Best-in-Class Customer Service and Powerful Network Connections Secure New Business for an AIT

Published on: May 21, 2013

 

The Challenge:

Expediting a 300 kilogram international air shipment of networking equipment for an award-winning information technology delivery (ITD) company headquartered in San Francisco would have been challenging enough for an average freight forwarder. Installation engineers due to arrive on site expecting the equipment to be ready and waiting would have added a further degree of difficulty. But when the commercial end user in New Delhi, India didn’t hold an importer’s license, how could a tight delivery deadline be met without the customer’s pallets of high tech gear spending three to four weeks tied up with Indian customs authorities?

Partnership with AIT Worldwide Logistics – a global transportation management provider with more than three decades of experience and a vast network spanning six continents – would prove to be the difference.
 

The Solution:

Working in tandem with her international operations co-worker, the customer’s AIT-San Francisco Account Executive initiated an intense collaboration with their global network partner in New Delhi, laying the groundwork to make the air export process as fast and seamless as possible. A plan was quickly devised to rapidly prep the shipment, beginning with helping the customer to prepare their commercial invoice and packing list. The AIT operations teammate went a step further by personally couriering the Certificate of Origin to the local Chamber of Commerce and obtaining the required stamps.

Despite the country’s status as the 15th largest international trading economy in the world, customs in India is known for being confusing and cumbersome to clear. Referencing their comprehensive understanding of country-specific import rules and regulations, AIT’s experts knew Indian customs officials would demand bound hard copies of the instruction manuals for the networking equipment, but the manufacturer had only provided PDF files. Proving just how far out of scope AIT will go to provide completely thorough service, the Account Executive took it upon herself to print and bind more than 200 pages in the effort to produce each of the required manuals.

Most importantly, overcoming the end user’s lack of an import license was the key to beating the deadline. It was determined that identifying a trading partner in India to act as the Importer of Record (IOR) on behalf of the end user would be the preferred approach – if a willing entity could be found. IOR duties involve taking on a degree of risk that many agents refuse to accept, especially in the absence of a well-established association with a trusted partner. Most forwarders don’t have the array of connections required to secure a trustworthy IOR, but by harnessing AIT’s global network of robust, time-tested relationships, the AIT co-workers quickly retained a reliable agent to perform the IOR duties.

In a textbook demonstration of supply chain savvy, AIT anticipated and addressed every complication and the customer’s shipment achieved a rare feat as it sailed through Indian customs without delay. Thanks to a swift release, the delivery successfully beat the tight deadline tied to the on site arrival of the end user’s engineers.

 

The Result:

Building a consultative relationship with the customer is at the foundation of every transportation management solution designed by AIT. Emerging from this central principle are the fundamental tenets of AIT’s approach to logistics including:

• Meticulous preparation backed by decades of demonstrated expertise in shipping the world over.
• Dedication to best-in-class customer service that truly exceeds expectations.
• Sound utilization of a high quality partner network that stretches to every corner of the earth.

Supported by these core elements of the company’s business model, AIT-San Francisco co-workers quickly untangled the regulatory knots and cleared a path for their customer’s goods to make a hassle-free journey from San Francisco to New Delhi.

With AIT Worldwide Logistics as their partner, the customer had proven they could deftly meet the demands of their new client in India. The flawless delivery led to a successful implementation which, in turn, cemented a budding business relationship that ultimately generated a flurry of lucrative opportunities for the ITD provider.