Braden Burry Expediting, Heather Smith
Posted by Vi Hughes on Mar 08, 2017
On Tuesday, we were treated to a very interesting talk from Heather Smith, pictured, President of BBE. BBE has been supplying northern logistics services, shipping cargo into the arctic, since 1977. Their largest bonded warehouses are at the Edmonton International Airport (EIA) and the Ottawa International Airport, with transport links to Calgary, Winnipeg, Yellowknife, Fort Simpson, Norman Wells, Inuvik, Iqaluit and Baker Lake. They can ship cargo by air, ship, truck, rail, barge, or over ice roads to practically anywhere in the Canadian north.
Heather talked about how she got into the business and slowly worked her way up to where she is now. Originally, BBE was a small company owned by Heather’s father that was based in Yellowknife. As a teenager, she worked in the warehouse, sweeping floors, collecting items for shipment, and loading planes with supplies for northern exploration companies. Her first love at the time was competitive skiing, and when she finished school she went to work for a large sports retailer, Forzani Group, as a purchaser, specializing in snow sports. There she learned the basics of how a large supply chain works. She then decided she could make more money by going to Japan to teach skiing. Once she returned to Canada, she again went to work for her father helping with the dismantling of an old rig in the Beaufort Sea, shipping it south for refitting and then shipping it back. Soon afterwards her father decided to sell his company to an Inuit and Inuvialuit owned company. Heather then worked with them, in logistics, on many different projects, shipping supplies into the north. After a few years, she was offered the job of president, which she decided to take even though she had little business experience running a company. However, she expanded her knowledge through taking an MBA in business.
Eventually Heather and four other partners raised the funds to buy BBE and the company has grown to be a major supplier of goods to the arctic. They are a third part logistics company, taking on clients needing to move cargo into the north, by planning and hiring transportation to deliver the cargo, on time, to wherever it may have to go, and no matter how remote the site may be. They currently have a forty thousand square foot warehouse at the EIA, which handles freight for twelve different airlines flying into Edmonton. They also track cargo for all kinds of companies, in long chains of custody. They handle everything from puppies on their way from a breeder to a new home in the north, to helicopters, drilling rigs and mining equipment. They also take part in a fresh food for the north program, where they shop for items like milk and fresh produce and then ship it to remote northern locations along with their other cargo. She has found that it is a little more challenging to find ways to cut costs in the current downturn, as most of their business in the north supports infrastructure projects and mature businesses. She says that there is almost no exploration going on right now, however the melting sea ice has made some areas more accessible and exploration is starting to pick up. She enjoys the daily challenges, and is confident that their business will continue to thrive into the future.
Today's speaker was proposed by our Past President and past member, Art Baird and we were delighted to have Art join us for lunch.