ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. presented an extensive program to change its organizational structure earlier this month.

The change is based on the company’s business plan to focus on profitable trade areas in which ZIM enjoys competitive advantage. Company’s management said that the aim of the program is to build a lean and agile enterprise, attentive to the needs of customers and market trends.

The essence of the change is to strengthen the three major independent business units and scrapping area managements. The three business units are the Pacific unit, handling the trade between Asia and North and Central America; the Intra-Asia unit, handling trade within Asia; and the Cross Suez – Atlantic unit, handling trade between Asia and the Mediterranean Sea , the intra-European trade (including Israel), and the trade between the Mediterranean Sea and the Americas.

Cancelling the area management groups will enable country units to respond quickly to market needs and work directly with the business units, according to a company statement.

The business units will be headed by company vice presidents, who will report directly to ZIM’s President and CEO, Rafi Danieli.

“The new structure strengthens the position of ZIM in the trade in which it operates and is an important element in implementing our strategic plan and in improving the level of service to our customers,” said Danieli.

The program will take effect on March 1, 2016.