Q&A with Peter Kristensen, the Kenya Country Managing Director of Panalpina Airflo.

Peter Kristensen_Kenya Country Managing Director of Panalpina Airflo

Meet the Customer

Delivering flowers globally this Valentine’s Season

Forty years ago, Kenya was a fledgling exporter of flowers. In 2020, the country has grown to be the fourth top exporter of cut flowers and accounts for close to 40% of imports into the European Union. As the world focuses on Valentine’s, chances are high that the roses in a recipient’s bouquet of flowers originated from Kenya. KQ Connect spoke with Peter Kristensen, the Kenya Country Managing Director of Panalpina Airflo, a supply chain solution company and KQ Cargo customer that plays a key role in facilitating the movement of flowers from Kenya to the world.

Please provide a summary of Panalpina Airflo’s services.

Panalpina Airflo is now part of the DSV Panalpina Group. We provide and manage supply chain solutions for thousands of companies every day – from the small family run business to the large global corporation. We have approximately 60,000 employees working across 90 countries.

Approximately how many customers do you serve in Kenya?

Our customers number in the hundreds. In Kenya we have a very good balance of customer ratio ranging from those who ship around 100 kilogrammes per week to those who ship hundreds of tonnes per week. As a company, we average about 1,400 tonnes – or 1.4 million kilogrammes – weekly for our customers.

Valentine’s season is associated with flowers across the world. What share of Panalpina’s business do flowers account for?

Flowers make up about 80% of what we export for perishable goods, followed by vegetables and fruits. The vast majority of the flowers go to Holland (about 70%) followed by the UK and other parts of the world including Australia, the Middle East, and the US.

What are some of the benefits Panalpina has experienced through KQ’s cargo services? 

One is the ability for us to use KQ’s direct routes to many of our key markets. Another benefit is KQ’s ability to maintain effective cool chain management which is a critical factor from a perishables point of view. Third is communication. It may sound basic, but you cannot put a value to the open communication and good customer service. When you look at supply chain management, it’s about getting the product and information to the right location and the right time at the right price. Even more so when you are looking at perishables. They have a lifespan, and reliability is even more important because delays can spell disaster. If something is not going to go according to plan, the team informs us which is important in our line of business.

To learn more about KQ Cargo, visit KQ Cargo website

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To learn more about DSV Panalpina, visit www.panalpina.com