Safety and expertise – the hallmarks of global cargo movements

Businesses around the world, rely on logistics service providers to operate their supply chains. In current times, however, a number of manufacturers are finding it difficult to meet up with demand, especially when there is a shortage of products like semiconductors, leading to production slowdowns. In an endeavour to keep the wheels of global trade and economy moving, logistics service providers like ECU Worldwide, the world’s Less than Container Load (LCL) consolidation leader are stepping up and helping businesses move their goods across the seven seas, to reach their destination on time.

When moving cargo of diverse shapes, sizes and types all over the world, various precautions need to be taken depending on its weight, fragility and nature. Something that the teams of experts at ECU Worldwide are adept at, owing to years of experience and unmatched understanding of global business supply chain requirements.

In keeping with its relentless focus on customer centricity and aspiration to deliver excellence to customers, ECU Worldwide recently demonstrated its prowess in transporting heavy goods, when the team at ECU Worldwide Singapore successfully undertook two cargo movements amounting to 25 tonnes of cargo cumulatively.

It was a very challenging process considering the diverse nature of the cargo, but by collaborating with the customer and relevant authorities, enlisting support of its global network and partners, and making sure the right equipment and documents were ready at hand, the team truly proved its mettle. It was thorough planning and unflinching attention to detail that helped get the job done.

20 tonnes of technology

The first consignment was for a technology giant in Shanghai that needed 20 tonnes of semi-conductor equipment (crated) to be transported by air. Considering that this equipment needed to be handled with care and was also extremely heavy, the team took planning and preparation a notch higher and transported the shipment in two days’ time (door-to-door), to the customer’s satisfaction.

1. The moment the team received the packing list from the shipper, they got to work collating cargo details to secure rates and space on the carrier (Singapore Airlines).
2. The shipper had arranged for the ECU Worldwide Singapore team to book an Air Ride truck for collection of the shipment aside from the normal truck. The Air Ride truck arrived at the shipper’s premises and loaded the shipment to transfer the consignment to the free trade zone, which is a step that had to be followed-up closely.
3. Once the Air Ride truck arrived at the free trade zone, ECU Worldwide Singapore’s export operations was also ready. They were on standby at a terminal to offload the shipment and transfer it to the SATS terminal.
4. Due to the meticulous, planning and execution, the shipment went in one go, something that really pleased the customer, who themselves were surprised at the efficiency with which the whole operation was concluded.

Impressed by the services, the customer came back to ECU Worldwide with similar shipments, confident of their ability to ship even challenging consignments.

Arms and their complexity

The second consignment was challenging not just because of the weight and size, it weighed 5.5 tonnes, but also because of its nature – military equipment. An Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge (Crated) had to be transported by air.

Understanding the importance of safety as well as the various compliances that would be needed for such cargo, ECU Worldwide Singapore started planning well in advance to execute this operation smoothly.

1. The end user certificate and license to deal in arms explosives was collected from the customer and sent to the carrier (Cargolux) for approval with Singapore Police Force, before the shipment could be loaded on the aircraft.
2. Once the approvals were granted, a Cargolux carrier was booked and on standby with the booking details.
3. The team had to liaise closely with the consignee for their inbound permit and also check flight arrival for the complete shipment to be on board.
4. Upon arrival of the shipment in Singapore, an escort had to be arranged from the aircraft to the strong room. During this time, ECU Worldwide Singapore’s clearance team had to be on standby as the shipment was crated and could not be exposed to ‘public eyes’ for security reasons.
5. Upon receipt of the photos from SATS, the clearance team custom cleared and delivered the shipment accordingly to the consignee.

Although the nature of the goods couldn’t have been more disparate, both customers were extremely satisfied with the painstaking efforts, the meticulous approach, and seamless execution by ECU Worldwide who not only prioritised the safety of their cargo but also ensured that it reached its destination on time.

Conclusion

Delivering customer satisfaction requires ingenuity, effort and most importantly a will to achieve excellence. Since cargo comes in various shapes and sizes and has different handling requirements, customers are in need of customised solutions that are best provided by an experienced, logistics partner with a global reach, like ECU Worldwide.