An international household goods shipping company says global logistics have returned to normal following the pandemic.
Bristol-based 1st Move International said it will return to pre-pandemic profits this year. The company closed its doors for three months during the first lockdown in 2020 as global supply chains were devastated by Covid, compounded by the crisis in the Suez Canal in March 2021.
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Mike Harvey, managing director, said: “From a logistics point of view, the pandemic is over. And it’s certainly been a journey for all of us. Any company involved in international removals will know that Covid was, without question, the single biggest challenge that they have faced. Services like ours depend on reliability.
“However, we are pleased to say that our industry appears to finally be over the aftershocks of what happened. Global supply chains seem to be working smoothly, we’re now over the backlogs which were created and cargos are moving properly again. Given everything our industry has been through, reaching our 25 year milestone is a tremendous achievement. We've faced economic ups and downs, changes in regulation, new competition and disruptions like Covid-19."
Mr Harvey added: “But through it all we've kept our commitment to providing rapid, reliable and quality-focused international moving services. Since our company was founded there's been tremendous growth in demand for international removals as globalization increases. Following Covid, we're now positioned better than ever to meet that need with our specialized expertise and focus.”
This financial year, which closes on November 30, has seen profits at 1st Move International return to levels not seen since 2011. Mr Harvey credits the company's return to profitability this year to improvements made during the pandemic.
He continued: "We carefully analysed our operations and implemented changes to enable managed growth while controlling costs," he said. "That included internal efficiencies, and enhancing our customer service model.”
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Looking forward, Mr Harvey said the company expects managed growth over coming years. “There’s been a growth in expatriation since the pandemic, as people have looked to move overseas with families or for remote working,” he said.
“People are looking for a quality, rapid service with a freight forwarding company which brings all the benefits of time-sensitive, service driven commercial shipping with a specialisation in the movement of personal household effects."