website links: home | exportfile | services | usa offices | global network | newsletters | jobs | toolbox

technology changes everything

notable news

If this newsletter for any reason does not look amazing in your email software, click here to view our website version and peruse the newsletter in its full intention.

To avoid our newsletters from getting stuffed into your junk mail box, please add our email address to your contacts.
 

[newsletter@seashipping.com]
 

Just FYI, anything in our newsletter in red type is usually a hyperlink of some sort. We purposely remove the underlining for aesthetic purposes. This hyperlink may be a mailto email address or a linkto another website or a linkto a document of some sort. Don't be afraid to click on them. They are all scanned for maliciousness and will always open in a new window.
 

If you approach us via phone or email and get no response, please know this is not normal and usually an indication that Sea Shipping Line is most likely enjoying one of our seven holidays or enduring some type of power outage. To see a full list of days that we are closed for business, click here.
 

The fastest way to get a rate from us is to use our generic customer service email addresses. These addresses forward your mail directly to all of our customer service personnel for the quickest turnover time. Here they are again for your convenience...

Seattle

sea.customerservice@seashipping.com

Oakland

oak.customerservice@seashipping.com

Los Angeles

lax.customerservice@seashipping.com

Houston

hou.customerservice@seashipping.com

 ••• Technology Changes Everything ••• 

April was a month of short trips that are long on information exchanges. First trip was a short flight to Phoenix, Arizona and the second trip was a road trip to San Diego, California. As I was making my way south to San Diego, it became suddenly clear to me that sales trips have been hugely impacted by one amazing technology - GPS (Global Positioning Systems). Yes, GPS has been around for quite awhile, and I have personally been using it for a few years now, but never has it become so apparent that GPS alone has changed the very fabric of field sales.

The extraordinary fact is that you no longer have to stress out about one  of the most frustrating issues facing sales personnel - finding your account and doing it within a certain time frame. No more unwieldy road maps; Thomas Guides that are out of date or don't account for traffic issues or can not be read while driving; on-line mapping programs that are sometimes inaccurate or if you can not follow them correctly have no way of correcting a wrong turn...recalculating route. GPS has fixed all of that and I have yet to have a GPS system take me to the wrong place, usually when this happens it is almost always user error - an incorrect spelling of a street name. GPS can account for traffic, give you alternate routes, correct a wrong turn, offer accurate arrival times, and of course most importantly - take me to the nearest Starbucks (we will discuss Starbucks later on).

Our sales team is lucky enough to be given Blackberry smart phones - most of us have the Storm 2 (Ok the touch screen sucks but otherwise...). Just this little handheld is amazing technology in and of itself, as our phones have email capabilities allowing us to remain connected to you, modem capabilities which allow us to be on-line virtually anywhere bringing our office to you, and VZ Navigator (Verizon's GPS system) which allows us to find you no matter where you try to hide. No more worrying about the technical functions of a sales trip - allowing us to focus on what is important - making our interaction with our  potential and existing client base as good as it could be.

Years ago in a previous lifetime, San Diego would be at the top of my list as the worst place to organize a sales campaign. Why? of course not because of the people or the companies, but because of the very nature of its terrain. The road system, as well as it is constructed, can not minimize the fact that the area is a mishmash of hills and valleys; unlike Phoenix which is a navigation dream - a virtual grid of squared off roads reflecting the flat nature of the desert itself. GPS has changed all that and I no longer dread seeing our accounts in San Diego county - a gorgeous area that GPS has allowed me to discover without the stress of getting lost. San Diego is truly one of America's "finest cities." I now cherish these trips as much as all the other territories that I am blessed with visiting.

The consistency of the sales program has allowed our sales force to forge deep and lasting relationships with our clients - which is why it is so important to keep longevity within your sales personnel. Thanking everyone who took the time to meet with me in the greater Phoenix and San Diego forwarding nations. Your past, present and future support is so valuable to us. Sea Shipping Line hopes that we have stood by our words and performed better than our sales pitches would have indicated.

Our intention this year especially has been to congeal our present relationships and foster new relationships with the shipping community. We treasure your support.

Interested in seeing who our agent or partner is at the destination port of discharge? Feel free to click on over to our Global Network - most of our international friends are listed there along with all their relevant details.

Interested in knowing how many cities & countries we service via mostly any point in the United States? We welcome your inquiry! we service 552 cities located within 155 countries facilitated by over 35 individual carrier confidential contracts. Click here to download a full list of the ports and points that we service.

 ••• Containers Going Green ••• 

This article was recently tendered to us by Maria Lemus-Charitan of Universal Shipping Inc of Pomona, California. Maria handles both import and some export for her company and has been known to be a green girl. We liked the green nature of the article along with the humor. Thank you Maria for taking an interest in our newsletter and for sharing. Sea Shipping Line wants to be green too!

written by Colleen Clark---
"Shipping containers have to be retired after five years of use and those past their prime often sit abandoned in shipyards. Architects for years have played with repurposing the sturdy boxes for everything from affordable housing to museums. But now they’re setting their sights on restaurants.

Red Fish, Blue Fish in Victoria, British Columbia, sailed ahead of the curve in 2007 with its waterfront sustainable seafood shack in a container that once transported cars. In 2009, the lime green View Tube started serving cafe fare on a hill overlooking the site of the 2012 Olympics in London. But other cafes and bars are just jumping on the trend.

Next on the agenda? Hayes Valley, California, ice cream purveyors Smitten are nearly finished work on their shipping container ice cream stand. In downtown Brooklyn, NY, Dekalb Market this summer will band together a small village of shipping containers to shill fresh produce, food and coffee. And architects in Austin, Texas, have drawn up plans for a multi-level shipping container bar called--what else?-Container Bar.

We dig the idea of this eco-friendly reuse of materials. It's easy to justify buying another ice cream cone when its supporting sustainability!" ---taken from BBC.com.
 

Bummer - there is a hole in the first article above because I deleted the picture of Ram Sehwani and Frank Rosenberg by mistake and could not find the back up...very weird. Just know it was a nice bonding picture of them together sharing dinner at a local Indian restaurant with liquor bottles in the background.

Another interesting tidbit is that 5 years ago we had a circulation of just 1025. Now we are happy to report we have a circulation of over 1850 and growing. Thank you.

Also, even though he deserves it, we can no longer call Ram Sehwani (the general manager or our Los Angeles branch) the King of Consolidations as SSL no longer performs LCL consolidation services. Just know that in my career, he is the best of the best, and still is the top dog in his field.
 

 ••• Archives: Between the Lines ••• 

All of our newsletters are available on-line via our website. Due to space restrictions and outdated information, we have initiated the process of removing our oldest newsletters. However, it is fascinating to see what was going on just a half decade ago, so take a peek back in time before they disappear forever into the twilight zone. Click on the image to the left and revisit Sea Shipping Line circa May 2006.

The Archives: Between the Lines section was created to highlight one of the key articles from our newsletter exactly five (5) years ago. An excerpt from May 2006 - Volume 3, Issue 5 is below. Please be aware some of this may be old news so please do not get confused:

The Brain Trust | ssl expansion opportunities
 

Sea Shipping Line (California) Inc has spent a good part of the last three years refining our core competency - that is of course transporting full container load traffic from pointþanywhere in the United States to pointýanywhere in the world. We feel - and we hope you do to - that we do this as good as anyone and better than most. However, our marketplace is asking for more and we are investigating just exactly what that "more" should be. That is where YOU come in - you are our "brain trust."
 
 Seen directly to the right are two of our key players at SSL - Ram Sehwani (General Manager - Los Angeles a.k.a. the King of Consolidations) and Frank Rosenberg (President & CEO). This picture was taken on a very recent visit by Mr. Rosenberg to our Los Angeles office with the specific goal of discussing future expansion possibilities at SSL. We are looking for feedback from you as to what services you would like SSL to provide in our future service portfolio. Please don't be shyO. Above bottles are not actually in our office☺.
 
Help us to help you by communicating your suggestions to our Field Sales Personnel - email addresses are listed on our website. Thanks.

The last thing we want to be is an interruption to your busy day. If you do not want to receive our newsletter, you can opt-out by clicking on the link at the very bottom-left. This will take you to our opt-out form, enter your email address, and click OPT OUT (no stress). We will remove your address immediately (although reluctantly). We do hope that you stay with us and that our monthly publication is a peaceful sanctuary in your otherwise chaotic day.

Every single booking is important to us. Here's why - our numbers show that our average booking size is now 2.71 teus. A teu is a twenty-foot equivalent unit, so a forty-foot container would be two (2)  teus. So doing the math, our average booking is almost a 20' & 40' container (3 teus). This logic proves that each booking is beneficial and we are grateful for each and every account that graces us with their support. We especially treasure bookings that have multiple containers - would you mind helping us out?
 

Our President, Frank Rosenberg, based in our Oakland, California corporate office, sent over a PowerPoint presentation of some powerful images from the 9.0 Japanese Quake and consequent tsunami & nuclear disaster that occurred on March 12, 2011. The file is 8.67 MB and could take a few minutes to download to your computer depending on the speed of your connection (just click on either of the images or on the word PowerPoint to start the download). Our hearts go out to everyone who has endured some type of cataclysmic disaster within the last few years - Earth has certainly seen more than its fair share lately. 2012? the Apocalypse? the return of the savior? alien re-visitation? our bad karma coming around? synergistic coincidence? Whatever - we feel for you.

SCMS Rate Screenshot

 ••• Notable News Items ••• 

Louisiana Society Of Texas (Coonass Club) Crawfish Boil: Phil Waterman of our Houston office had this to offer for our newsletter this month. This Houston based event was held on Saturday, April 30th outside the Stagshead Pub and was attended by 65 people -  all from the transportation industry. They cooked 320 pounds of crawfish, 65 pounds of shrimp, several hundred pounds of potato & corn on the cob. All the beer and soda a body could drink. Obviously crawfish nation will need to replenish its numbers - June will be a "no eat crawfish zone" in the Gulf. Pictures courtesy of Oran Allen. The sense of community in the transportation industry in the Houston area seems to be strongest of all the markets we cover. This would be an interesting angle to investigate.

Awesome Sri Lanka from Fox News: this link was sent over to us from our good friend at Trico Maritime, Mr. Rohan Sourjah. "Hi Friends, if you are doing business or planning to do business in Sri Lanka you need to watch this video, it is such a beautiful country to deal with." Click on the map to watch the video. Rohan is a proud Sri Lankan and this YouTube short movie has a lot of great things to say and show about the current atmosphere in Sri Lanka. Thanks Rohan for your interest in our newsletter.

 Sea Shipping Line services the port of Colombo from just about every exit port in the United States. As you can see by the screen shot to the immediate left, taken directly from our rating program (with the buy rates blurred out of course), we have multiple choices regarding carrier, transit times, and type of services available. Our trade lane manager for the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East is Mr. Suri Thotapalli - based in our Oakland Corporate Offices. He has extensive knowledge with and looks after all things related to this section of the world. Feel free to contact him for any questions you may have about Sri Lanka, or any other port that falls in his respective territory. Our current agent in Sri Lanka is Famous Pacific Shipping Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. Click on their name to read more about them. Got FCLs to Sri Lanka? - give us a shout. Thanks, we do appreciate it.

Book of the Month

CCCC

Privacy Policy: Sea Shipping Line (California) Inc respects our client's right to personal privacy. It remains our policy and our commitment not to distribute, sell, rent or in any way make available your name, email address, or other information to any third party. Sea Shipping Line (California) Inc: 520 3rd Street, Suite 207, Oakland, California 94607. Copyright Sea Shipping Line (California) Inc © 2011. All rights reserved. To cancel your free subscription to  our monthly newsletter click OPT-OUT.
 

Word of the Month:

floccinaucinihilipilification - the habit of deeming everything worthless.

 ••• In the Author's Opinion ••• 

Employer's Disclaimer: Any views or opinions presented in this newsletter are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Sea Shipping Line. Employees of Sea Shipping Line are expressly required not to make defamatory statements and not to infringe or authorize any infringement of copyright or any other legal right by email communications. Any such communication is contrary to company policy and outside the scope of the employment of the individual concerned. The company will not accept any liability in respect of such communication.

"I have always loved Starbucks! - and it is not because I am addicted to coffee - because I am not. I can barely drink more than a few sips of any coffee and I lose interest - it usually gets cold before I get a third of the way through. My attraction to Starbucks goes way deeper than the coffee - it is the world-class coffee mixed with the romance of the Italian espresso bar atmosphere, but most importantly it is the consistency in the environment that attracts me most. It is a warm, friendly setting no matter which Starbucks you patronize. Not to mention the free WI-FI and the personal benefits of being a Starbucks Gold Card holder. Starbucks is a field sales person's best friend and most of my reps do enjoy opening shop inside a Starbucks locale.

Howard Schultz, the chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Starbucks has written what has been described as "the single most important book on leadership and change for our time." To me, Starbucks is one of America's brightest lights. I have always admired the consistency of their product across a wide domain of storefronts and from a district sales managers perspective, this is hitting the mother lode. This type of consistency and adherence to prime principles is virtually unseen in the transportation world. One of my favorite quotes from the book, "No business can do well for its shareholders without doing well by all the people its business touches." Amen!!! It has always been my goal that Sea Shipping Line offer this same type of customer experience. Now if Starbucks would just increase the amount of electrical plugs they have, it would be perfect.

Further notes on last month's book, Emotional Freedom by Judith Orloff, M.D.; finished this book just the other day and I must say it was phenomenal. Already using the ideas to deal with emotional vampires. Face Fear>Build Courage; Face Frustration & Disappointment>Build Patience; Face Loneliness>Build Connection; Face Anxiety & Worry>Build Calm; Face Depression>Build Hope; Face Jealousy & Envy>Build Self Esteem; Face Anger>Build Compassion. Pick up the book and "liberate yourself from negative emotions and transform your life." Sea Shipping Line encourages courageous, patient, connected, calm, hopeful, self esteemed and compassionate clients. We will take any mixture of the above - in fact we will take any client that has freightJ to be honest. Have a fantastic month.

Thanks for reading and thinking Sea Shipping Line...
Frank Belsito
Director of Marketing & Sales - Sea Shipping Line (California) Inc.

www.seashipping.com