May 2020 - King Star Freight

ISO Tanks – Case of the upside down Hazardous Placards

30 May 2020
by: kingstar

I wished to share with you a case that we encountered a few years ago.

One of our regular shippers booked a shipment with us from Mundra (India) to Rotterdam with Hazardous Cargo – Ethyl Alcohol in ISO Tanks.

The shipment went off without a hitch until the time that the cargo reached the destination. The Rotterdam Port – Hazardous Inspection authority levied a penalty on the Ocean Carrier for placards being placed on the tank upside down !

The penalty was passed on by the carrier to the ISO Tank Operator and onwards to the Shipper. The penalty for this mistake was around USD 2000 (if I can recall correctly).

Upon further investigation, it was found that the shipper had instructed their transporter to affix the placards on the ISO Tank and someone in a tearing hurry did a shoddy job of it. Something as easy as affixing placards on the ISO Tank was not done correctly and it cost the shipper a huge amount of money.

Such additional costs can easily be saved if sufficient attention is given to the training of unskilled labour. Exporters must invest time and effort to develop checklists to ensure that all required steps are taken to ensure safe transportation of cargo by sea.

Points to Ponder :

Whose responsibility is it to ensure that the placards are placed correctly on the ISO Tanks ?

Are Shippers educating their vendors and subcontractors enough ?

Is there a checklist provided to the subcontractor to ensure that the shippers interest is taken care of ?

Take care to ensure that such unforeseen costs do not affect your shipments profitability.

Connect with us to learn more about shipments in ISO Tanks.

Warm Regards,

Bejoy

Sales as a Profession – What all sales professionals need to know

25 May 2020
by: kingstar

Sales as a Profession

This is my first blog post @King Star Freight Pvt Ltd and I thought it relevant to start off with sharing what I love most – Sales !

Being a sales professional has been a passion for me …

Wonderful as it is to be a Salesperson, what exactly is selling ?

Sales is the creation of a relationship.

It is the building of a bond between two individuals first and then two companies. We hear of large deals struck between XYZ Logistics and ABC Manufacturing Co. Deals of the magnitude of carrying shipments by air, sea and surface transport for large and small parcels, across various countries. What is at the very basic level of such deals ? It is the first and every other contact that the sales person makes with the Buyer to create a bond that leads to a trusted relationship. Once you trust me to solve your problems, you will open up to me and the relationship blossoms into sales for me and solutions for you.

Sales is the creation of value.

Creation of value seems like a difficult term to grasp. Simply put, ask yourself what I am able to give to the customer today that he is not already getting from his existing vendor. That extra input is the value that you have created for your customer. Remember value creation does not have to be a tangible benefit. Your response, response time, knowledge, skill, experience are all reserves that you need to dig into to create that value for your customer.

What you really sell is a Solution, not a price.

Usual trap that the salesperson gets into is the price war. A salesperson has to be a thinker. Ask yourself what is the solution that the customer is looking for, is your product or service answering that need ? Give your customer a sustainable solution to his need, the sale will happen on its own and that too at a price point that you will be comfortable with.

Good sales numbers come from good communication with your customer.

The more you talk to your customers, the more pointers you will get about the challenges and pain areas that he has to deal with. The trick is to be able to pick out these cues that are thrown up during casual conversations and work towards solving those issues for your customer. Talk and Listen to your customer, it pays off…

So young salespersons, don’t go after the numbers or targets. Chasing targets means that you are concentrating on short term achievements. Develop relationships with your prospects and genuinely care for them in a manner that it shows…. This is a no short cut approach, no doubt. It takes a lot of time, patience and perseverance. But the outcome is always a deal that stays with you.

Warm Regards,

Bejoy