Insights from Ruchira Gregory, Regional Director and Head of Trade Lane Development – Asia, Middle East & India Subcontinent
Asia’s logistics network moves at a speed few regions can match. Every port, partner, and policy shift affects how freight moves between continents. Coordinating such diversity requires not only routing expertise but also trust, consistency, and an understanding of how each market operates.
At Shipco, that responsibility lies with Ruchira Gregory, Regional Director and Head of Trade Lane Development for Asia, the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent. Based in Singapore, she oversees Singapore, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Taiwan, while supporting the company’s broader regional trade lane strategy. Her dual role links operations with customer insight, engineering solutions that address forwarders’ real priorities.
Customer-centric trade lane development
Ruchira describes the Trade Lane Development team’s mission simply: “Everything we do is customer-centric. So, the customer is at the core of everything we do.” This means maintaining the integrity of existing services while continuously expanding routes and partnerships based on where customers want to grow.
The backbone of this work is LCL consolidation, supported by a broad set of add-ons. In addition to CFS solutions, Shipco offers International Multi-Country Consolidation services which are readily available. “[We offer] Multi-Country Consolidations which we are able to do internationally out of our five gateways – Singapore, Busan, Hong Kong, Port Klang, and Colombo,” she details.
Additionally, Domestic Multi-City Consolidation and Buyer’s Consol services are accessible from all origins. “We have Domestic Multi-country Consolidations that we can do out of pretty much anywhere. So, there are many solutions that we can offer for the LCL needs that our customers have,” Ruchira explains.
These combinations give forwarders the flexibility to plan global movements with local efficiency.
Neutrality and global coverage as differentiators
In a region where relationships drive business, neutrality builds confidence. “Our customers, who are forwarders, can completely trust us with all the information that they have and share their needs openly with us. We will accommodate all their needs and try to give them the best solution that we have in place,” Ruchira explains.
That trust is reinforced by Shipco’s worldwide footprint through the WorldWide Alliance, which supports more than 2,600 direct services globally. “These services are reaching around the globe. Our global coverage is a key differentiator,” she says. Each new service reflects direct customer input and real demand from markets where additional frequency or faster routing creates measurable value.
Schedule reliability is another priority. “We also work with top-notch carriers, which means we provide schedule reliability. We are constantly trying to match the sailing frequency that the market needs,” Ruchira notes. This combination of reliability, scale, and neutrality allows forwarders to serve their own clients with confidence and transparency.
Tailored solutions for every size of forwarder
Ruchira’s teams work with forwarders of every size. “In Shipco, we work with large and small forwarders. They are all equally important to us,” she says. Large forwarders often rely on Shipco’s CFS or Multi-Country Consolidation services to complement their own operations. Smaller forwarders, meanwhile, depend on Shipco’s direct services and global coverage to reach markets they could not otherwise access.
She highlights the balance this creates across the network. Larger forwarders value integration and performance guarantees, while smaller companies value reach and neutrality. “With our neutrality, direct services, and global coverage, we can give very good solutions, especially to smaller forwarders so that they can reach the world and support their customers,” Ruchira says. The result is a partnership model that allows both ends of the market to grow simultaneously.
Collaboration that strengthens performance
Trade Lane Development does not operate in isolation. “We have regional teams, country teams, and sales teams who are our face in front of customers,” Ruchira explains. Her department works daily with pricing, key account, and operations teams to ensure Shipco remains competitive and consistent across origins and destinations.
These collaborations extend beyond Asia. “Trade Lane Development is represented in all three regions: Asia-Pacific, the Americas, and Europe. The heads and teams are in constant contact, aligned, and with a forward-looking approach,” she says. This structure enables one region to introduce a new service, which can then be replicated globally, keeping partners informed on both sides.
Constant communication with neutral NVOCC partners within the WorldWide Alliance (WWA) also shapes the development strategy. “We work very closely with our WWA partners because we need to understand their strengths and the opportunities for each market,” Ruchira notes. Once the optimal carrier is selected, the team leverages Shipco’s FCL procurement agreements to ensure both reliable schedules and competitive pricing.
Why trust defines the logistics partnership
For Ruchira, every successful relationship in freight forwarding begins with trust. “For any freight forwarder, customer or not, it is important to understand who your trusted vendor is. The first aspect is trust,” she says.
And nowhere is that trust more vital than when forwarders seek assurance that their clients remain protected. “We work with many partners: carriers, ports, terminals. In LCL consolidation, you need a trusted partner because many freight forwarders are concerned that a consolidator might go after their direct clients.” True neutrality protects the forwarder’s position in every shipment, every interaction, and every decision. At Shipco, neutrality is treated as a daily standard.
Freight forwarders must also look for a partner with a global reach, direct services into various markets, and the ability to minimize handling and risk.
“The partner must be able to provide multiple solutions—LCL, International Multi-Country Consolidations, CFS loading and devanning for customer own containers, Buyer’s Consolidations, Domestic Multi-Country Consolidations, Airfreight, FCL—all packaged as one solution to meet different needs,” Ruchira adds. Shipco’s Trade Lane Management model delivers exactly that: integrated services, transparent communication, and accountability throughout the supply chain.
Across Asia, the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent, Ruchira and her teams turn regional complexity into connected reliability. Their work proves that in logistics, trust is built route by route, service by service, and customer by customer.