On 20 december 2017, chen ward, on behalf of easy2go, entered into a cooperation agreement with avoca, ireland's traditional handicrafts industry. Easy2go became the first chinese enterprise to work with avoca. The parties reached an agreement to develop an irish-owned brand in china. This is illustrated by the visit to the traditional irish handicraft workshop by chan ward (right). Photo by chan ward himself
“how can it be more cost-effective to ship luggage from europe to china?” “how can we reduce the cost of postage if we want to buy european goods online in china?” “how can we save the cost of being a cross-border electrician between central europe?” to answer these questions, chen ward is right. Logistics, warehousing and electricians have been crawling in ireland's cross-border logistics industry for more than 10 years, and chan ward has a clear record。
“when i came to ireland, i planned to return home only for two to three years.” in 2004, when chen ward first set foot on the continent, ireland was just a piece of his living script. But then, 15 years passed. From part-time work to self-employment, he turned his back and built his own kingdom of cross-border logistics, based in ireland, with an eye on europa。
I've taken the chance
In 2006, a group of chinese workers working with microsoft ireland were shipped back home. After the news, chan ward finally relieved。
This was his first attempt at cross-border shipment. This attempt made him earn the first barrel of his life — over 90,000 euros。
"i was just trying to help my friends out, and i never thought i'd make money." according to chan ward, shipments of luggage to the country were not only easy to obtain, but also high tariffs and shipping costs. Many people are troubled。
To help friends solve problems, chen ward, who was studying at griffith university, began studying transnational private shipment policies. A few thick policy papers were stacked with his desk, on his way to work, on his way to class, and he kept thinking. He even asks for a few words。
After several studies and comparisons, chan ward had a point in mind. “it was then only by sea, not by air. The sea transport, although longer, is largely re-portable. And it is tax-exempt as long as the item reaches more than 5 kg.” he moved immediately, “to negotiate with the irish container company, then to connect with the country, and to ship the luggage out in batches soon”
“when the slogan was passed, more and more people came to me for help.” chen ward, who tastes sweet, quickly decided to drop out of griffith university, resign from part-time logistics companies and start his own business。
"this experience has made me not only rich, but also business opportunities." according to chen ward, “ireland has a high number of migrants, a high proportion of transnational corporations, a high level of mobility and market space. However, cross-border shipment of personal baggage is faced with problems such as small single volumes and complex tax controls, when large logistics companies were reluctant to enter the field of personal shipment and therefore markets were not fully exploited.”
In 2006, chen ward established a logistics company, which took the first step towards self-employment。
“as the economy of china interacts more closely, and based on basic logistics services, we have increased global documents delivery, proxy customs clearance, international relocation services, supply chain management, global logistics distribution, etc., while providing professional packing, warehousing and online tracking and booking services to clients.” chen ward is proud to say that providing a full range of point-to-point services to clients will soon make his company a well-rated integrated logistics service brand in ireland。
It's the right direction, it's hard work, and chen ward's start-up period went very well. In 2008, his company became the designated logistics distribution company of the chinese embassy in ireland。
I've been working so hard
In 2007, chen ward's company joined the global logistics network, the only member of the global logistics network in ireland, as an important platform for linking china-ireland-european countries to the logistics chain。
While building on the basic logistics industry, chen ward has a keen sense of smell, following the times and developing business。
In 2012, chen ward became involved in offshore warehousing operations. “at that time, chinese e-commerce entered a boom. The high cost of shipping and the long time of mailing are issues that need to be urgently addressed in the development of cross-border electricians.” overseas storage has become a key player in chen ward's solution。
In 2015, chen ward created its own electrician platform. “many irish local companies are looking for us to ship, and many chinese electric operators are asking us to buy goods. The increasing number of operations and the growing number of stalls have made it impossible to meet the demand. When the electrician platform is established, the customer can file on the electrician platform and we are responsible for handling and shipping.”
As a result of its outstanding performance in the field of cross-border electricians, in 2015 chan ward was rated by ireland as the top ten young entrepreneurs and interviewed by the irish national television。
In the eyes of outsiders, chan ward's career is admirable. However, as all those who knew him knew, he had not been able to make it easy in those two years, and he had so far suffered from two costly investments。
“as a result of inadequate knowledge of many legal issues, our goods and financial transactions were mostly verbal agreements.” chan ward recalled, “in 2013, a supplier rolled away goods worth over 2 million yuan”. Immediately thereafter, as a result of the lack of a statutory agreement to invest in a catering industry of which he is not familiar, chan ward lost 2. 5 million yuan in liquidity。
At one point, no employees were paid, and factories went to the door every day to collect their debts, and chan ward’s company was facing the difficulties of closing down。
"i don't want to lose, let alone give up." in the end, my family helped me with the funding difficulties and gave me the courage to start over.”
Eat a bite, long head. After a downturn, chen ward remembered the doctrine that “human beings must not be above the law”, which laid a solid foundation for the later normative operation of the company。
Connect central europe to the world
It is not easy to start a business and it is even harder to do business. He's running a business, chen ward。
Access to markets in europe and china is the direction that chen ward has been striving for. In june 2015, chen ward's company officially opened up a chinese bonded warehouse and was selected as a top 10 innovative young irish firms for an innovative business model that integrated logistics, storage and electricity providers。
Currently, chen ward has more than 280 registered european brands and more than 140 chinese offshore clients。
“our strength has always been in flexible service throughout.” according to chen ward, his company could customize its services for different businesses from the clearance of goods, entry and exit of goods, inspection of goods, periodic inventory, distribution, etc., and “no problem with telephone calls and customer communication for enterprises”。
Despite the rapid growth of enterprises, chan ward has maintained a high level of concern. “the most important thing is to build a fighting team.” “as an overseas chinese enterprise, we face competition from european and chinese enterprises, and good branding remains a challenge.”
In recent years, with the rapid development of internet technology and rising relations in central europe, chen ward's career has opened up new opportunities。
“on the one hand, the demand for offshore warehousing is increasing and the market prospects are wide; on the other hand, connectivity is the main direction for future development of the logistics industry, and tailor-made services for clients will be the direction of our efforts.” chen ward is confident。
“in june of this year, our co-operative warehouse in the country was to be expanded by 2,000 to 3,000 square metres, and in the united kingdom and germany by 5,000 to 8,000 square metres, respectively.” according to chen ward, the storage operations previously established in seven cities in five countries, namely the netherlands, germany and the united kingdom, have significantly improved the efficiency of the transport of goods and reduced transport costs, “but it remains insufficient”。
“in the next three to five years, i hope to establish my own intelligent storage system on the european continent, reducing the share of manual operations to around 40 per cent.” chen ward looks forward to: “when the european region is stable, i hope there will be an opportunity to explore the american market and truly develop from a transnational corporation to a global enterprise leading the era.”
