Dan March
At first ever WCA First and Worldwide Conference in the Middle East
Abu Dhabi, UAE, Wednesday, 16th March 2016 – WCA saw record attendance at its first ever WCA Conference Week in the Middle East region.
The 2, 585 members, representing 1, 358 companies from over 100 countries, attended valuable one-on-one meetings and networking events during the seven-day conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
“The new format of a combined plenary session, one-on-one meetings and gala awards dinner, has been a great success, ” said Dan March, WCA’s Chief Executive Officer.
“Not only does this allow us to reduce the conference duration by a day – saving all delegates time and money – but it also provides even more interaction and business opportunities for attendees of both conferences.”
Important member benefit announcements were made during the plenary session including the formal launch of Consol2Xchange, the network’s new consolidation exchange platform where members can search, negotiate, sell and purchase consols online.
Additionally, WIN – a platform that, traditionally, cost members to connect with agents, brokers and carriers – is now exclusively free for members through to the end of this year.
WCA also announced a new initiative to help members become proactive leaders armed for a future in e-commerce logistics.
“By 2020 it is projected that freight forwarding will be 20 per cent e-commerce driven, ” said David Yokeum, who will head up WCA’s newly formed Supervisory Board as Chairman.
“Therefore, we feel compelled to become heavily involved [in e-commerce] and are working hard to develop e-commerce tools for our members.”
David Yokeum’s closing address included the formal announcement of former Communications Director Dan March as WCA’s new Chief Executive Officer.
Primary sponsor Etihad Cargo stated: “We are delighted to sponsor the WCA annual conference. Partnering with WCA in Abu Dhabi enabled us to directly connect with members, drive new business opportunities and has helped us cement existing relationships.
“The event has been a huge success for us.”
About WCA
WCA is the world’s largest and most powerful network of independent freight forwarders, with over 6, 056 member offices in 186 countries around the world.
The combined logistics might of the WCA membership exceeds that even of the world’s largest multinational freight forwarders.
Our members’ global market share is increasing significantly every single year.
To learn more about WCA and member benefits visit wcaworld.com
