Expeditors

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of the overall supply chain management for a manufacturing company. I’m responsible for everything from sourcing, procurement, logistics, and planning, which are the main portion of our supply chain organization. We have two factories in China, and we have PCB industrial and PCN integrations in China’s regions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Expeditors?

We hired Expeditors to help us with logistics and warehouse management.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Expeditors handled all of our site-to-site warehouse transactions. They booked vessels for us and sent trucks to load our suppliers’ containers. They also ensured that those trucks got to the port and that the containers were loaded onto the vessels. Their team essentially helped us do third-party logistics with our suppliers. Expeditors also provided us with documentation, keeping a record of all of our transactions. These were useful for our internal processes and for their operational guidelines.

We had some chemicals that needed to be handled with certain equipment and under controlled temperatures. Most of the raw materials and internal planning were handled by our side, but there was a stock that we sorted at Expeditors’ warehouse, especially those that were in the DMI (data management inventory). Suppliers would share information with Expeditors when they planned to ship materials to our warehouse or to customs. In this regard, there was joint planning between suppliers and the Expeditors team.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two people. Our shipment volume wasn’t big at the time, so one person was involved with the warehouse while the other was involved with logistics. We were also in contact with their account manager.

How did you come to work with Expeditors?

I knew of Expeditors from when I worked with a US company. They were hired on a corporate contract to help us with sea freight. They didn’t have an office in Shanghai, but they had operations centers in China and their price was cheaper than other providers. 

How much have you invested with them?

We paid around $500,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership began in August 2008. We started with just sea freight services, but we are now doing air freight with Expeditors as well. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We’ve measured the sea freight turnaround times as well as vessel loading turnaround times of Expeditors, as these are very important when doing full container loads. There have been some delays, sometimes by a couple of days, but the team has been good at vessel bookkeeping. 

If they have missed one vessel, they’re able to book another on the same night. That has allowed them to catch up with the schedule and arrive earlier than expected. Customers have been happy, but there have also been complaints about stock not arriving early or on time. I wouldn’t say it’s all due to the failure of Expeditors. International sea lines have, after all, faced a lot of delays because of the pandemic.

How did Expeditors perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Oracle SAP packs. This allows us to measure the ETA of each shipment, add loading time or customs clearance time, and ultimately see how Expeditors is performing compared to other companies. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing about Expeditors is that they have full-scale vessel booking capability with the lowest cost.

Are there any areas they could improve?

From a customer’s perspective, they could make better estimates.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you can make decisions and have no cost pressures, you can definitely go with Expeditors.