logistics. This can be attributed to a range of factors, including government initiatives, IT spending, investment in infrastructure across sea, air, road and rail sectors, and matured networks of automated storage facilities.

Marcomms has allowed me to get closer with internal and external customers, understand their needs and build lasting relationships. This sector inspires me to work hard to showcase the brands our business works with.

It’s been six months for you at JAS Worldwide, in the newly created role of Head of Marketing & Communications. What trends are you keeping an eye on in the forwarding and logistics sectors, and what role do marcomms professionals play in this space?
Marcomms can help companies improve overall brand trust and optimise a customer's journey. It is important that companies in this industry invest in MarTech to ensure customer satisfaction, cost reductions and ultimately add value to their brand.

What are the main challenges in communicating around logistics in the region? What are the different key strategies for different services (i.e., logistics, freight forwarding, e-commerce, etc.)?
The main challenges in communicating around logistics are as follows:

• Effective comms: It’s necessary to follow the 3Cs - be clear, concise and consistent.
• Indicating the urgency of specific comms: For example, clear timelines must be given for customer advisory to avoid any miscommunication or delay.

The key strategies within the different services I have served in (international express, cross border e-commerce and global forwarding) are defined by different target groups, according to the nature of the business. In general, some key strategies I employ are:

• Choose the most relevant communication channels, media and vertical partners.
• Create valuable content, information packages, a solutions playbook and successful case studies that relate to the different services.
• Understand your target group to run a successful brand campaign.

The pandemic has helped the e-commerce boom in Mainland China. How has this affected the marcomms efforts in the logistics industry? How has the pandemic affected the industry at large?
The pandemic helped the e-commerce boom in Mainland China, however the disruption of cross-border transportation, shortages of containers and service delays due to manpower shortages in overseas countries has also created significant comms challenges within the industry. Communicators made efforts to create transparency and enhance collaboration with each other more easily.

At the beginning of the pandemic outbreak, we observed the impact on freight capacity in three key global transportation segments - ocean, land and air all dropped significantly. Supply chain disruptions and the lockdowns affected logistic companies.

Now with the economic recession, an increase in dedicated air cargo capacity and a reconfiguration of global value chains, there has been some recovery, but we are still not back to normal pre-pandemic levels.

Chinese authorities have made drastic changes to the country’s pandemic prevention measures in a bid to rejuvenate the economy, which may accelerate the industry’s recovery. As a result of these recent changes, the competition has started to become fierce.

What advice would you give PRs and communicators starting out in the logistics industry? What key skills would they need to grow in the market?
My advice is tied to the challenges I mentioned previously. Make your communications effective, transparent and timely.

Here are a few key skills to grow:

• Knowledge and research: The ability to undertake research and build knowledge around your company or client’s product or service is key.
• Strategic thinking: Excellent strategic thinking comes from a place of passion, vision and knowing your subject matter like the back of your hand.
• Adapting to change: The media landscape is constantly changing. As a PR and comms expert, you must be flexible and adapt to these changes.