2022 Network Meeting: Abu Dhabi

C.E.O.’s and Senior Managers from over 45 countries from South, Central and North America, Caribbean, Africa, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Australasia recently attended our 20th Network Meeting, which was held from 23-25 October 2022 at the fabulous W Hotel Abu Dhabi - Yas Island.

Directly linked to the Yas Marina Circuit, our venue is the only hotel in the world built upon a Grand Prix Racetrack. The cars practicing for the upcoming Formula 1 gave us plenty of entertainment during our 3 day event!

The first chance we had to meet after a challenging few years, was on the famous rooftop Wet Deck where we enjoyed dinner and drinks together. For some it was their first time, and we hope they quickly felt welcome and part of the UFO family, for others it was like a school reunion!

The official meeting was opened by C.E.O./President, Rachel Crawford who said ”For over 22 years we have seen Members from different religions, backgrounds, and beliefs, form friendships that for many will last for life. You have also made the meetings such fun!"

"I genuinely believe the reason we have outlasted so many other networks is due to the sense of family that UFO has and the respect we have for each other. This meeting is no different, our goal is to bring you together to seek strength in numbers by spending 2 days exploring business and discussing industry updates.“

Please see photos from our Welcome Reception, Meeting Room and BBQ Party.

The past few years has seen a huge surge in the popularity of video as a marketing format. Video can be a powerful way to spread a message in a way that is easily accessible to a large audience. Plus, customers are more likely to use a company when they understand what they do and how they can help them.

UFO have created a video for Members to use in their marketing and sales efforts. Delegates watched the video and were invited to include a link to the video when sending emails or quotes to their customers, or to share it on social media. They may also embed the video into their website by using the code provided by the UFO Head Office.

The Annual Awards were presented, which were calculated from the results of the recent Quality Control Survey. So that the awards are fair to smaller markets, results are calculated using a ratio of how highly the company scored against the number of Members they work with. The winners were:

International Award
Spark Global Logistics (Australia)

Regional Award: Middle East & Africa
Intraspeed (South Africa)

Regional Award: The Americas
Double Star Logistics (Brazil)

Regional Award: Asia & Pacific
KMS Logistics (Singapore)

Regional Award: Europe
Plaza Forwarding (Spain)

Delegates then got down to business and held numerous 1-2-1 meetings with each other, aided by the UFO Countdown Clock and their pre-arranged Meeting Hub schedules.

These sessions were a great success as meeting face-to-face and building closer relationships (and friendships) is a highly advantageous tool in forwarding.

This year our event had various zones. We had Work Zones with charging points, where delegates could check in with their office or deal with any emails in peace. The Photo Zone provided an area where delegates could have new profile photos taken. The Swag Zone is where merchandise, company giveaways and brochures were placed. A favourite was the Chill Out Zone! With the World Cup looming, delegates enjoyed challenging their fellow Members to a game of table football or pool.

Plaza Forwarding in Spain kindly sponsored our Water Bottles and our Technology Partner, CargoWise sponsored our Conference Bags.

After a busy day in the meeting room, it was time to relax! Delegate were taken to an exclusive BBQ Party at the stunning Yas Island Beach Club with a stunning waterfront view of the Arabian Gulf. The delicious BBQ was washed down with an open bar. The evening provided the perfect opportunity to hang out together in an informal setting and of course the night ended with lots of dancing!

See Group Photo v1, Group Photo v2, Group Photo v3 and Group Photo v4. Some comments from delegates:

“So happy to meet everyone in person after 4 years. Can’t wait to see everyone again soon.” Verdi Sjahlendra, Trans Pacific, Indonesia

“It’s great to meet people and feel as a family. Looking forward to having future cooperation with each other and meet again at the next conference.” Abdul Shukoor, BGL Cargo, UAE

Next Virtual Event: 3-7 April 2023
Every 6 months, the UFO team allocate a series of consecutive days where all Members are invited to participate in virtual meetings (at no extra charge). Members can set their local time zone and then instantly view the agenda so that they can make themselves available or unavailable in the dedicated meeting slots. The next Virtual Meeting event is from 3-7 April 2023 - the perfect opportunity to follow-up on our face-to-face meetings! See our Meeting Hub.