Ex-pat American, Jennifer Sloan is the General Manager at European Relocation Services, based in Marseilles and Paris, France. The Mover Magazine caught up with her to talk about some of the differences she’s found working and living in Europe over the last 20 years.

European Relocation Services was established by two of her senior colleagues in 1995 to look after domestic moves and outsourcing in France, and later in 2001 to cover the international trade.  Since its inception, it handles more than 1,500 shipments worldwide a year.  The company specialises in international removals of household goods and personal effects, corporate relocations worldwide, domestic and European removals, car shipments, customs brokerage as well as international forwarding.

Jennifer first moved to France during a study year at her American University in Missouri, USA where she studied a BS in International Business and French.  She fell in love with the country and on her graduation, she decided to return to France. 

 

For the last seven years Jennifer has worked for ERS. Her task entails the co-ordination of international imports and exports for household goods and commercial shipments. Jennifer also oversees management of moving teams, materials, customs brokerage, and freight for door-to-door transport by sea, air and road. 

 

Being an English-speaker in the French shipping industry has enabled Jennifer to assist international customers and she has the distinct advantage of bringing her blend of French cultural understanding and her American emphasis on customer service to each job. This ensures that projects passing through ERS get the best of both worlds.  “There’s so much more to getting this job right than being multi-lingual – there is also a strong need to understand how the French work and how projects are approached here in France,” Jennifer expanded.  This rare combination of different attitudes has given ERS an edge over its competitors, enabling them to take on more unusual jobs.

 

ERS is often required to ship expensive cars to unstable regions – for instance, two brand new limousines were delivered to Nigeria for a client recently.  Another task saw the air transit of a 2013 Bentley from the USA to France.  In addition, extremely rare works of art are frequent cargo.  “We purposefully look out for jobs that are more unusual or that offer unique challenges to keep our jobs more interesting and to constantly stay on our toes,” said Jennifer.

 

With many years working and living in France, Jennifer has now made the place her home. The famous French ‘joie de vivre’ has her in its grip and long may she enjoy it.

 

 ‘Vive les differences’ indeed.

 

Photos:Jennifer Sloan and some of the automotive exotica that her company deals with.

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