Business View Caribbean | September 2022

25 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 9, ISSUE 9 University, where she also teaches part time. “We currently have five employees, all of whom are fresh graduates,” she says, “and we are currently recruiting our sixth employee.” Despite the small workforce, Shipco Jamaica relies on ICT to help it achieve tremendous productivity and efficiency gains as it serves the entire island nation of Jamaica. Quoting a famous Jamaican saying, Matthews underpins the company’s capabilities. “In Jamaica, we say ‘we likkle but we tallawah,’ which means we may be small, but we are strong, mighty, and can do anything.” Before Shipco Jamaica’s entrance into the country, NVOCC services were limited for the most part to Florida and the United Kingdom, and consolidation companies could only consolidate goods destined for or coming from ports in these two countries. “Shipco Jamaica came in and now offers the ability to transport LCL cargo from anywhere in the world, which was something completely new in Jamaica,” explains Matthews. “Before, if a customer wanted to move one pallet from China, their options were minimal. They would have to put everything in a container and pay for the space of a full container load, even though they only need to move one pallet. Significantly, people were scrambling to find alternative suppliers due to lockdowns in key markets like China at the height of the pandemic. They wondered if we find other suppliers, how do we get the cargo in, and how much will it cost to bring it in?” Emphasizing the benefits and support to customers, Matthews adds, “Shipco provided the flexibility and options during these uncertain times to not only import goods from anywhere in the world, but to decide whether you needed to do it as LCL or FCL depending on your current needs.” Shipco Jamaica can offer such an absolute global reach due to a network of 75 offices in 35 countries, all owned and operated by the parent company, Shipco Transport Inc. Further extending Shipco Jamaica’s reach is the fact that Shipco Transport Inc. is a founding member of the Worldwide Alliance, a global network of LCL solution providers, and the Air Cargo Group, a worldwide network of neutral airfreight wholesalers. While most of Shipco Jamaica’s work involves imports, it also supports a burgeoning export industry in Jamaica. “We are extremely proud of the export side of our business because we are supporting small local exporters tap into a global market,” says Matthews. As a member of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Shipco Jamaica is helping local exporters go beyond traditional markets in the Caribbean and the U.S., to markets further afield like the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. As part of its efforts to roll out its services effectively across the island, Shipco Jamaica is also a member of several industry associations, including the Freight Forwarders Association, the Shipping Association of Jamaica, and the Caribbean Shipping Association, among others. “Through our membership in these associations, we are spreading the word about our services and helping local businesses discover a new way of shipping goods into Jamaica from the rest of the world and from Jamaica to the rest of the world,” says Matthews. The company is also spreading the word through other more conventional marketing media like flyers, newspaper articles, and sponsorships. Already making great strides for a young company just getting its foothold in Jamaica, Shipco Jamaica has much to look forward to over the next three to five years. For Matthews, the following years will unlock even more value for the Jamaican import and export industry. She shares, “I enjoy a customer coming to me and saying, ‘I doubt that you can do this, and I don’t know why I’m even calling, but can you move a SHI PCO TRANSPORT JAMA I CA L IMI TED