EFL Global empowering the nation for four decades

Founded in 1982, EFL Global is one of the largest freight forwarders in the region. The company has made a significant contribution to Sri Lanka’s economy by offering focused delivery of flexible and customised solutions to support complex and time-constrained logistical needs. Over the years, EFL has made a name as a specialised freight service provider within the apparel and fast fashion industry, having serviced several leading global fashion labels. Through an asset-light expansion model of investing in people and technology in addition to deepening relationships with stakeholders, all ongoing efforts focused on building resilience and enhancing robustness to overcome macroeconomic challenges. This year, the focus is on building supply chain resilience and global market reach, and access to diverse customer segments.

In 1990, the first overseas branch was opened in Bangladesh. Since then, the company has expanded beyond the shores of Sri Lanka to a total of 34 countries with owned offices and a global reach with leading partners. Reaching the milestone of 40 years by “defying boundaries” EFL has grown its global footprint across North America, Central America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. EFL is a member of Expolanka PLC in Sri Lanka, and part of SG Holdings Group, a leading logistics organisation in Japan. At present, owning 70+ offices whilst employing a diverse workforce of 2,900+ employees across continents, EFL strives to continue its global dominance into the future to maximise customer touchpoints by relentlessly endeavouring to grow trade lanes through strategic investments and acquisitions. 

Having a reputation for thriving in difficult logistical environments, and successfully operating from regions with challenging infrastructure to deliver speed-to-market solutions for buyers in the US and Europe. EFL has pioneered investment in these regions to improve customer solutions and services and has successfully lobbied for multilateral agreements that have made it easier for logistics companies to carry out their business. EFL 3PL, a state-of-the-art-fulfilment centre and Oki Doki, a transportation management company are subsidiaries of Expolanka, reputed for setting the benchmark with a focus on using technology and compliance to deliver agility, scalability, and accuracy. Today, EFL Global is ranked among the top 25 air freight and 36 ocean freight forwarders in the world which is a result of decades of persistent personal selling and positioning created by seizing business opportunities beyond borders, while making a mark in the global arena. 

In light of being a socially responsible entity, EFL adopted the UN Sustainability Development Goals (UN SDGs) in 2018 to be its operational framework for being a sustainable and conscious corporate entity – endeavouring to meet responsible change in the industry. Its commitment to the SDGs transcends through its network of operational locations across the globe in the form of Global Goodness programs that have been identified according to the requirements of each country. Its employees are encouraged to actively participate in sustainability projects under the Global Goodness initiatives which give back to the people in our community to uplift societal goals. EFL is a member of the science-based targets program along with multiple international sustainability-certified regulatory bodies to drive decarbonisation to achieve zero-emission freight transport.

In 2021, expansion began through a spree of strategic acquisitions to expand operations within the North American territory which commenced with the acquisition of Seville Container Freight Station, Inc., Seville Freight Systems Inc., and Seville Transfer Ltd. Giving EFL a competitive edge in specific niche markets, driving diversification, and consolidation of its business portfolio. The second-biggest acquisition was IDEA Logistics LLC, a fully-fledged service across air freight, ocean freight, trucking, and warehousing, with operations spanning across the United States, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras. The deal aims to stimulate growth by increasing its market capitalisation to include value-added services, gaining a competitive advantage within the Americas.

The exponential growth of performance and productivity are reflected across the board with EFL sustaining strong results as Q1 of 2022 ended. The company navigated numerous challenges related to the depreciating Sri Lankan rupee, the volatile global market conditions, and the traditional off-peak demand patterns to generate a revenue of Rs. 233.0 billion (YoY+146%), a gross profit of Rs. 36.2 billion (YoY +154% YoY) and a PAT of Rs. 18.8 billion (YoY +183%). A key reason the company was able to sustain consistent growth in a tumultuous year of unprecedented change, both locally as well as globally, is because of its commitment to a customer-centric approach to generating volume and building capacity. 

The organisation lives by the covenant of “Building a great business with a dare to do spirit”, an outcome of the diligent effort that has been harnessed over the years by our employees. As a service-oriented company, its human capital, is its core strength and at the forefront of its operations. EFL attaches foremost importance to valuing the work of its employees by creating a diverse and inclusive environment where equitability is maintained across the globe. The importance of shared corporate values ensures that everyone is set up to contribute their best thinking and work towards achieving organisational success together. Investing in people in addition to deepening relationships with our stakeholders has contributed to its journey of resilience.