How Martin Bencher's Peter Thorsoe Jensen Built a Successful Freight Forwarder

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A SHREWD INVESTMENT How Peter Thorsoe Jensen Mapped Out Martin Bencher’s Success

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hen Bo Drewsen and Peter Thorsoe Jensen started Martin Bencher (Scandinavia) back in 1997, they put up a modest DKK100,000 (about US$15,000) to cover their startup costs, traveling and rent. It was, as Jensen reflects, “not a lot.”

With an ingrained sales mentality, Drewsen “invested” the money on China wall maps embellished with a Martin Bencher logo

BY LORI MUSSER so that the duo had some smart giveaways for customer visits. With no money in the bank – but lots of sales materials – the pressure was on to make the company work. Fortunately, the gamble paid off and those wall maps still hang on the walls of many Martin Bencher customers.

Since that humble beginning and on a bedrock of cultural respect, Jensen – now CEO – has cultivated a well-respected global project forwarding corporation of surprising proportion.

Specializing in infrastructureheavy sectors such as energy, mining and construction, and pulp and paper, the company’s growth has been auspicious and it now counts 23 offices in 18 countries.

Speaking to Breakbulk, Jensen said

the success is predicated on “a desire to do well.”

“We are eager competitors and want to win,” he said. “We find the right tools to make that happen. We know it is important to listen very carefully to what customers want.”

Jensen is also one of those rare CEOs who seems able to balance a constant pursuit for better with a ready camaraderie. He is engaging and confident, eloquent and focused. He began to acquire his global savoir faire during the backpacking forays of youth, and polishes it now as he logs 100 days of travel each year.

His cultural sagacity would please even the diplomatic corps. “Even in the beginning we were never afraid to be abroad,” said Jensen. With a sustained enthusiasm to connect, Jensen and his team gather the detailed socio-cultural intelligence that allows the company to provide optimal forwarding solutions to an increasing number of customers in diverse places.

ORGANIC CULTIVATOR

If a necessary supply chain link doesn’t exist, that doesn’t seem to stop Jensen. As his company adds offices, partners and customers – beating a sort of staccato rhythm of progress – he is remarkably humble: “We started up focusing on Scandinavia-to-China cargo, had some lucky breaks, and brought some good customers on board.”

Customers are increasingly looking for engineering solutions in addition to “normal” freight forwarding services. / Credit: Martin Bencher 38 BREAKBULK MAGAZINE www.breakbulk.com

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He added: “It has been organic growth all the way. We opened first in China, then Sweden, Finland and so on. Traffic flow has changed. Now 95 percent of our turnover is made outside Denmark. If you appreciate and like being in other places, you have an understanding of how things are done differently, you can better develop your global network.”

Jensen recognizes leadership is about moving ahead in a resistant medium. He blazes a trail through new geographies by spotting a need, tying in a solution, and translating intentions to reality.

His point of view is heavily predicated on embracing and understanding diverse cultural conventions, and he agrees with business philosopher Peter Drucker’s famous assertion: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

“To implement a change in the organization, for example, we don’t just email. People in China will read it one way and people in Brazil another way.

We have to be very precise. For example, here in Denmark the youngest employee is encouraged to speak up, but that just doesn’t happen in Germany or Asia.

There is no universal way to approach any one subject,” Jensen said.

Martin Bencher’s global offices confirm the continuing need for complete project management. “We are not just a transportation company. Customers want more than transport from A to B. In a recent offshore turbine project, for example, we moved cargo from Asia to Europe, stored it, rented port facilities and equipment, managed staffing of more than 70 people on site, and more.

We had another project last year in Indonesia that involved 225,000 freight tons and 6,000 containers coming from all over the world, and project management in both Denmark and Singapore. We are increasingly offering full project management,” Jensen said.

Customers also want engineering solutions. “We look at how to get cargo into complicated places. We might, for example, have to design support for the cargo on vessel. Beyond simple transport, project management and engineering are now an integral service.”

Referencing challenges, Jensen reiterated the importance of listening to customers, and offering what they 40 BREAKBULK MAGAZINE www.breakbulk.com

Peter Thorsoe Jensen CEO, Martin Bencher

want. “We look carefully to provide upto-date solutions. Constant innovation is critical. You can’t apply a solution used yesterday.”

FUTURE PROSPECTS

Transporting a mélange of oversized and heavy cargo requires knowledge, capacity and flexibility, along with a level of courage best grown in the trenches.

To continue to advance, in Martin Bencher’s case, means delivering firstclass service provided mostly by its own people and offices.

This decade has offered up a number of record years for Martin Bencher, but, Jensen said, “2016 will be an in-between year. Like others, we are suffering a bit from the crisis in the oil and gas business.”

To address the downturn, the company is diversifying its customer base and grooming talent. “We have a much stronger [organizational] structure today. We have developed strong operational, commercial, compliance and financial departments,” said Jensen.

While passing the baton hasn’t been easy for this hands-on CEO, developing bench strength was an imperative. “When you run a company you eventually hit the ceiling and can’t get any further. The only way forward is to delegate and create a strong backbone in the company.”

But attracting talent can be challenging. “There is a need for qualified people, especially those with a maritime education,” said Jensen. Given the current business climate, talent is more important than ever. “I spend an enormous amount of time ensuring we have the right people in the right places. We empower young people to take responsibility and help them grow in their positions,” said Jensen. He believes that, “if you ship a young guy off to Singapore – if you show people you trust them – they’ll rise to the occasion.”

He also sees value in a mix of generations. Martin Bencher has an average employee age of 35, but also boasts active employees well into their sixties. They are crucial in Jensen’s talent development program. “We like to take in trainees and grow our own talent. That has worked well for us and staff turnover is quite limited.”

Retention is paramount in developing good relationships with customers.

“With huge staff turnover you can’t have good project forwarding. Someone once told me, ‘You hire for personality and you train for skills.’ You have to be positive and be able to get along with stakeholders. It isn’t enough to be a good forwarder,” said Jensen. “We prefer organic growth. We like to be in control, basically.”

Proud of the Martin Bencher team, he added: “We have countless examples of employees going above and beyond.”

In September, global project manager Nico Hellmann ran a marathon in Sierra Leone for the Street Child organization. He finished the marathon, but his GPS watch told him the course was one mile short. “So I kept running,” he said, finishing a few minutes later. “People thought I was crazy,” said Hellman, “but I explained that I work for Martin Bencher and if we promise to run a marathon or deliver something, we always walk or run the extra mile.”

With a flexible management style, and empowering people to make their own decisions, Jensen feels Martin Bencher is well equipped for future growth. “It’s a funny thing – as soon as you have the right people in the right position, growth falls into place,” he said.

Martin Bencher’s four new offices opened late last year are also starting ISSUE 5 / 2016

to bear fruit. “We will see new growth from Southeast Asia, and in the Middle East. I have quite high expectations there, as well as in South America and Latin America.” Jensen also predicts North American market growth, and sees potential in Africa, following a little more work there.

From a sectoral perspective, energy has been both a stumbling block and a starting block. Important growth in the renewables sector is expected to in part offset the oil and gas decline.

CLEARING HURDLES

Expanding on challenges, Jensen said: “We have plenty. No. 1 is very, very tough competition.”

He cited the bankruptcy of big-league container carrier Hanjin, and said that if one of the top carriers in the world can fail, anybody can. “Overcapacity in the market gives low rates. In general, that is not good for the industry,” he said, predicting that slightly higher freight rates would actually be a comfort to the project industry, lending stability, and providing additional assurance that vessel owners’ assets would still be in place when needed.

Similarly, shorter credit terms would be a boon. “They are not 10 days anymore. They are 60-90-100 days,” according to Jensen. There is growing value in managing a project’s accompanying financial supply chain in an efficient manner. Also, Jensen said supply chain connectivity around the world would improve if it were a little bit easier to obtain appropriate paperwork, transportation permits, and so on.

“Clear rules, and quicker responses from authorities would help. They can be a headache,” he said.

But, good industry leaders are not waiting for the challenges to disappear.

Martin Bencher has focused on diversification to keep the wolves at bay. “We are not a courier, not a trucking company. Our core business is project, but we service a wide number of industries,” Jensen said.

That diversification across sectors has proven invaluable in the current market: “We have years when one industry is down, as oil and gas is now, but typically something else comes up.

We have quite a lot of legs to stand on,” he said. Coupled with a pervasive sales culture – “everybody remembers to ask customers what we can do for them” – Jensen is confident in Martin Bencher’s competitive positioning.

Addressing another fundamental of its business model, he added: “A good quotation is not 30 pages long. It is important to present clear, precise quotations with no surprises. And, once we expedite, monitoring transport from door to door also becomes vital. The cargo must get there on time and without damage.”

And when things do go wrong, “you have to be honest and fast in presenting a solution. Customers trust us to transport their cargo and we have to ensure it gets there as they want.”

MAINTAINING BALANCE

“In our industry we have to be ready to assume more roles – project management services, engineering. Embracing new fortes, listening to our customers and being aware of the market are important. And we have a responsibility to play a positive role in society. We want to do the right thing.

“We operate in countries where

bribes and child labor, for example, are commonplace. We can influence this. We can decide how we will do things. We should have the same standards for conditions in all our offices, no matter where they are located, and that is important to us. We can’t change the world.

Politicians can. But we can change what happens inside our offices,” Jensen said.

As an example, the company provides height-adjustable standing desks to all employees. The elevated work stations “are good for your back. We do not want our people to go home at the end of the day as broken individuals,” he said. And, Martin Bencher is better able to retain employees and finds it requires fewer sick days.

As a company it has also received many industry accolades, especially for entrepreneurship and rapid growth, which provide testament to its CEO’s skill set.

Summing everything up, Jensen said: “I like the industry. A new challenge lands on the desk every day. I was part of starting up Martin Bencher and I want to see it grow. It is an important responsibility to do the best I can for the team. It comes down to the fact that it is an interesting job, an interesting world – and I want to do well.” BB Based in the U.S., Lori Musser is a veteran shipping industry writer.

CEO Jensen spends an “enormous amount” of time ensuring Martin Bencher has the right people in the right places.

Credit: Martin Bencher www.breakbulk.com

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