Agility Logistics

Agility

Type	Public("KSE & DFM:AGLTY")
Industry	Logistics Facility Management Government contractor Freight Forwarding Supply Chain Management
Founded	1979
Headquarters	Sulaibiya, Kuwait
Key people	Tarek Sultan (CEO) Essa Al-Saleh (President and CEO, Agility Global Integrated Logistics) Dan Mongeon (President and CEO, Agility Defense & Government Services)
Revenue	US$ 4.85 billion (2013)
Operating income	US$ 331.1 million (2013)
Net income	US$ 162.7 million (2013)^[1]
Number of employees	20,000+ (2012)
Website	http://www.agility.com

Agility GIL
Revenue	US$ 3.96 billion (2013)

Infrastructure
Revenue	US$ 900 million (2013)

Agility is a publicly traded global logistics company headquartered in Kuwait. It provides freight forwarding, transportation, warehousing and supply chain management services to businesses, governments, international institutions and relief agencies worldwide. Agility has more than 20,000 employees and 500 offices in 100 countries.

Agility shares have traded on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE: AGLTY) since 1984 and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM: AGLTY) since 2006.

Corporate Structure

Commercial logistics

Agility’s primary business is commercial logistics. Its commercial arm, Agility Global Integrated Logistics (GIL), is headquartered in Baar, Switzerland. Agility GIL manages the shipment and delivery of finished goods, parts, raw materials and other cargo by sea, air, road or a combination. GIL provides warehousing and distribution services, along with services and technology that track and manage shipments and inventory.

GIL’s logistics specialty businesses provide logistics for the chemicals industry (Agility Chemicals), trade shows and events (Agility Fairs & Events), and customers with large, complex projects in the energy, mining and marine industries (Agility Project Logistics).

Logistics-related businesses

Agility’s other businesses include:

Agility Real Estate - commercial and industrial real estate management.
National Aviation Services (NAS) - ground handling and airport services.
Metal and Recycling Company (MRC) – waste management.
Global Clearinghouse Systems (GCS) - joint venture with Kuwait General Administration for Customs to support customs operations
GCC Services – construction and management of remote living facilities for the mining, energy and engineering industries.
Inspection & Control Services (ICS) – technology and services used in customs clearance and processing.
Agility Defense & Government Services (DGS) – public sector logistics and contracting.

Leadership

Tarek Sultan Al Essa at the 2009 World Economic Forum

Tarek Sultan is the Chief Executive Officer of Agility. He is an advisor to the Singapore Economic Development Board and past chair of the World Economic Forum Board of Governors for the Logistics and Transportation Industry.

Sultan holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is a member of Wharton’s International Advisory Council. Before joining Agility, he was managing director of New York Associates, a regional investment banking firm, and an associate with Southport Partners, a U.S.-based corporate finance advisory firm specializing in the technology sector.

History

Agility began as a state-owned Kuwaiti company established in 1979 as Public Warehousing Co. (PWC). Tarek Sultan was named chairman and managing director when the company was privatized in 1997.

After privatization, Agility pursued a strategy of investment and expansion in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America, where many of its more established competitors had yet to set up. The company grew rapidly by acquiring other logistics companies and assets such as warehouses and trucks. Some of its most significant purchases included the USA-based companies Geologistics Corp., Transoceanic Shipping Co. Inc.,^[2] WTS of Houston and Global Express Line. Also purchased were Singaporean company Trans-Link Group, Swiss company Cronat Transport Holding AG, Globe Marine Services of Saudi Arabia, Cosa Freight in China Kenya-based Starfreight, and Tristar transport of UAE. The company also expanded its Latin American operations with the acquisition of Trafinsa SA de CV in Mexico and Itatrans in Brazil.

By 2004, Agility, then still PWC, was the largest logistics provider in the Middle East. In 2006, the company unified its services under the new name of Agility with the brand slogan “A New Logistics Leader.”

Scale of global operations

Americas

Over 1,500 employees and 104 offices/locations in 24 countries and territories.
In 2009, Agility broadened its Latin American presence by acquiring new businesses in Brazil and Mexico to complement its existing presence in Chile.

Asia-Pacific

Over 7,900 employees and 160 offices/locations in 23 countries and territories.
Agility invested in China, acquiring a company focused on domestic distribution. Today, Agility China has 1,600 employees and 40 offices throughout China. In India, Agility has over 1,700 employees, and 300,000 square meters of warehousing space in 20 cities.

Europe

Over 3,000 employees and 140 offices/locations across 26 countries.
Agility Europe has broadened its coverage in Eastern Europe by opening a new subsidiary in Romania, following earlier expansion in Central Europe in Poland, Austria, Hungary, and Slovenia in 2008.

Middle East and Africa

Over 8,600 employees and 80 offices/locations in 22 countries.

Investor information

Agility shares have traded on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE: AGLTY) since 1984 and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM: AGLTY) since 2006. Its estimated 14,000 shareholders include private and public institutions, along with individual investors. National Real Estate Co. (KSE: symbol) and Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security are two of Agility’s largest institutional investors. The company operates on a Jan. 1 – Dec. 31 fiscal year.

Emerging Markets

In 2014, the company developed and conducted its fifth annual survey titled Agility Markets Logistics Index 2014^[3]^[4] using economic and trade data, social indicators and transport development to rank 45 emerging markets countries for their potential as logistics markets. The index identifies the attributes that make these markets attractive for investment by logistics companies, air cargo carriers, shipping lines, freight forwarders, and distribution companies.

Social responsibility

Agility’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts focus on providing logistics support during and after natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies. Agility has provided pro bono support to its humanitarian partners in Haiti, Chile, Myanmar, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.^[5] Additionally, under the auspices of the World Economic Forum, Agility partners with other companies to assist humanitarian agencies through deployment of rapid response teams (Logistics Emergency Teams). LETs have been deployed in Indonesia, Philippines, Haiti, Pakistan, Japan, and Myanmar.

In addition to company-wide and employee-led projects to improve sustainability and support local neighborhoods and communities, the company is participating in a World Economic Forum initiative to identify best practices in reducing carbon in the supply chain. Agility was the first logistics company in New Zealand to achieve CarboNZero certification,^[6] and has developed a reporting system to help customers understand the carbon footprint of their supply chains.

Controversy

From 2003 to 2010, Agility supplied food and related products to U.S. troops and contractors in Kuwait and Iraq under a series of Prime Vendor contracts awarded by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA).

In November 2009, a U.S. grand jury indicted the company for overcharging DLA. The company responded that all of its prices were disclosed to and approved by DLA. Since September 2011, the case has been in pre-trial litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta). The company has stated that it is open to a settlement but is preparing to defend itself and believes the case to be a civil contract dispute rather than a criminal matter. Pending outcome of a trial or settlement of the case, Agility is prohibited from pursuit of new U.S. government contracts because it has been suspended by DLA. Agility continues work on U.S. government contracts that pre-date the indictment, and it has been debarred.

References

External links

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