Middle East Logistics Pitfall: 10-Day Factory Delay, How I Saved The Order
At that time, Lao Zhang came to me in a panic and said, "Oh man, the factory messed up again. They delayed the goods for 10 days. I'm screwed." Lao Zhang is in the valve and pipe fittings export business, mainly for the Middle East market. This time, he had a shipment to the UAE, five full 40GP containers.
But the factory was too busy, and his order got delayed by about 10 days. However, the Middle East customer didn't care about that. The contract clearly stated that if the goods didn't arrive by the end of the month, it would be a breach.
Lao Zhang was so anxious that he got blisters on his lips. He told me we had to save this shipment no matter what. I've worked with Lao Zhang for many years. All his shipping from China to UAE orders are handled by me.
After hanging up, I started calculating. Sending all five containers by air freight would be unrealistic—the cost would be insane. So I discussed with Lao Zhang: we could pick out the urgent models and calculate. About less than three tons could go by air, which was doable. The rest, not urgent, could go by sea. Lao Zhang agreed and communicated with the customer. The customer was reasonable; as long as the urgent goods arrived at the factory first, the others could arrive about 10 days later by sea, which was fine.
Then I contacted Air China to book space, because we have fixed board space with them—20 boards per week. So I directly locked in 2 boards for the next day. The goods shipped from Guangzhou, and we completed security check and customs clearance within one day.
We've been doing shipping from China to UAE for a long time, so we're very sensitive to customs policy changes. I once noticed that for valve and pipe fitting products, the tariff rate would drop by a few percentage points starting next month. Around that time, I was also arranging Lao Zhang's four containers. That meant if we could delay shipping these four containers until next month, we could take advantage of the new rate and save a real chunk of money.
I told Lao Zhang, and he was excited: "That's great!" But he said we must ship early next month, because if we delay any more, it might cause problems. I said no problem. I first finished all the preliminary paperwork and booked a vessel on the 1st, and it sailed smoothly. In the end, we saved him nearly 20,000 RMB in tariffs. Lao Zhang even said he would treat me to a meal, saying that this hidden saving was much more practical than bargaining.
Sometimes he also sends samples, maybe one or two kilograms. For these samples, many freight forwarders don't want to take them. If you charge too little, it's not worth it and items can get lost; if you charge too much, the customer won't agree and thinks you're overcharging. So many forwarders refuse them. Even if they accept, some delay delivery for 20 days, making excuses like flight delays or customs inspection, but actually they just use sea freight.
I told Lao Zhang, whether it's one ton or one kilogram, I'll ship it just the same. Why? Because many of our small clients and small orders started with samples and later became big clients. So we don't turn down small orders. We don't make money on small orders, but of course, I'm not doing it for the money. I just want to bring clients close to us and gradually grow them into loyal fans.
Who wouldn't want to reap where they haven't sown? But there aren't that many easy opportunities. Clients are built little by little through hard work.