03 The power of breakthrough with finding a solution for a client against the difficulties Gifu Office, Nagoya Branch

The Office Manager of Gifu Office, Nagoya Branch

Mr. Hiromi Nakatani

A sudden crisis that hit our client

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted transportation worldwide. Ports congested and all port operations were delayed. We saw the terminal port was crowded with trapped transport ships waiting offshore, causing shortages of goods, delays in production due to undelivered materials, and delays in delivery. We have one project for our customer under this adversity. What was the key to success in the chaos that spread across borders? We looked for clues in the story of Mr. Nakatani who led this project.

He is the head of the Gifu sales office which is in charge of transporting an aircraft manufacturing company. He has been involved in a variety of transportation work. Since the Gifu office places in the client company and always stay with them. He often has consulting from the client on all aspects of transportation.

One day the "project" suddenly came upon us. The shipment of a helicopter planned by another specialized carrier was canceled the day before the scheduled date. In case of helicopter transportation, ships for cars are often used. However, for some reason, the transportation of cars was given priority on that day due to the transportation confusion, so it was not possible to offer an alternative in time for the deadline. For a special project like a helicopter, we usually spend several months to carefully plan the transportation. But if we could not find a solution immediately, the delivery deadline would not be met, and the client company would have suffered financial losses and loss of credibility.

Experience and achievements are the keys to the solution.

"K" Line Logistics has a lot of experience in shipping helicopters from overseas to Japan, but has never experienced shipping helicopters from Japan to overseas. But for Mr. Nakatani, who was trying to find a solution, he never had the option of "refusing the project" at that time. However, there was a reason why another specialized carrier gave up this project. It was the size of the helicopter. It was a medium sized aircraft with a length of about 12 meters and a height of about 4 meters. It did not fit into a standard container. Also, we had to consider two things; there wasn't enough time to meet the delivery deadline. The other was the safety of the cargo. As a conclusion, it was preferable to ship to the port closest to the place of delivery without transshipment. Unfortunately, there was an incident in which the cargo was damaged by someone while it was stored for transit in overseas ports. For the solution, they tried to find several options, but they could not find a transport ship that could meet the requirements, nor a transport aircraft that could carry a helicopter in a pallet.

In such a situation, one of our client members made a breakthrough with their many experiences.
"The person in charge suggested using a break bulk vessel, which transports steel and other materials. "Finding a break bulk vessel was a big point for us when other companies could not find an alternative. There was a ship that sailed on a schedule that met the deadline. Our company's experience made this a success," said Mr. Nakatani.

Break bulk vessels are crane carriers that were used before container shipping became popular. We can carry large items that do not fit into containers or cargo with special shapes. However, unlike break bulk vessels for cars, we had to pack the helicopter to load it on a break bulk vessel.
Finding a way to pack the helicopter is the next challenge. there is height limit on road traffic law in Japan. For cars on public roads must be 3.8 meters. There is special treatment with permission, but it would exceed the limit from the special permission height if we pack this helicopter with height 4.0 meters even packed at the factory. We are not allowed to transport a packed helicopter on public roads to the port where it will be shipped.

Mr. Nakatani said, "The special permit trucker transported this helicopter without packing by truck to the port. We packed it at the port. We agreed with the packing company in advance to take measurements at the customer's plant to prepare the packing materials. The packing company was able to bring the materials and did a smooth operation at the port.
With all these arrangements, the helicopter was easily packed in only about two hours, although it sometimes takes two to three days to pack.

Mr. Nakatani was moved and could not hide his excitement as he watched the packed helicopter being lifted and loaded onto a Break Bulk vessel. The vessel departed and sailed on schedule, and the client's helicopter was delivered on time.

A reliable expert in logistics

"Our success is based on our experience, corporate strength and the trust of our partners. They are a treasure and allow us to get out of a jam when other companies are stuck. Even in today's world where information is readily available, experience and trust must be built steadily," said Mr. Nakatani.

“K” Line Logistics' experience and corporate strength achieve breakthroughs with multiple directions even under difficult conditions are its strengths.
We have won another business opportunity in the next transportation project because we have earned the customer's trust in this project.

"I am very motivated and excited when I face the more difficult the project is. I always look at the future calmly with a broad perspective. And I would like to keep the trust of our customers as an expert who can be relied upon in any situation," said Mr. Nakatani.

There seems to be more to come.