Whether shipping a single item or a full container load of equipment, a rigorous level of attention is required for international logistics by land, sea and air. There are national customs regulations to be met, local communications and infrastructure challenges to be accommodated and language barriers to be overcome.
Relay specialises in dealing with high value assets such as business, medical and scientific equipment, so security and careful handling are particularly vital. Tracking procedures must be consistent and accurate, while our people that manage and process shipments from collection point to delivery at end user destination need to be skilled, well resourced and totally committed to providing faultless high quality services at every stage.
Here are just a couple of recent examples to illustrate the processes involved. In each case, the consignment was continuously monitored from initial enquiry to final delivery.
- Delivery of computer frame from London to Milan: The customer did not wish to budget for a full special delivery, but that has no effect on the care applied or attention to scheduling. The frame was collected by specialist vehicle and moved to packers for building custom base, wrapping and banding.
After shipment and transportation by truck to the agent’s warehouse in Milan, it was unpacked by skilled personnel, loaded on a further specialist vehicle and delivered and positioned at the end user site.
- Delivery of large scanning machine from East Anglia to Tokyo: Details of requirements at destination were sketchy, so our specialist agent in Tokyo liaised directly with end user, who required the scanner to be delivered and unpacked in position at a first floor office. The crated scanner was moved by truck to a warehouse at London Heathrow Airport, but the height of the crate accommodating the 180cms high scanner meant the consignment could not be booked on a passenger flight and was only compatible with main deck aircraft. Also, the crate was too tall for the airline security scanners and therefore required decompression.
After overcoming these challenges, the consignment was flown to Tokyo, where our agent had arranged customs clearance and for the scanner to be transported to the end user, taken up to the first floor by lift, unpacked and positioned.
Fortunately, Relay can be completely confident that our international logistics operations are fully robust. Through our close and long-standing logistics partnership with Tech Cargo, we ensure that our services offer excellence without compromise anywhere in the world.