ISSUE 1 2011


NETHERLANdS


You get what you pay for in shipping, as in most other areas of business, and you should be suspicious of anyone offering infeasibly low freight rates says Dynasty Shipping Europe director, Gerry Snijders. “Other people offer very low freight rates, but then you discover that there’s a huge charge for stripping the container, or a ‘China import fee’.” Often, what looks like a bargain basement rate is inflated to the point that it is more expensive than a reputable operator, but it makes it hard for the more transparent and honest NVOCCS to compete, complains Snijders. Dynasty, together with its


sister company in Hong Kong and Shenzhen – which in turn has branch offices in Xiamen, Ningbo, Shanghai, Qingdao and Tianjin and Shenzhen – operate around 10,000 containers a year from the Far East to Europe. Dynasty makes a point of only consolidating groupage


cargo with its own customers’ cargo, and not with freight from other forwarders. “It’s the sort of service our customers would expect from us,” says Snijders. “We also ensure that we combine no more than two different ports per box. We also try to ensure that we deliver two days at the latest after the ship’s arrival.” Dynasty has also developed


some niche services, including temperature-controlled delivery of Bonsai trees and other plants. “We import maybe 2- 3,000 containerloads a year from China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia. They have to be kept at 14 degrees Celcius, and there’s also a lot of extra work in terms of documentation, health controls. The Dutch customs have a very good service whereby health and customs inspections are combined together, which is a big advantage.” Another customer even imports rockery stone. “In fact,


Look – no tanks


Global Liners is a company that does exactly what its name describes – but it is not an international shipping company. Instead, it provides the flexitanks and dry liners used to transform standard dry-van containers into carriers of bulk liquids and solids respectively. Managing director Maarten


van der Kleij set up the company, which he runs with his daughter in Rhoon south of Rotterdam in 2003, after spotting a gap in the market. “We provide liners and flexitanks on a ‘project’ basis, arranging transport, the shipping, delivery at the other end and final disposal.” While it is possible to ask a shipping line to provide this type of equipment, Maarten van der Kleij reckons that he can offer a better service as he is aware of any possible pitfalls. Containers need to be suitable – free of damage and protrusions and so on – and shipping line staff are not always aware of this. Flexitanks and dry liners are


generally single-use items, and are designed for easy recycling, though some have reportedly been pressed into use as bouncy castles in various parts if the world. Reusing them for freight is difficult, even for the same commodity as consignees are liable to reject cargoes if traces of the previous one contaminate the new one. They are increasingly being used for a wide range


of products including liquid foodstuffs,


non-hazardous


chemicals, grain and even PVC granules as an alternative to bulk or tanktainers. The latter need dedicated traffic flows to be cost effective or cleaning in between different consignments whereas a dry van container can be returned to the shipping comppany’s normal box pool once the bag has been removed. This makes them ideal for bulk commodity flows where there is no suitable rturn traffic. They also compete to some


extent with bulk shipping, says Van der Kleij. Many consignees would rather take delivery of product in smaller amounts over the year rather than in one large load, because of storage issues. He adds: “The tanktainer operators were worried by flexitanks, but now they themselves also offer them.” Using a disposable flexitank


can be cheaper than cleaning a tanktainer after it has been used for something like latex. Also, many operators are reluctant to send specialised tank equipment into often remote parts of the developing world where many commodities originate. Global Liners can arrange


the shipping of the container, but equally will leave it in the hands of the shipper if desired. The company has a joint marketing deal with Slavenburg & Huyser and the two companies make joint presentations to customers.


it’s easier to say what we don’t import from China than what we do,” Snijders says. In the return direction, Dynasty also moves potting soil from Holland to China. The Dynasty companies negotiate collectively with shipping lines, which gives them an advantage in terms of prices and space guarantees. While not operating on the scale of a Schenkers or Kuehne & Nagel, it


pays to have six-month deals in place with the major carriers. Snijders comments: “Right


now, the market is not very hot, but the moment the demand for Spring seasonal products starts, we expect it will get a lot tighter. Consumers haven’t been buying these last 3-4 months, but then neither have the buyers for the retailers – and we keep in close touch with the big department stores. It’s unavoidable that


they are going to have to start buying again, and then we expect demand to tighten considerably.” Some goods seem to be recession-proof, or maybe even benefit from the downturn. Craft and hobby products are in demand – perhaps people have time on their hands and can afford the few euros that these products cost – while school supplies are always steady.


23 Dynasty Shipping – transparency is the name of the game


Dynasty is also running a distribution for the ‘Kikkerland’ range of novelty products. Started up initially in the US by a Dutch national – the name translates as ‘Frogland’, the Dutch peoples’ own nickname for their country - products are also now being exported to Europe. Dynasty handles all the quality control and logistics, both into bricks and mortar retailers and for internet sales.


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