2022 Annual Assembly, Abu Dhabi

More than 60 C.E.O.’s and Senior Managers from over 25 countries from South, Central and North America, Africa, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Australasia recently attended our 6th Annual Assembly, which was held from 26-28 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!

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

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 Cargo Connections 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 8 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! Cargo Connections encourages a sense of family and together with our Membership Rules, I believe there is a real respect for each other.”

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.

Cargo Connections 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 CC 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
Athena Global Logistics (India)

Regional Award: Middle East & Africa
ILS International (UAE)

Regional Award: The Americas
Tri-Alliance Freight (Canada)

Regional Award: Asia & Pacific
Spark Global Logistics (Australia)

Regional Award: Europe
BASE (Italy)

Delegates then got down to business and held numerous 1-2-1 meetings with each other, aided by the CC 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.

Think Global Logistics who joined us in October 2020 as Members in both Australia and New Zealand, kindly sponsored our Conference Bags, Lanyards, Water Bottles, Table Football and Pool Table. Along with Cargowise and Base in Italy, they also sponsored our Coffee Breaks.

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 ended with lots of dancing!

See Group Photo v1, Group Photo v2, Group Photo v3 and Group Photo v4.

Next Virtual Event: 10-14 April 2023
Every 6 months, the CC 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 10-14 April 2023 - the perfect opportunity to follow-up on our face-to-face meetings! See our Meeting Hub.