Meet Northline’s General Manager, International Freight Management

In early 2023, Rob Baigent was appointed to the role of General Manager, International Freight Management (IFM) after demonstrating successful leadership of the team in his previous role as Head of Sales. Rob shares more about himself and his plans for the future of the business’s IFM services.

How long have you been with Northline?

I have been working with Northline for a little over 5 years now. Most of that time has been spent in a management capacity of our customer-centric and sales functions.

A component of our sales responsibilities always includes engaging with customers on the international freight side of their business.

What industries and roles did you work in before Northline?

I have been working in the Logistics industry for 20 years now and a lot of my experience has been centred around warehousing and distribution.

Unlike other larger-scale global logistics entities, which may have their services siloed under different businesses or divisions, Northline offers our employees the exposure, responsibility, and opportunity to present our customers with all services offered by the business. Whether it be International Freight Management, Warehousing and Distribution, National Freight Management, or Project Logistics.

My time at Northline has been incredibly beneficial, not just to myself but to many other employees by providing this exposure in a hands-on and supportive environment.

What attracted you to this role?

Growing and developing our international freight business has been identified as a key strategic priority and features as a main theme in our Strategic Plan.

Not only does this involve expanding our services both organically and through new business opportunities, but also offers us a unique opportunity to optimise our operational capability and relationships upstream across all geographies, which only further enhances the value proposition our business offers to the market.

It’s a unique opportunity that, with a little energy will put Northline on the radar on a global scale.

What is your favourite aspect of working in IFM?

Northline is constantly making the necessary investments to ensure that everyone’s experience in working in the business is the best it can be. This extends deep into the roots of our existing IFM team, who have a great culture and operating dynamic. To be able to employ new resources and technology and expand this across the broader culture of our business and customers is exciting.

What plans do you have for your department/area of work?

To put it quite simply – it’s continuously developing and optimising what we already have. We have all the systems and capabilities in place, our progression is based on improvement.

We are currently looking to optimise the technology and integration with our customers and suppliers to provide best-in-class visibility, communications, and customer experience.

Our customers can also expect to see consistent marketing and feel a stronger level of engagement from Northline’s Sales representatives. There’s nothing Northline can’t do when it comes to servicing their import and export requirements and it’s our priority to increase the awareness of and support from our customer base.