BC Business
Willson International has been helping businesses reduce costs and simplify cross-border shipping since 1918. The custom brokerage owes this longevity to the three pillars of successful international trade: cutting-edge technology, deep industry expertise, and a commitment to full and evolving partnerships with every client. In his decades in the industry, Peter Willson, the company’s fourth-generation CEO, has seen how globalization has changed commerce. “In an Internet-based world, you don’t know where your next buyer is coming from,” he says. “And, for businesses, the world is only going to become more global.” To ensure clients can quickly adapt in this new paradigm, Willson International’s staff of industry experts continuously engage with their trade communities. They attend professional events and act as members, advisors or chairs of 19 industry associations and agencies—working to represent their clients and keep them informed on best practices and regulatory developments. Meanwhile, clients are provided with a suite of customized electronic tools that let them access and deliver real-time information on their shipments, simplifying compliance, streamlining record-keeping, and empowering effective pricing. “We invest in technology so we can offer fully integrated solutions,” says Peter Willson. “If you call in, it doesn’t matter where your goods are in the system—someone can look at your information and answer the question.” A recent survey of the company’s communications showed that 98 per cent of inbound queries were resolved on the first call. This year, Willson International brought its customer-focused approach to the West, opening a new office in Vancouver to support clients who trade with the West Coast of the United States and across the Pacific. In a challenging economy for Canadian importers and exporters, says Willson, B.C. has become the country’s bright spot for global commerce. “We’re at the front end of a period of renewal. And if the TTP gets ratified and enacted, the West Coast will be a hub for trans-Pacific trade and expansion,” he says. “Vancouver is the right spot to be.”