Article from The Manila Times
From being solely a carrier of goods and people into a fully integrated logistics company
2GO is the Philippines’ largest domestic shipping company. With historic beginnings and a growth path mirroring the development of the Philippine maritime industry, 2GO remains a top player in domestic shipping. Nevertheless, the company has evolved from being solely a carrier of goods and people into a fully integrated logistics company that serves the needs of its clientele.
Businesses these days no longer require a mere transport company to carry their goods from point A to point B. Instead of dealing with several companies to take care of logistics for them, they prefer to entrust it to one entity that has the capability, the experience, and the infrastructure to do it seamlessly.
2GO has grown to become that company: a logistics solutions company that puts a premium on effective supply chain management.
The company’s capabilities are no longer centered just on domestic sea transport but include systems, storage-delivery infrastructure, and local presence to efficiently move cargoes of clients from its source to the marketplace, and to some extent, to even to the doorsteps of the clients’ customers.
Transformation in response to opportunities
2GO self-enabled its transformation by banking on its wealth of experience, an excellent network of infrastructure facilities and developing a wide range of logistics services.
2GO is confident that the country’s economic growth spurred by the various sectors of the economy will open up new avenues to further respond to customer requirements.
2GO Group President Frederic Dybuncio opined: “With rising income levels and programmed government investments in key areas, we see opportunities to serve greater numbers of customers across many regional destinations.”
“It is our firm commitment to maintain our leadership in the domestic shipping business while strengthening our logistics capabilities. Because we believe that the demand for end-to-end logistics solutions across the country will continue to increase over time; 2GO shall continue to optimize and drive synergies among our units while seeking opportunities to work with our partners to drive our expansion,” Dybuncio explained.
2GO’s capability and services
2GO Group has four major business units. These are: 2GO Shipping, 2GO Special Containers, 2GO Logistics, and 2GO Express.
The biggest of the business units is 2GO Shipping further composed of 2GO Travel, 2GO Freight, and 2GO SuperCat.
2GO Shipping remains as the Group’s flagship business unit. It has a vessel fleet that has a combined Gross Registered Tonnage of approximately 128,985 metric tons, total passenger capacity of approximately 7,450,162 passengers and aggregate cargo capacity of approximately 338,305 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
The company has the highest frequency of voyages from Manila to major ports across the country.
2GO Shipping is also working closely with thousands of local small and medium-sized enterprises to be able to develop the best solutions and ensure reliability through its 2GO Freight sub-business unit.
2GO Freight provides cargo handling services for various types of goods and shipments, including full container load (FCL) and LCL, loose cargo, roll-on/roll-off, and rolling cargo.
Local entrepreneurs and 2GO clients can attest that 2GO Freight provides them with a cheaper and faster transport of goods and commodities. Its service reliability is increasingly important as companies move toward Just-In-Time processes, which is particularly crucial for perishable and time-sensitive cargo.
2GO Logistics business unit meanwhile provides clients with warehousing, inventory management, and domestic freight handling services for FCL and LCL shipments.
2GO has seen that the growth in local consumption has brought changes in the demands of manufacturers and retailers, thus providing both opportunities and challenges in supply chain management.
The growth in modern retail outside of traditional geographical markets, characterized by smaller and farther retail formats has put a strain on both the cost to serve stores efficiently and replenish products effectively. 2GO Logistics continues to string together various solution sets designed to address these concerns and enable the opening of stores in new markets while replenishing products at the fastest possible time that ensure availability of the products at store shelves. This is being referred to by the company as Forward Stocks Logistics.
There is also the 2GO Special Containers and Value Added Services (SCVASI) business unit where special containers and special projects are bracketed under. The particular business unit takes care of refrigerated container (reefer) transport, lease, and maintenance, as well as provide cold storage services. It also offers expertise in liquid bulk transport through ISO tanks and Flexibags and also handles the repair and maintenance of ISO tanks and Flexibags. 2GO SCVASI also offers container yard services, crafting and packaging services as well as quick moves of household items among others.
2GO Express, on the other hand, offers e-commerce services, domestic and international express mail and courier services and is now rivaling the big names in the business. The business unit is capitalizing on the company’s inherent strength and expertise in moving cargoes by sea. Apart from moving balikbayan boxes from international forwarders, 2GO Express has also started moving automotive and motorcycle parts as the country’s vehicle business continue to generate consistent double-digit growth, especially in the Visayas and Mindanao.
The company shall continue to develop innovative solutions in order to add more value offerings to its clients from all its five key business units.
With its vision of being the largest integrated supply chain enterprise in the Philippines clearly within arms’ reach, 2GO is not just blazing paths of successes in shipping, logistics, distribution, and other ancillary but equally important services, it is clearly making shipping and logistics work for local businesses.