We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » CMA CGM says pandemic survival lessons are here to stay

CMA CGM says pandemic survival lessons are here to stay

Key to surviving 2020 challenges like covid, wildfires, hurricanes, and hackers was deeper communications with staff and clients, firm says.

cma cgm food donations
November 25, 2020
Ben Ames
No Comments

The chaotic business conditions of 2020 tested the resilience of global logistics providers, but most supply chains have kept on humming throughout it all, helping to stock food in Americans’ refrigerators, cupboards, and ovens as the nation approaches Thanksgiving, an executive with container carrier CMA CGM Group said Tuesday.

The Covid-19 pandemic was just one pothole in a bumpy road that also required the French container transportation and shipping giant to pivot nimbly between challenges in business administration, e-commerce demand, and a malware attack by hackers.

“This year has been rough,” Ed Aldridge, president at CMA CGM (America) and APL North America, said in a briefing. “Everybody [at CMA CGM North America] worked virtually from March onward, in July we aligned our two brands to dedicate CMA CGM as our commercial business and APL for the U.S. military, customers’ buying patterns changed and that hit us in June and July, and in September we had a cyber attack. That hurt us, but we recovered very quickly.”

Additional hurdles made those challenges even harder, as wildfires ravaged California and the Gulf Coast region endured one of the busiest hurricane seasons in a century, but like most U.S. businesses, the company converted its operations to virtual platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Skype. “With covid and the fires and all these disasters, we stayed very close to our clients, and that’s the most important thing; stay close to the client and tell them what’s going on,” he said.

As the bottom line measure of that success, he pointed to the company’s third quarter financial results, as corporate revenue reached $8.1 billion, an increase of 6.3% over the same period last year. The company also carried a greater volume of freight for the quarter, rising 16.8% from the previous quarter and 1% compared with the third quarter of 2019.

Now, as world health groups begin to plan for the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines that may signal an end to the pandemic, CMA CGM says that some of the changes it made to survive the crisis may be permanent. “It improved communication between associates [employees of CMA CGM] because we had more meetings and did more information sharing, and that was true with our customers as well,” Aldridge said. “It’s difficult to attract new clients during a pandemic year, but you can support deeper communication with your existing clients.”

In addition to its employees and clients, CMA CGM also gives credit to its business partners such as terminal laborers, dockworkers, railroads, and truckers, who continued to distribute cargo “through thick and thin,” Aldridge said.

And as another sign of success in the tail end of a year of challenges, the company is highlighting its recent philanthropic efforts, including the donation of: 10,000 turkeys to recipients in maritime hubs like Lake Charles, Louisianna, Houston, Los Angeles, Nashville, Tennessee, and Norfolk, Virginia; thousands of Thanksgiving meals donated to charitable food distributions across the country; the coordination of U.S. ground transportation for turkey distributions by CMA CGM Group subsidiary CEVA Logistics; and the donation of Thanksgiving food boxes for U.S. troops and their families by CMA CGM Group subsidiary APL, in coordination with the United Services Organization (USO). 

The company has also partnered with South Carolina’s SC Ports and with charitable group The Salvation Army of Charleston to distribute more than 500 Thanksgiving meals to those in need in the Charleston, South Carolina, region.

“CMA CGM plays a critical role in driving the U.S. economy forward, and it is an honor to be able to give back to communities across America, especially during such a challenging time,” Aldridge’s said in a release. “While Covid-19 has fundamentally shifted how many American families will celebrate Thanksgiving this year, we are very proud to be providing a bit of ‘home’ to those in need this holiday season by donating turkeys and special Thanksgiving meals nationwide.”

Launching our #35kmealsforAmericans campaign!

Over the next two weeks, we will distribute 10,000 turkeys and thousands of meals to families in need >https://t.co/nmb0QTYm6H

Kicking things off today at Lake Charles!#Thanksgiving pic.twitter.com/1oPlVkeLFk

— CMA CGM Group (@cmacgm) November 13, 2020
Maritime & Ocean Global Logistics Disaster Response Coronavirus Coverage
KEYWORDS CMA CGM Group
  • Related Articles

    UPS Healthcare adds to dry ice production capabilities, launches mobile freezer storage units

    Logistics takes center stage in Europe as Brexit deadline looms

    CMA CGM says "no" to the Northern Sea Route

Benames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.

Recent Articles by Ben Ames

NRF: Covid pressures force merger of online and in-person shopping tech

MHS expands e-commerce fulfillment muscle with purchase of TGW unit

Honeywell expands air purifying systems to boost workers’ health in commercial buildings

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Cold chain giant Lineage Logistics buys its own rail operator

  • For container lines and ports, what a difference a year makes

  • Outlook 2021: What’s in store for logistics supply chain?

  • Capacity challenges will continue in 2021

  • Shippers brace for tight capacity trend to continue in 2021

Now Playing on DCV-TV

Jlt procure rugged devices thumb

What it takes to procure the right rugged devices for your warehouse

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
Procuring new rugged devices for your warehouse is often a big decision and a significant investment. It needs careful planning and consideration. It involves more than ticking boxes on a spec sheet. It includes testing and getting employee buy in. And it's about finding a partner that can work with you to deploy...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Proven Benefits: A Compendium of Slotting Optimization Success Snapshots

  • Bridging Information Gaps in Dock and Yard Operations

  • How Intelligent Sensor Solutions Turn Data Into Action

  • Order picking Solutions: Understanding Your Options

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing