A full container from China

The client

A wholesale importer of clothing and footwear that brings full containers from China several times a year. For every shipment it needs the same thing: the bales it ordered, on the expected date and with no surprises at customs.

The container

How we brought it

1. A supplier we have visited. We know the supplier and its sorting plant in China in person.
2. Packing list in writing. Before the deposit was paid, the number of bales per line and the total weight were confirmed.
3. Fumigation at origin. The container was fumigated before shipment.
4. Security seal. It was sealed in China; the seal number travels on the documents and is checked when the container is opened in Chile.
5. Tracking with the shipping line. Using the bill of lading number, we followed the container on every leg.
6. Customs and delivery. We cleared it in San Antonio and it continued by truck to the client's warehouse.

What we apply since this case

• Transshipment weighs on lead time. The container waited about two weeks at the transshipment port until its vessel sailed: between loading and arrival in San Antonio, roughly 10 weeks went by. That is why our lead times account for transshipment, not for what a direct route promises.
• The shipping line's date rules. When the supplier's date and the shipping line's date differ, we plan with the shipping line's.
• Check the latest packing list. The version that actually shipped changed the quantities on four lines, even though the total was still 303. We always compare it with the order before committing the goods.