IPE Logistics

Based in Toronto, IPE is an international freight forwarding company that handles ocean, air, and ground shipments. Jeff Hao, General Manager, came on board in January 2005, which was an important period in the company's development. "The first three years is a critical time in any business," he says. "It's a period where you not only have to survi... ve, but you have to grow. Fortunately, IPE managed to do both of those things. Although the company started with only three employees, it soon grew enough to necessitate a new office. In fact, IPE moved four times in the first four years, just to accommodate new hires. Today, the company has 16 fulltime employees and has been in its current location since 2006. However, just because the headquarters hasn't moved in a few years doesn't mean the growth has died down. On the contrary, IPE opened two national branch offices in 2007-one in Montreal and the other in Vancouver. In addition to employee growth, IPE also continues to collect new clients. And client collection is an appropriate concept for IPE Logistics, as the company has never lost a major customer. "Many of our key clients have been here since the beginning," Hao says. "They have grown together with us. Some of them used to be small companies and have since expanded into medium-sized businesses. On top of maintaining good relations with existing clients, IPE also focuses on bringing in new business every year." To illustrate how successful the company is, Hao explains that IPE has grown 640 per cent in five years (from 2003 to 2008). "Even last year, which was rough for the freight forwarding industry, our revenue grew 30 per cent," he says. "This year, our revenue is stable, and we have been in the fortunate position to hire new employees." "We don't worry about the big economic situation," Hao adds. "Of course, it affects us because our clients' order sizes are shrinking. But our client base is growing. Even if individual orders are decreasing, we can still cover our targets by increasing the number of ...Read More