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James Liddell

To most millennials, the semantics of ‘logistics’ are riddled with outdated stereotypes of a heavy haulier, or warehouse shelf stackers.

The more desirable elements of the industry – of which there are many – are not projected to young people, causing a lack of exposure and knowledge about logistics. 

Luckily, my own perceptions of logistics are clearer than most of my generation. Although I have not directly worked in the field, I have been exposed to logistics my entire life, as my father works in the freight forwarding industry. This places me in a unique position to offer the perspective of a young person who is external to ...

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  • Jeffrey Blum

    August 10, 2020 at 4:44 pm

    Hi James
    A splendid article, James, well done. I too grew up as the son of a Freight Forwarder who also had the vision to become involved in Heavy Lift Projects, which introduced me to “logistics with extras” !!
    Some years later I worked for 4 years providing multilodal logistics to the UN Peacekeeping Forces in 4 global arenas.
    I agree that ours is indeed a fascinating profession ~ I have never been bored on any day in my (so far) 47 years in transport !
    You are correct ~ how best to convince your generation that our world is exciting ? I would be happy to discuss this with you and help, if possible.
    Regards
    Jeffrey Blum FICS FCIArb
    0845 644 2864 / 07885 172838

  • KK Than

    August 16, 2020 at 1:37 pm

    James. This is what you wrote.
    “And although there sometimes appears to be an imbalance between the amount of time spent in the office and at home, the industry does offer good prospects.
    Something that has always drawn me to my father’s line of work was watching him travel across the globe.”

    Now think about it. Your father traveling the world probably represents less than 1% of our industry. Being myself in this industry, notably the last 35 years in Asia where work hours are much longer than in the western world I have serious doubts about the first part of your message. With work hours regulated I did not see an imbalance of time spent at home and in the office with any of my friends in Europe.

  • Bill Paul

    August 17, 2020 at 12:06 am

    Very good article, James. I shared it on LinkedIn and you might be interested in the stats:

    8,253 views
    79 likes
    15 (positive) comments

    Best wishes for a long and successful Logistics career

    Cheers

    Bill