Ocean Shipping to Paradise

Behind the scenes of every popular tropical island is a network of busy people near and far making paradise possible for visitors. Albert Diaz, the owner of Malvar Freight, imports goods into the Cayman Islands and other Caribbean destinations week in and week out.

,,,,Most of our new customers come from existing customers, people we have been working with for over 20 years. We take care of them in every way we can.

Albert Diaz, owner, Malvar Freight

CASE STUDY:

Malvar Freight Freight Forwarder, NVOCC

ChallengesOwning your own business can be a dream come true. It takes a lot of

experience and hard work to keep that dream alive.

Albert Diaz worked at Malvar Freight for over 20 years. In that time,

he learned a lot about the industry and the day-to-day operations of

a freight forwarder. When the owners decided to retire, he had his

chance to buy the business and run it according to his own vision.

Changes he made included expanding the services they offer, the

destinations they serve, and adding Magaya software.

Shipping to the Cayman IslandsMalvar Freight ships the majority of its freight to the Cayman Islands

and has for over 20 years. They ship all kinds of freight, including heavy

equipment, vehicles, construction supplies, personal effects, food and

bottled water. About 80% of their exports are sent by ocean vessels.

Since the Caymans do not produce many crops or have many

industries, 90% of consumer goods and food must be imported. Taxes

are placed on all imported goods because the government does

not have tax revenue from corporations, income, or capital gains.

Financial services and tourism generate more than half of the GDP in

the Cayman Islands. The population has doubled from 20 years ago.

Requests for work permits (new and renewals) and cruise ship visitors

have also doubled. Imports grew by 10.4 percent in 2011, totaling $762

million, which is about double from 10 years ago, and exports (mostly

re-exports) increased by 63% in 2011, according to statistics from the

Cayman Islands government Economics and Statistics Office (ESO).

While the majority of Malvar’s shipments have been to the Caymans,

one of the changes Mr. Diaz made when he took over the business

was to expand to serve more locations. Malvar Freight now ships

to additional Caribbean destinations such as St. Kitts, Montserrat,

Barbados, Dominica, and Trinidad. They are also shipping to Guatemala

and Haiti.

Not all the changes have been easy, but Mr. Diaz knew he had to

expand the business because there was a drop in business during

the economic downturn of a few years ago. “I don’t want to have

all my eggs in one basket,” he said. “Twenty years ago, there were

very few freight forwarders in the Caymans, but now there is a lot of

competition.”

To help him compete, Mr. Diaz also added Magaya software when he

took over Malvar Freight. “When I look for new customers, I tell them I

have Magaya. People know what it is, and they know the benefits.”

Adding Technology to Stay CompetitiveOne of the first changes Mr. Diaz made was to install Magaya software.

He said he knew about the software because Gabriel Ruz of Magaya

had been in the office a few years ago when the previous owners were

still there. “They did not want to get new software, but I thought it was

so powerful. When I took over the business, I knew that getting the

software was something I had to do. I called up Gabriel and got him

back in the office to show me the newest features.”

The features he needed included ones that would help his staff work

faster and more accurately in the warehouse. He wanted a fast and

easy way to input cargo measurements and create warehouse receipts

because most of the cargo they receive is from repeat customers. By

using the software, the warehouse staff does not have to re-enter

customer and cargo details every day, saving time, reducing errors, and

speeding up cargo receipt.

At a GlanceMalvar Freight www.malvarfreight.comIndustry

Freight Forwarder, NVOCC

SolutionMagaya Cargo System

Malvar Freight of Miami, FL, is a licensed freight forwarder, IAC, and NVOCC that offers air

and ocean cargo shipping, warehousing, cargo insurance and customs clearance, pickup

and delivery, automobile exports, courier service, packing and crating. They have been

shipping to the Caribbean and other regions since 1969.

Malvar Freight

All rights reserved. Magaya, the Magaya logo and all products are all trademarked unless specifically specified as of a third party.© Copyright 2013, Magaya Corporation. 786. 845. 9150 info@magaya.com magaya.com

of our new customers come from existing customers, people we have

been working with for over 20 years. When I took over, many stayed

on because they knew me since I have been handling their freight for

years. It made the transition to being a new business owner easier.”

Improved warehousing also reduced his claims for missing or damaged

cargo. “I eliminated 99% of my claims,” Mr. Diaz said. “When we started

using Magaya, I also implemented a procedure to take photos of goods

when they arrive and when I load them. I now have proof of all the

cargo that comes in and goes out and photos of its condition.”

Another added benefit results from liquidating the shipment in the

system and creating the profit sharing for the agent. “Before, there was

confusion about the profit sharing. It took time to go back and forth to

confirm who owed what. Now there is no confusion,” he said. “We print

it out, review it with the agent, and it’s beautiful.”

Since many of the transactions in the software are connected, they

save data entry tasks by taking advantage of the way the system saves

data and makes it available in other transactions. “We create Pickup

Orders and then convert them into Warehouse Receipts easily,” Mr.

Diaz explained. “Anyone here can create a Pickup Order on the phone

and put the information in the system so when the cargo arrives, all the

information is there. Unlike the previous software that required a lot of

steps, and information was not integrated.”

An additional improvement Mr. Diaz wanted in Malvar’s operations

was a method to create pick lists and manifests for shipments. The

shipping information he and his staff enter into the system is also

available online for his customers to see. He gave his customers their

own login for Magaya LiveTrack, an interactive tracking program that is

built into the software. It shows live updates 24/7.

“Our customers love it,” Mr. Diaz said. “They get real-time updates of

their shipments. The old system only updated the information twice a

day.”

“We take care of our customers in every way we can,” he said. When

one of his LCL customers has enough cargo to fill a container, Mr. Diaz

calls them to let them know how to ship it less expensively than LCL.

In ConclusionAll the capabilities are helping him deal with how competitive the

market is now. “The biggest challenge is competition,” he said. “We

have very good prices. We want to make money, but we don’t want

to leave your pocket empty. We want customers to come back. Most

Malvar Freight