20 December 2007
How do you move 20 trucks from Shanghai to Kabul? With confidence.
When 20 Dongfeng cargo trucks rolled into the port of Shanghai on Nov 16, 2007, Geodis Shenzhen South China Sales & Marketing Manager Danny Tian knew his planning had paid off. As Project Manager, he and his team had carefully monitored the trucks’ journey to the harbour. Geodis Shenzhen would have incurred huge ‘dead freight’ penalties if the ship had left without them. But the trucks were on time, and an important new project was underway.
Moving out of the comfort zone
The trucks had recently been purchased by China’s leading telecom manufacturer ZTE Corporation, and their final destination was Kabul, Afghanistan. “Our specialty had always been container shipments,” says Tian. “We had never bulk shipped anything of this size and quantity before – a total of 1798 cubic metres – but we were confident we could do it.”
So was ZTE Corporation, which chose Geodis Shenzhen to handle the logistics after receiving a detailed, multi-modal solution that beat out the competition. The trucks were loaded by crane onto the deck of the bulk vessel Heng Shan, part of the Cosco line, one of China’s biggest shipping companies. The Geodis team worked closely with the crew of the vessel to make sure the detailed vehicle dimensions were clear, and they made special technical arrangements to ensure their safe passage.
A trusted partnership
The ship left the harbour, and Tian maintained regular contact with his onboard contacts during its twenty day voyage to Pakistan. “We have a very strong partnership with Al Faisal, our shipping agents in Karachi,” he says. “The trucks were cleared through customs right away.”
His trust in Al Faisal was not misplaced. They met the cargo, unloaded the trucks and placed them onto trailers without incident. Tian kept in daily contact with the driving team, tracing their progress to ensure that nothing went wrong. “They did an outstanding job. They had to clear a number of customs stations on the way, and the trucks reached Kabul without a scratch.”
Moving into the future
Tian says they have learned a lot from their first “bulk” project. “Our success here will be very helpful to us when it comes to winning and handling even bigger and more complicated projects,’’ he says.
With a satisfied client, secure, reliable partners and the obvious ability to expand their service portfolio, Danny Tian and the Geodis Shenzhen team are moving into the future with confidence.
