Three tips to ensure equipment availability

You have secured competitive rates and space on a vessel that meets your required departure date. Great! But how can you ensure your shipments are transported in high-quality equipment? Here is how:

1. Book in advance
Carriers need time to position the right container types and quantities at their depots. This can be a challenge, particularly in areas with container deficit.

Thus, booking your cargo well in advance would assist the carrier in proper forecasting and timely container repositioning, cleaning and repairs.

2. Ensure your trucking provider has the right pick-up location
In many origins, carriers use multiple container pick-up locations. Locations can be positioned right next to the container yard or at an inland container depot. Be sure to understand which depots to use by getting familiar with the details of your booking confirmation. Sharing this information with your trucking provider on time can help them plan their trips accordingly, which helps avoid costs associated with waiting times or dead freight.

3. Equip your trucker with a container inspection checklist
It is a good practice to communicate with your trucker to ensure their truck drivers would inspect the container at the time of pick-up, using a 7-point checklist such as shown below. It is also essential to agree on an escalation procedure if the driver identifies equipment that is not of the right specification and is unable to obtain another container on site.

A typical 7-point checklist includes inspections of:

1. Outside/undercarriage
2. Inside/Outside doors
3. The right side of the container
4. The left side of the container
5. Front wall
6. Ceiling/Roof
7. Floor (inside)

Ensuring equipment availability – a digital solution
We understand that you want your cargo to move in a clean and seaworthy container. To this end, digital solutions like eShipAsia.com would help you secure this equipment through its variety of features:

1. Stringent carrier selection
Being the largest Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC)  in the world, Kuehne + Nagel’s dedicated trade managers have global contracts in place with all major carriers that ensure top-quality container conditions.

eShipAsia.com only publishes rates and services of carriers with a proven track record of ensuring space and equipment available with competitive rates. 

In the case of known container shortages for a particular carrier, rates would be suspended until the equipment availability can be ensured.

2. Carrier integration
On eShipAsia.com, online bookings take less than a minute. Its integrated carrier system means that the moment you submit your shipment online, all information is processed immediately and automatically. This way, carriers can incorporate your booking into their container-repositioning plan immediately, ensuring equipment availability at the time of the pick-up.

3. Local expertise 
Our experienced local customer service staff are on-hand to guide you through the process or answer any queries, while also providing support in contacting suppliers in the unlikely event of logistical delays.

Interested? 
Sign up on eShipAsia now.