Philippe Daems, Sales Manager Sealogis Freight Forwarding Belgium: “It was my dream to be a sea captain”

With a passion for the maritime and logistics sector, Philippe has navigated quite some (troubled) waters in the freight forwarding industry. He has worked at Sealogis Belgium for 16 years, a period he is proud of. Philippe feels the passion for the job. “Every day is different in a world that is constantly changing. I love variation and the contact with people all over the world.”

What does a Sales Manager do?

Philippe Daems (PD): “My job consists of two main parts: finding new customers and managing the acquired accounts to the best of my ability, through daily quality account management. I like introducing the Sealogis Freight Forwarding Belgium services to new companies, detect their needs and respond to these needs. For this, I rely on various sources, such as our internal database which contains the data from SMEs, medium-sized companies and multinationals. In addition, through our overseas agent network, we constantly exchange information on import and export companies and logistics flows.”

“I also regularly attend logistics fairs and seminars and events for exporters and importers at home and abroad, although this is all a bit on hold now. I do a lot of networking, also within our port of Antwerp where I maintain contacts with suppliers and subcontractors such as shipping companies, port operators and transport companies.”

Also read: Female and completely enamoured by the ‘marine industry’: Hanna and Yannick

Why this passion for the maritime industry?

PD: “I was born with a passion for water.  As a young lad, I learned to sail, was a member of the Sea Scouts for 16 years and wanted to go to the nautical college to become a sea captain. I absolutely wanted to work in the ‘maritime’ industry and I am lucky that I was able to turn my passion into my job. Outside office hours, I sometimes go out with my son to spot ships in the port of Antwerp. It is striking how fast container ships are growing in size. We recently spotted a vessel of 24,000 TEU, a real giant.” 

What makes your job so challenging?

PD: “The freedom and the variety: every day offers something new. Of course, as a Sales Manager, I experience the pressure of the ‘sales figure’, but on the other hand, you make your own planning and can work very independently and dedicatedly.”

“I also appreciate the working atmosphere at Sealogis Belgium. It started out as a family business, and you can still feel that typical informal SME working atmosphere, while maintaining a close and good contact with colleagues every day. In short: hard work, fun and a real team spirit.”

What happens when you make a sales deal?

PD: “If there is a cooperation agreement, the internal wheel starts to turn. I put the new customer in contact with the team leader of our export or import department and the relevant customer service agent. Together, we record the customer's needs as best we can and draw up an appropriate working procedure that we discuss with him. We attach great importance to quality account management. We want to take care of our customers’ logistics, allowing them to concentrate on their core business.”

Do you want to become one of Philippe’s colleagues? Contact us here and ask about our vacancies.