FPS network expands forwarder membership rules

Air- and seafreight forwarding network, Famous Pacific Shipping (FPS) Group, is changing its constitution to allow multiple memberships in each of its territories.

Advisory Board Chairman Sam Aparo, co-owner of one of the network’s founding members, told delegates that the original FPS Group policy of limiting membership to one representative per country was no longer the best model. Although it had been very successful since its launch in 1998, “The strength we once had is now our weakness,” he said.

The decision, reached last month at the organization’s annual general meeting and conference in Jakarta, was supported by existing members. The loosening of the requirements enables members to seek partner agents from a wider field and will help keep business inside the network’s membership base.

FPS will also embark on an aggressive expansion program in 2016 to fill gaps in its existing geographic coverage. Aparo said there has never been a better time for forwarding agents to join a network, enabling them to counteract falling margins with increased reciprocal sales and professional marketing efforts. “There is strength in numbers,” Aparo added.