Why This Freight-Forwarding Expert Loves Living and Working in Amelia Island
After relocating to Amelia Island from South Carolina six years ago, William Mosley discovered two things: a love for the beach and a new work family at Sheltered International. As the Export Manager, William spends his day-to-day communicating with an array of customers – one of his favorite aspects of the job. Read on to learn a bit more about William, his favorite SI tools, and predictions for 2020.
Where are you from, and what is your role here at Sheltered International?
I am originally from Greenville, South Carolina, and my wife and I moved down here 5-6 years ago. I live around the corner from the office, and we love Fernandina. As the export manager here at Sheltered International, I do a little bit of everything – air freight, sea freight and export truck freight. I work directly with many of our customers and carriers.
How long have you worked at Sheltered International?
I’ve been here for 2.5 years, but I’ve been in this business since I was a kid. Long story short, my father-in-law got me a job when I was a teenager at a hospital where he was an administrator in shipping and receiving, and that’s when I started in the business. I worked within my previous position in Greenville for 28 years, but when my wife and I decided to move to Fernandina, I was able to find a great team to transition to at SI. We have a world of experience here, and I love the people that I work with.
What does your day-to-day entail?
I communicate directly with everyone from customers and overseas agents, to carriers and vendors. Every day is unique. We pride ourselves on being very customer-oriented, and that’s one of the aspects that I love about my job.
Why are you passionate about your job as Export Manager?
I feel like my job entails something new every day. I like promoting exports – I really think that exporting goods is patriotic. The U.S. happens to be the biggest consumer on earth – we are an import-oriented place. We get a lot of folks that come to us that are hesitant to try exporting goods for the first time, and I like to help walk through people through the process to help show that it can be done. Our job is to help guide clients to make the right moves.
What do you feel like is the most helpful online resource or tool Sheltered International offers within the platform?
Utilizing the tracking features we have available is an excellent way of being able to keep up what is going on with cargoes. We also have an instant rate tool, which is very handy. We do have a pricing team that handles the more complex quotations, but our customers are able to easily generate an estimate with the instant rate tool, and then refine it when they are ready to go. Our founder, Andrew Ciccarone has developed the platform so that there are a ton of great resources for both importers and exporters. We try to make everything as easy as possible.
What insights do you predict for 2020 within the shipping and transport industry?
Even though the U.S. has been somewhat shut down due to recent events, we are such a resilient country that I have no doubt that we will bounce back. We might be a bit slow to build export levels back up to where they were pre-coronavirus, but some of these things are going to move no matter what. Vessels may be lighter than normal, but they will still be there.
We have had a lot of customers impacted by the new tariffs, but it has not been quite as bad as the predictors have said. I don’t think 2020 will be all doom and gloom. Numbers won’t look great, but I believe we will be trending upwards.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
You would think I would be tired of the beach, but I’m not! I go to the beach a lot, and enjoy spending time outdoors riding bikes. Maybe one day I’ll even dust off my fishing pole – we’ll see!
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