The movement and installation of sophisticated and bulky electronic equipment presents many challenges, but especially when the point of end use is an overseas destination. Supply chains can be complex and local customs, regulations and paperwork can create delays in the smooth running of a delivery schedule.
Relay runs an international freight forwarding service, transporting business, medical, scientific and other specialist electronic assets to every corner of the globe. As with all the consignments we handle, the equipment will have a high monetary value and will be invaluable, and frequently essential, to the end user.
Fortunately, Relay has a long-standing working relationship with our freight forwarding partner Tech Cargo and over the years we have together undertaken many successful deliveries across international borders, both in Europe and worldwide.
Over time we have built up and consolidated an extensive international network of trusted agents and partners. They bring their local knowledge, skills and experience to every shipment we undertake.
With every consignment, security is paramount, especially when global markets are turbulent. To illustrate this, two recent international projects Relay and Tech Cargo jointly carried out particularly spring to my mind.
Secure Transfer of Data in Europe
The travel industry has been particularly impacted by the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to declines in revenue and the need to consolidate resources.
In the case of one major travel company, the consolidation process required the redeploying of data centre equipment to make their operations run as efficiently as possible. The INS Group, leading specialists in global IT infrastructure and business connectivity, were appointed to carry out this assignment and chose Relay for transport and logistics support because of their knowledge of our resources and quality of services.
Working in collaboration with Tech Cargo, this major project involved the relocation of hardware - containing within its storage sensitive personal data - throughout Frankfurt and Amsterdam, with the UK also in the frame to a lesser extent. The fourteen-phase relocation required the movement of over 10,000 blade servers and over 600 Blade enclosures, for which Relay's air-ride suspension vehicles were ideally suited.
The transfer of sensitive personal data requires maximum levels of security, and the logistics included planning a range of different routes to destination to avoid scrutiny. Relay vehicles were sealed with numbered tags which had to be broken to gain access to the load space. Furthermore, INS Group support vehicles, escorted consignments in transit as an additional safety measure.
Lee Wetherilt, Managing Director INS Group, explained that "Relay's logistics contribution has been integral to the success of this operation. Their vehicles have always been fully equipped to meet the challenges of transporting sophisticated electronics and their crews have been extremely efficient.”
With tourism and business travel opening up once more, it is rewarding to know that Relay has supported the INS Group in helping this leading travel company regroup its assets to operate with maximum efficiency.
Worldwide Deliveries of Scanning Equipment
From safeguarding the security of data to ensuring the safety of staff and visitors at multiple sites across the world, this next project was carried out by Relay and Tech Cargo for a UK government agency at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The assignment involved the delivery of mailroom x-ray scanners supplied by Todd Research, UK specialists in threat detection based in Cambridge.
As we explain in another story: “The delivery and installation of this equipment has required meticulous planning and highly efficient lines of communication, testing the strength and reliability of Relay's international network of partners and agents.
“The different rates of Covid-19 infection in different international regions, and the varied local restrictions in place to stop the spread of the virus, have made this a particularly challenging logistical exercise.”
The news item goes on to explain the challenges of the equipment dimensions using air freight transport, the restricted number of available flights at the time, difficulties in gaining access to sites in countries with varied Covid-19 restrictions and other features of the project.
We also included this much-appreciated testimonial from Caroline Banks of Todd Research: "In spite of the extraordinary difficulties the pandemic is causing throughout the world, this international delivery programme of our x-ray scanning units for our client has so far gone remarkably smoothly. The freight forwarding and logistics expertise demonstrated by the Relay and Tech Cargo partnership has been very impressive."
So, two very different international projects demonstrating the care, skills and planning employed by Relay in partnership with Tech Cargo. But the positive reactions from customers to their outcomes are very similar. In all assignments we undertake, both in the UK and overseas, complete customer satisfaction with Relay’s services is our primary goal.