Global air charter specialist Chapman Freeborn has executed a series of urgent shipments of specialised automotive material from China to Europe as part of an ongoing partnership.
Chapman Freeborn’s teams in China and Poland are collaborating on this project, which involves forwarding automotive parts, including products crucial to enhancing vehicle performance.
So far, they have executed 26 shipments, with total volume shipped exceeding 60 tonnes across 95 pallets. The deliveries, made using a combination of 747 freighter and passenger belly capacity, were initially routed from Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport (TAO) to Poland, before expanding to flights from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK).
These shipments have required specialist knowledge and adaptable problem-solving skills from the Chapman Freeborn team, said Joyce Di, cargo manager China at Chapman Freeborn, part of Avia Solutions Group.
“Due to the dual-use nature of the materials being transported, China imposes relatively strict scrutiny and export controls on them," said Di. "Shipping such materials out of China requires documentation such as export licenses for dual-use items, an MPI report, and an MSDS report, along with familiarity with the related procedures.
"Our experience in this field and our engagement with qualified partners ensured smooth customs clearance for these goods."
Alongside complex customs procedures, an additional challenge with the first batch was an extremely tight timeframe, with the client requiring delivery on the next available flight.
“The client's request coincided with China's three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, during which customs, airlines, and customs clearance companies were on holiday and responded slowly," said Di.
"To meet the client's urgent deadline, our team worked overtime online, responding immediately and coordinating resources to quickly offer multiple options for departure from Qingdao on the day the request was received."
After multiple rounds of material, process, and proposal confirmation, Chapman Freeborn said the team swiftly completed booking, pickup, and other procedures during the holiday, ensuring that the goods were shipped out immediately after the holiday.
This first successful delivery led to the client choosing to set up an ongoing collaboration with Chapman Freeborn, which has now encompassed 26 deliveries and is still in progress.
Due to the limited capacity and relatively high costs at TAO for flights to the target destination, the Chapman Freeborn team also explored other ports with export qualifications for subsequent shipments with less stringent time requirements.
“We ran a small test shipment to validate clearance speed and viability,” said Di. “The test shipment met the client's speed and compliance requirements. For subsequent batches of goods with less stringent time requirements and higher demands for cost-effectiveness, we arranged for them to be shipped via Yantai port and PEK.”
This initiative offered customers shipping methods that met their time requirements and were more cost-effective, helping them save on logistics costs.
