FREJA in China has been growing steadily since its establishment, and therefore a bigger office was needed. On December 24th, 2019, FREJA Shanghai moved to a new location in Shanghai, which is quite convenient for our customers and partners to visit. The new office is much bigger and it offers more office rooms and meeting facilities than the previous one.

“We are constantly growing, and we are happy that the business in China is going so well that we have had to move into a bigger and better location. Our employees thrive in the new premises, and we will continue to work hard to provide the best transport and logistics solutions to our customers” says FREJA’s General Manager in China, Leo Hu.

Our colleagues in China are excited about the new location and celebrated the opening of the new office with small FREJA cakes and some bubbles. After moving into the new location, FREJAns from our Guangzhou office came to Shanghai for the annual meeting, and they were also thrilled to see the new office.

If you want to learn more about your possibilities with FREJA in China, please contact Leo Hu for more information.

[caption id="attachment_10275" align="aligncenter" width="800"] From left to right: (Standing) Jia Wang, Jayden Li, Leo Hu, Emma Wang, and Jason Li, (sitting) Kyara Ma, Jasmine Lu, Bonnie Wu, Queenie Chen, and Ada Shen.[/caption]

The new address of FREJA Shanghai is:
FREJA Transport & Logistics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
Room 2607, No. 868 Changshou Road
200042, Shanghai
P. R. China

Jan Sunde, FREJA's Managing Director in Denmark, sends his Christmas greetings and looks back on the year that went by. 

Dear reader.

The year is coming to an end and we look back at 2019 as a year in which we have been affected by a number of external factors such as a trade conflict between China and the US, Brexit, and swine fever in China. The authorities have gradually deteriorated the conditions for the transport business and thereby reduced the Danish trade and industry’s ability to compete.

More or less all decisions and lines of business in FREJA have been affected by one or more of the challenges mentioned above. However, FREJA has kept a focus on delivering solid transport and logistics solutions dedicated to our customers. FREJA’s policy is orderliness as well as stable and reliable relations, and long before the business started to consider CSR, this has been a part of the everyday life in FREJA.

We value our customers and suppliers, and in FREJA we find that cooperation and co-development with our customers and business partners may best be compared to a marathon, not a sprint.

With these words, I wish to thank you for the cooperation and trust in FREJA in 2019.

On behalf of FREJA Transport & Logistics A/S, I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

FREJA in Poland –  New opportunities for you

As of January 1, 2020, Transcargo will change its name to FREJA Transport & Logistics Sp. z o.o. FREJA is excited about this investment in Poland, as the new facilities will support trade lanes to the Nordic countries and Western Europe, making it possible for us to offer more and better solutions to our customers.

In 2020, the FREJA brand will include new warehousing and logistics capabilities in Szczecin, Łódź, Błonie, Gdynia, and Tczew to ease your flow of goods via Poland. "Despite the geographical fact that Szczecin is not in the center of Poland, I fully understand why FREJA chose this place and made such a large investment. The Szczecin area is the center of Scandinavian investments in Poland, and it is in the intersection of transport corridors leading from Scandinavia to Poland and Central Europe with the East-West corridors” says Artur Wachnik, FREJA’s Regional Director in Szczecin.

Our brand new logistics center in Szczecin will be ready in May 2020. On nearly 8 hectares, we have built modern warehouses with a capacity of approximately 20.000 pallet spaces and parking lots for approximately 250 trucks. Not only is there plenty of room for our customers’ goods, but we also offer a wide range of services such as handling, packaging, labeling, storage, and other value-added services with the support of a modern WMS system.

FREJA’s Managing Director in Poland, Torben Mortensen, is excited to enhance the customer solutions in Poland: “We've always put a lot of emphasis on empathy for our customers and reliability in our offerings. Thanks to the investments made, FREJA has added a new dimension to this, because we now have more capacity, new logistics solutions, and a digital platform that supports businesses with goods from Poland to the Western part of Europe and the Nordics".

In Poland, we will continue to offer trustworthy, committed, and flexible solutions. We run a professional business and we always try to live up to the eight FREJA values; Flexibility, Result-orientation, Engagement, Just in time, Attention, Network, Innovation, and Trust. It is important for FREJA to emphasize that we will keep these values with the new expansion in Poland. Ulrik Rasmussen, Group CEO of FREJA, says: “FREJA is known for its high level of business ethics, transparency, and undertaking activities related to corporate social responsibility. These values, in combination with entrepreneurship, ingenuity, and commitment guarantee flexible and trouble-free cooperation, mutual development and market success for both our customers and FREJA".

We are excited to develop the FREJA brand and we look forward to the upcoming year. If you want to know more about our new location in Poland, feel free to contact Torben Mortensen on tor@freja.com or +45 3697 0109 or find our contact information here.

FREJA tests "intelligent gloves"

Innovation plays an important role at FREJA. It is through innovative thinking that we can deliver the best solutions to our customers and stand out from the competitors. For this reason, we work actively with innovation at FREJA across the organization.

The latest project we are working on is “intelligent gloves” at FREJA’s logistics center in Taastrup, Denmark, and the logistics center in Fjeldbo, Norway. Here we are in the process of testing ProGlove scanners to optimize the workflows in the logistics centers.

The ProGlove scanner is a lightweight scanner that provides confirmatory and corrective feedback, instantly. The scanner is placed on top of a glove, making it easy and quick to scan, while allowing employees to use their hands freely, which helps reduce the time it takes to complete a single process. "The glove makes the workflow easier for our colleagues, and it changes the way we work, as they do not have to put the scanner away every time boxes are handled," says Thomas Mikkelsen, IT WMS Manager at FREJA.

So far, people are positive about the "intelligent gloves", but the technology is just one of many opportunities to raise the level of logistics in FREJA. In addition to this, several other support activities also enable smarter workflows.

At FREJA, we find it important to engage our employees as they contribute to the development of the company. That is why we also encourage them to take part in FREJA's innovation. “It is exciting to be allowed to test new products that can make our work easier for us. I am glad that I can help develop FREJA, and it is great to be part of a company that actively works with innovation, both to provide better solutions to our customers, but also with the employee in mind” Says Christian Aurdal, Technical Manager Logistics in FREJA.

To learn more about how we work with innovation in FREJA, please contact FREJA's Head of Digital & Innovation, Kenneth Sandgaard, at ksa@freja.com or +45 9670 5342.

Incoterms® 2020 - What does it mean for you?

Since 1936, the International Chamber of Commerce, ICC, has issued and continuously updated the well-known and recognized rules of international trade: Incoterms.

The latest issue – the 8^th edition – is Incoterms® 2020, which will come into force on January 1^st, 2020.

Compared to Incoterms® 2010, the only change of the actual clauses is that DAT (Delivered at Terminal) is now replaced by DPU (Deliver at Place Unloaded). The purpose of DPU is the same as it was with DAT: the vendor must be able to accept transport risk and costs until the cargo has been unloaded at a specifically agreed place.

A number of the existing rules have been changed. The most important of these are:

• CIP:  the minimum requirement to the cargo insurance coverage, which the vendor is required to take out to cover the buyers transport risk, has been raised from being Institute Cargo Clauses C (ICC C) to being ICC A.
• FCA: a new option concerning the use of onboard bill of lading for sea freight.
• FCA, DAP, DPU, and DDP: it has been clarified that these rules may also be used in connection with the delivery by the use of the vendor’s own means of transport.

However, the biggest news in Incoterms® 2020 is that the description of each rule has undertaken a very comprehensive restructure and rephrasing, so they now appear in a modern and easily accessible version.

Incoterms® 2020 regulates the relationship between vendor and buyer

• General obligations
• Delivery
• Transfer of risk
• Carriage
• Insurance
• Delivery and transportation documents
• Export/import clearance
• Checking/packaging/marking
• Allocation of costs
• Notices

In addition to the actual transport, we as forwarding agents can assist vendor and buyer with a long list of other obligations, which comes with Incoterms® 2020. This might be customs clearance, documentation, and making an insurance policy on ICC A terms.

If you have questions about Incoterms® 2020, you are more than welcome to contact your local FREJAn or FREJA’s Leif Pedersen or Lone Reinau Harrestrup.

The illustration shows the distribution between vendor and buyer of transport relevant elements in Incoterms.

When it comes to insurance, there is only insurance obligation when CIP is used. However, FREJA recommends that goods insurance also be taken out when using other clauses.

FREJA launches MyFREJA v. 1.1

FREJA's popular Business Intelligence platform, MyFREJA, has been updated and FREJA is proud to introduce MyFREJA v. 1.1.

With MyFREJA v. 1.1, it is now possible to do separate analyzes on your subcontractors and customers. The new platform gives you a quick overview of which trading partners define your supply chain, both based on activity and cost. This will identify any Pareto principles, and it will be clear where the greatest effect for optimization can be found.

About the new update, FREJA's Head of Digital & Innovation, Kenneth Sandgaard says: “With this solution, our customers can quickly form an overview of their supplies and easily identify cost-to-serve insights. Our customers can thus help themselves to a greater analytical understanding of their supply chain, and we at FREJA 4PL Services can more easily help fulfill the potential for an improved operation of the entire chain.

If you want to know more about how MyFREJA can be used to optimize your business, go to our website to read more, or contact Kenneth Sandgaard directly at ksa@freja.com or +45 9670 5360.

December 9, 2019, we had a MyFREJA v. 1.1 event in our office in Stilling, Denmark. Take a look at the video to see the highlights from the event. 

In connection with the Chinese New Year (CNY), which is from the 24th – 30th January 2020, we bring some useful information for our customers to help you prepare for it.

Most factories close one week before and up to 1-3 weeks after the Chinese New Year, as it is common for  Chinese people to travel home to be with their families. This is thus regarded as the world's largest annual movement of people, as approximately 2.5 billion people are traveling in a very short time.

If you are importing from China, please note the following:

• The delivery time of the factories. Check this to make sure that most orders are shipped well in advance of the Chinese New Year.
• Make a freight plan with your freight forwarder as the period affects the schedules, as well as the capacity of vessels, aircraft, railways, and trucks.
• Examine the factories’ opening hours during the period to avoid surprises. As mentioned above, many factories are closed from 1 to 3 weeks after the official holiday period. For this reason, you should check, when your factory can deliver again after the holiday period has ended.

Impact on freight rates

Because of this big celebration, you should also be prepared for a significant price increase during this period. From November/December, shipping prices are usually higher due to the rising demand. This will continue until the holiday itself, but after the holiday season, prices usually decrease again in response to falling demand. After the holiday season, shipping companies often reduce the capacity to maintain the prices.

Shipping tips for the Chinese New Year

1. Make a delivery plan in advance with suppliers and freight forwarders.
2. Try to avoid orders at short notice.
3. Book your transports well in advance - preferably 2-3 weeks before departure for sea freight.
4. Check the sailing plans if you have LCL movements. Terminals and warehouses are congested in the weeks before the Chinese New Year.
5. Airfreight and rail transport are an alternative for urgent deliveries. However, flights must also be scheduled a few weeks in advance as they will be filled up.
6. Check everything again and get the schedule confirmed with everyone involved in the pre-holiday period.

If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact your local FREJAN.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="407"] Matti Urmas, Managing Director of FREJA Finland[/caption]

Matti Urmas, Managing Director of FREJA Finland, has been elected to the advisory delegation of the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) for 2020. The business delegation consists of business executives from different industries. The members are nominated by the member associations of EK.

Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) is the leading business organization in Finland. EK has 24 member associations, and 15,300 member companies across all business sectors (96% SMEs). The business delegation is elected yearly.
Read more in Finnish

[caption id="attachment_9226" align="alignnone" width="800"] With her 134m length, the heavy lift vessel, MV Calypso, was a beautiful sight in the port of Vaasa. [/caption]

FREJA’s Project Department in Finland had a busy week at the end of October. “Within one week we handled two vessels in the port of Vaasa, Finland. FREJA has long-term relationships with both clients and they know they can trust our solutions”, explains Project Director in FREJA, Tom Lunabba.

Within 3 hours the vessel was ready to be shipped

The engine had a height of over 5 meters and FREJA was trusted to handle the engine transport from the port of Vaasa to the final shipyard. “Within only 3 hours, we succeeded in loading, lashing, and having the vessel ready to sail in co-operation with the professional stevedoring company in the port of Vaasa” Tom elaborates. The second vessel during that week was even bigger and FREJA successfully handled the full logistical task of the transformer units and parts for the on-going project called Hornsea II.

From client to ship in one day

When everything is well-planned, surprises are easier to handle. The transformer units were transported through the city center of Vaasa and the oversized transport had two escort cars. The challenge was the schedule. The transformer units had to be transported from the client to the port of Vaasa and be shipped on the same day. This kind of achievement says all about the service quality and the workmanship in the port of Vaasa. “The set-up of the transport changed at the last minute, as the client was worried that the freight might get dents. This meant that we only had one day to retrieve enough containers for the transport. Fortunately, we have strong relations in our network, so we managed to have the cargo covered and protected according to the client’s wish”.

FREJA’s Project Department solved all the challenges and the heavy lift vessel, MV Calypso, was able to leave on time and she is now on her way to Singapore to discharge the cargo. Bon voyage!

If you have any challenges, we are more than happy to help. Go to our website for more information or contact Tom Lunabba on tom.lunabba@freja.com or +358 (0)405008953.

Sustainability is important to FREJA and we are very conscious of the inherent environmental impact of our core business. The transport sector is second only to the energy sector in CO2 emissions per year, with road transport as the main contributor to transport-related greenhouse gas emissions, and with considerable challenges in terms of introducing circular economy within our trade.

We would like to contribute to raising everyone’s awareness about CO2 emissions. For this reason, we have placed a link to a CO2 calculator on our website, so that everyone can see the impact of a certain transport activity. To use the calculator, you only need to fill in the total transported payload (kg) and the distance from consigner to consignee (km).

The calculator is based on the EN 16258 standard and provides average values. However, it gives you a good estimate of the Co2 emissions from your transportation activities.

You can find FREJA's CO2 calculator here.

The FREJA Group is a Nordic company that has consistently followed local laws and conventions with due care. For that reason and from a historical perspective, we have not worked very much on the subject of human rights. With new markets and registrations in other European countries as well as China, our focus is on decent treatment of our fellow human beings.

The Board of Directors, together with the day-to-day management, work under the sta­tement that the organization represents different competencies, ages and genders and is generally non-discriminatory.

The FREJA Group has many subcontractors of transport services that employ labor outside the Nordic countries. Thus, we introduced the "Code of Conduct for Hauliers" in 2014. It describes what we, in FREJA, consider good business morals and ethics. Our sup­pliers of transport services all sign this Code of Conduct upon conclusion of a freight contract with FREJA.

In 2018, FREJA followed up on this focus by actively working on CSR initiatives in connec­tion with UN's Sustainable Development Goals. We are particularly focused on the people and our pursuits to ensure healthy life, knowledge and inclusion for all employees.

“The next step is to introduce our Code of Conduct to all our subcontractors throughout 2019. The final stage is when our suppliers from the first stage pass on the process to their subcontractors. There is no doubt that this will strengthen both FREJA's business and the businesses of our subcontractors and will reduce the risk of human rights vio­lations” FREJA’s Managing Director Denmark, Jan Sunde, FREJA explains.

FREJA will continue to spread awareness of the FREJA Code of Conduct in the value chain. All our significant hauliers have signed the haulage contractor agreement, where the Code of Conduct for Suppliers is included in the appendices. We will continue to devel­op frequent audits and quality assurance programs in order to ensure that everyone is not only aware of, but also adheres to the content. And here you can find all the information about the most popular collection of friv games.

In addition, in the future we will work to ensure that significant suppliers in the value chain become aware of and accept our Code of Conduct, so that we ensure they have the same attitude towards business morals and ethics.