Jake Post 9- Allied Pickfords

Allied Pickfords

Bukky and I originally were assigned to the Allied Pickfords company. Unfortunately, our contact had been traveling around the country and was unable to get back to us in a timely matter. He emailed me earlier in the day and I explained the situation. I still felt that we had a resource available to us and conducted a brief interview with him via email. Below is the some research on both the Parent company and Allied Pickfords, with the interview following. Enjoy it is quite lengthy

SIRVA, Inc. is a leading provider of relocation solutions to a well-established and diverse customer base around the world. The Company handles all aspects of relocation, including home purchase and home sale services, household goods moving, mortgage services and home closing and settlement services. SIRVA conducts more than 300,000 relocations per year, transferring corporate and government employees along with individual consumers. The company operates in more than 40 countries with approximately 2,600 employees and an extensive network of agents and other service providers in over 175 countries. SIRVA's well-recognized brands include Allied, Allied International, Allied Pickford’s, Allied Special Products, DJK Residential, Global, North American, North American International, SIRVA Mortgage, SIRVA Relocation and SIRVA Settlement.

Allied Services include:

Consumer Moving Solutions

SIRVA has the largest and most qualified network of moving agents ready to assist. With over 700 agents in North America and operations in over 40 countries we provide single-source control and accountability. So whether you are moving across country or around the world we are there to ensure your move goes smoothly. Whether looking for a home across the country or a new condo in Chicago—imagine having one dedicated expert manage the whole process for you. From finding a great real estate agent and mortgage to hiring a highly-qualified moving company, that’s just what a SIRVA Personal Planner can do, acting as your dedicated advocate from start to finish. Best of all, they’re available 24/7.
Moving Services

Corporate Relocation Solutions
For corporations and their transferees, SIRVA offers best-in-class vendor management, a commitment to Six Sigma, and more on-the-ground resources than any other provider. With customized solutions and a flexible approach, we strive to make every relocation go as smoothly as possible for everyone involved. And we are proud to say that we deliver on that promise over 1,000 times every day.
Consulting services
Relocation services- Program management- Pre-move services- Destination services
Global services
Moving services
Mortgage services
Affinity employee/membership benefits

Government & Military Solutions
As a leader in relocation, government and military customers alike trust SIRVA to handle their relocation needs. We understand the unique pressures that governments and military organizations face. After all, we handled over 38,000 government and military relocations last year alone.
Moving Services

Culture

A winning culture based on solid values.

SIRVA rewards personal leadership and expects real results that customers notice. Our culture is informal, open, and candid, in a healthy environment built on trust. We demand that no boundaries separate our people from the sharing of ideas and best practices all across our global family of brands, businesses, and countries. A tradition of non-complacency, growth, innovation, and accountability pushes each of us to bear a renewed responsibility every day for delivery on the SIRVA promise to our customers.

Values:
Unyielding integrity—in everything we do, say, and stand for.
Customer-centric—anticipating our customers’ needs and responding to rising expectations.
Associate-oriented—fair, inclusive, upbeat work environment.
Performance-based—winning relative to the external market.
Leadership-driven—a passion to be the best.

Management Team
SIRVA’s management team includes some of our industry’s most respected leaders—men and women who redefine relocation every day in their words and deeds. They are charged with ensuring that SIRVA is moving the relocation industry forward, and that SIRVA itself leads the charge. Our management team insists upon excellence in all that we do; most notably, in serving our customers.

Organizational Structure:
Wes Lucas: Chief Executive Officer
Deborah L Balli: President, Global Relocation Services
David F. Byers: Chief Commercial Officer
Andrew P. Coolidge: Senior Vice President, Moving Services Operations
Douglas V. Gathany: Senior Vice President, Treasurer
Daniel P. Mullin: Chief Accounting Officer
Margaret E. Pais: Senior Vice President, Human Resources
J. Gordon Smith: Chief Financial Officer
Michael T Wolfe: President, Moving Services North America

Pickford’s has been in the moving business long before the company's blue vans became a common sight in the UK. The moving and relocation carrier, now an indirect subsidiary of global moving services company SIRVA, traces its history to the 17th century, when the Pickford’s family carried goods for others on packhorses returning to the family's quarry. In addition to transportation and storage facilities, Pickford’s also provides record management services. The company has self storage centers and sells boxes and other packaging materials. Commercial moving and international moving services is handled through affiliate Allied Pickford’s.

About Allied in China
The Allied Pickford’s brand is known throughout the world as a premier supplier of moving services. Our history goes back almost four centuries and our "Pickford’s" name has been long synonymous with high quality home moving. From the pack horses of the early seventeenth century to the most advanced shipping and transport methods of today, Allied Pickford’s has grown to become the largest dedicated home moving organization in the world.
Allied Pickford’s is a wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise in China, we are fully licensed to provide a range of quality moving and relocation services. Our highly-skilled multi-lingual expatriate team, supported by a state of the art Move Management System, help ensure our clients a trouble-free relocation.

Allied Pickford’s' Renata Inokomis on the challenges of the China market
Renata Anna Inokomis has 12 years of experience in the moving industry in China. She is the president of the Polish Community Network which she set up in Beijing. She also started the American Chamber of Commerce's Transportation and Logistics Forum in 2002 and served as its chairperson. In addition, she is active in the Professional Women's Network in Beijing and has been involved in charity work with the Philip Hayden Foundation.

How long has Allied Pickford’s been in China?
Allied Pickford’s has been in China since 1993.

How has the market evolved since Allied Pickford’s first started in China?
The moving/relocation market has changed a lot since. In 1993, only three or four international moving companies had representatives in Beijing and the market was divided among these few players. Now there are new companies entering the market every few months, and it has become more competitive. The demand for quality service continues to rise and the smaller players are finding it difficult to rise up to the challenge.

How have the customers' requirements changed?
Customer requirements have changed tremendously. The demand for punctuality and an experienced packing team was very common in the early 1990s, but now we receive requests to pack after normal work hours, during national holidays or weekends. Requests for extra services such as storage, second deliveries, or pick-ups are also common. Allied Pickford’s also offers services like expense management, documentation services and orientation services, etc. through our relocation arm SIRVA.

How important are value-added services for clients in China?
They are very important. Customers are looking for one-stop service providers who can take care of the entire relocation process, including settling down in the new country. The most popular services in China are pet relocation, cross-cultural training, accommodation search, and city orientation.

What are some current trends in the industry here?
There are quite a lot of merger and acquisition activities. One recent example is the acquisition of SCANVANS Moving System by SIRVA. Only the big companies can survive in such a competitive environment.

How has China's accession into the WTO affected the industry?
China's WTO commitments means that wholly foreign-owned enterprises will be allowed to operate in the transportation and logistics sector by the end of 2004, this will enable us to support our global customers' China operations better.

What are the key challenges faced by the industry currently?
High operating cost and low profit margins, competition from contractors, capital requirements for license approvals, inconsistencies in the interpretation and implementation of regulations are some of the challenges faced here.

What are the other pertinent issues in the industry?
There are still restrictions that prevent foreign removal companies from handling their customers' shipments into and out of China directly. All shipments have to go through the customs clearance house, which are administered by eight government-approved agents. Given their monopoly status, these eight agents don't have any incentive to improve their services to their customers. The industry conditions can be improved by allowing wholly-owned foreign enterprises to handle both international and domestic transportation in China, reducing the number of agencies governing transportation, and eliminating import duties on household goods.

What is the size of Allied Pickford’s' operations in China?
We have three offices in China: Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and we plan to expand our network in China according to what the market may dictate.

Who are your key clients? Which sectors are your biggest clients?
Our clients include multinational companies such as HP, Ericsson, Nokia, IBM, Carrefour and diplomatic missions like the British and Australian embassies.Contact

Interview: Scott Willis

Is the organizational structure the same as SIRVA Inc Company Structure?

No. Our operations in China are more closely related to the regional organizational structures rather then the US ones.

Does SIRVA dictate the Business Plan? Does Allied International dictate the Business Plan? Or does Allied Pickford’s?

The business plan is developed at the country level based on a structure provided by the regional (Asia-Pacific) director for Allied Pickford’s. These must be approved by SIRVA. Allied International is a separate business and has no direct input into Allied Pickford’s business planning.

How is you business affected by the restrictions that prevent foreign removal companies from handling their customers' shipments into and out of China directly?

The options for foreign removals companies are either to work with a joint venture partner or use a subcontractor for customs clearance. The situation is different in different provinces. It is not theoretically prohibited for foreign owned companies to obtain a customs license (in fact our Shanghai branch has one). Using it effectively though is another matter. Our entire operational structure is to a large extent dictated by the customs regulations for foreign companies. However, we have different solutions in different provinces.

Other than SCANVANS Moving System by SIRVA, has Allied Pickford’s acquired/merged with any other local moving companies since entering the Chinese market?

No. Acquisition and merger would be very costly and time consuming. We have focused on obtaining the WOFE status in order to grow organically without the hindrance of a JV partner.

How does your company handle the high operating cost's, which results in low profit margins?Operating costs are not especially high in China once the initial investment and company registration has been completed. Although moving is a relatively low-margin business we have to consider the benefits gained by our worldwide operations because of the global footprint of which we are a part.

Do the capital requirements for license approvals have a significant impact on available capital?In Allied's case not so much. The investment was made by Sirva some time ago. Again, moving is not a particularly capital intensive business so this isn't something that concerns us on a day to day basis.

Does Allied Pickford’s struggle with inconsistencies in the interpretation and implementation of regulations within China? How long do you have?
Yes we do, but we also find that we get a competitive advantage as a result of having the experience of dealing with this and communicating the situation to our network. Our competitors who work on an agent to agent basis can get caught out.

Now that there are new companies entering the market every few months, and it has become more competitive. The demand for quality service continues to rise and the smaller players are finding it difficult to rise up to the challenge. How have the customers' requirements changed?

The challenge is in fact the opposite. The moving process is increasingly considered a commodity and while our (potential) clients are impressed with our quality, IT infrastructure and global coverage, they want all this at the same price offered by "Another" Local Mover. Our strategy at this stage is to stick to our guns and continue to offer the highest quality services at a competitive price, but our margins are being squeezed all the time by low-cost, low-quality, low-profit competitors.

Is your IT system affected by the regulation of the internet and other policies the Chinese government has in place?

Not at all. We operate our systems through Citrix and the data is stored in a remote server in Melbourne.

Works Cited
Allied China - International and Domestic Removals. Web. 04 Mar. 2010. http://cn.alliedpickfords.com/.

"Allied Pickford’s." E-mail interview. 03 Mar. 2010.

"Business Personality - EuroBiz June 2004 - Sinomedia." SinoMedia Sinomedia.net. Web. 04 Mar. 2010. http://www.sinomedia.net/eb/v200406/business-personality.html.

Moving Companies Movers Of Choice Allied Van Lines. Web. 04 Mar. 2010. http://www.allied.com/.

"SIRVA, Inc. Company Profile - Yahoo! Finance." Top News Archive - Yahoo! Finance. Web. 04 Mar. 2010. http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/61/61264.html.