IATA blessed, ELITE aims to be unified voice for freight forwarders

THE Elite Association of Logistic Networks (ELITE) has been officially launched following the qualification of nine major global logistics networks as founding members.

The membership of ELITE-qualified networks comprises 3,550 freight forwarding companies worldwide, with annual revenues of US$60 billion and 140,000 staff operating from 7,000 offices in 188 countries.

ELITE will represent the independent forwarding community by engaging with and participating alongside major global industry associations, regulators and government agencies.

"For the first time the independent sector has a powerful and unified voice to ensure the interests of SME freight forwarders are considered," said a statement from the new group.

IATA's head of global cargo, Des Vertannes, has welcomed the formation of ELITE, saying that with the industry undergoing major changes it is essential that all sectors work together.

"ELITE has the potential to become a powerful and potent voice for freight forwarders around the world," said Mr Vertannes.

A second objective for ELITE is to provide the global logistics industry with visibility and clarity by differentiating bona-fide, high-quality logistics networks from a growing number of rogue networks around the world.