Joma Jewellery & Katie Loxton
Overview
Hemisphere has supported Joma Jewellery & Katie Loxton with their international logistics requirements for a number of years. The fast-growing fashion brands sell lifestyle, giftware and jewellery products through a number of channels including their websites and branded stores in Carlisle and Chichester, as well as third-party sellers such as Amazon and independent high-street outlets.
A seasonal program operates twice a year, whereby HFS collects and consolidates cargo from 16 different suppliers in China and then ships to the client’s warehouses in the UK & USA. Ocean consolidations are constructed based on the port of loading in China, with the aim of minimising the number of consolidations while avoiding any delays to keep costs low.
Occasionally cargo is required more urgently, and similar air freight consolidations are arranged. All shipments are tracked using a method developed with the customer, with progress updates supplied for each consolidation. With the two seasons and monthly top-up orders, we typically coordinate 50 annual shipments to the UK and 30 to the USA.
Sea Freight Consolidation
One of our ocean freight consolidations for Joma Jewellery involved six different shippers in Ningbo, China, encompassing a mix of Incoterms. With two 40-foot containers to fill, the challenge was to make sure all cargo was ready at roughly the same time with export documentation complete.
Once a consolidation container is booked, it is more efficient to add extra shippers to the consignment in order to make use of the space. The additional cost of doing this is minimal, and it effectively halves the cost of sending a shipment by LCL (less-than-container-load).
What they said
Air Freight Consolidation
The cost of air freight is determined by both the physical weight and volume of cargo, so consolidating cargo into a single shipment can deliver significant benefits. With a recent air freight consignment for Katie Loxton, we managed to ship three shippers’ goods as a single shipment, thus lowering the overall cost for the client.
Consolidation cargo can also reduce landside charges and per shipment charges, which is why combining smaller shipment makes so much sense.
Results
Both Hemisphere and Joma Jewellery have learned how each other works, and as each season comes to an end, we take the time to review what worked and what didn’t, with a view to improving service the following season.
With our own staff in China, we are able to add value to the client by booking multiple shipments via different modes – completing the import process through our operations teams. A dedicated account manager oversees and spots opportunities for the customer, with the aim of keeping the project moving whilst trying to save money and switch from ocean to air freight where circumstances change.
