Change is inevitable in any business climate. Changing consumer buying patterns, emerging trends and the unpredictable nature of competition have been driven by many exogenous factors such as geopolitical influences, economic and other demographic factors and as the decades have folded by, the situation remains the same.
However, the complexity and pace of the aforementioned changes have increased at an exponential rate. These changes challenge the very core of how business is done and companies that adapt well in time are rewarded and those that do not are naturally shaken off the market.
The need for agile businesses is becoming the order of the day. Taking the strategic plan of many companies at the beginning of the year into consideration, it is evident that most of these companies wouldn’t have had an aggressive plan on how to face a global pandemic as the world faces today. As the events unfold, the business world is grappling to sustain themselves with minimum impact on their businesses and employees, whereas the most agile companies that can adapt quickly, will survive these testing times.
The importance of having an agile supply chain has become a key component for all companies that are in the business of getting a product across to their customers. The need for a well-integrated and agile supply chain has thus become the call for the times.
Being at the centre of trade between East and West from ancient times on the Silk route, Sri Lanka continues to play a key role in providing agile solutions to changing client demands due to its strategic location in terms of trade between East and West.
The degree of connectivity enjoyed by Sri Lanka for both sea freight as well as air freight puts Sri Lanka in competition with other ports in the region. Sri Lanka also boasts of more than 100 flights per week to India which is the largest market in the region.
Further, being the sole infrastructure in place in terms of the ports and the deep-water terminal in South Asia which is capable of handling the largest vessels, provides Sri Lanka with an added advantage over its competitors in the region.
Sri Lanka is capable of playing the role of a strategic hub for all logistics requirements, whether it is a company that is sourcing its products from the South Asian region or having its market there.
Established in 2013, EFL Global Freeport (Pvt) Ltd, is the first private company to start free zone operations in Sri Lanka, under the Financial Act 12 of 2012 with subsequent amendments in Finance Act 12 of 2013 and further amended in 2019.
EFL Global Freeport is based in the Katunayake Free Trade Zone, which is just 1-kilometre away from the Bandaranaike International airport and a 30-minute drive from the Colombo port on the E02 expressway. Boasting of 240,000 Sqft in the area, the Freeport Hub is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities along with a Tier 1 Warehouse Management System (WMS) called “Highjump” to provide a seamless service to their clients.
EFL Global Freeport allows customers to import cargo into the EFL Global freeport;
- Free of duty and taxes,
- Keep in storage,
- Re-export cargo to any country as per their requirement with no involvement of customs.
In summary, the services offered via the hub is as follows;
- Storage.
- Entrepot trade involving import, minor processing and re-export.
- Multi-Country Consolidation (MCC).
- Regional hub for sales, distribution or sourcing.
Type of solutions on offer;
- B2B or B2C distribution.
- B2C last leg fulfilment.
- Regional distribution solutions with JIT supply.
- Regional sourcing and consolidating along with QA facilities.
- Read and react solutions.
- Consultation on regional customs compliance and regulations.
- Customs clearance and freight services.
All these services are backed up with complementary services such as pick & pack, Ratio pack, tagging, other destination-related VAS operations, GOH, cargo consolidation etc.
Backed by International Presence
EFL Global Freeport is backed by its international presence in 21 countries and 60+ offices along with many well-renowned agents across the globe and can provide end-to-end solutions to all client requirements whatever and wherever they may be.