Retailsale comments about LCL rail transport from China

28 November 2018

Kevin is general manager at Retailsale. His company delivers products which are imported from China to the business-to-business market. Previously, this was always arranged via airfreight, but the transport costs were high, and the margins were small. This was a reason for Kevin to search for an alternative, which he found in rail transport.

Speed versus costs

Kevin likes to work with airfreight because of its speed and reliability. Besides this, the transport includes a door-to-door service. However, the costs are high, which means that there is not much of a margin left.

Kevin: “With the higher transport costs of airfreight, there was only a small margin left. That is why I had to look for another solution. I did not want to compromise too much on the delivery time. And it was important to me that everything would be delivered to my door.”

Quite quickly, he found the option of rail transport via the Silk Route. From Yantian and via Chengdu, there is a fast connection to Tilburg. This means that the goods arrive in the Netherlands within 16 days.

Kevin: “I was quite anxious to switch away from airfreight. With rail transport, the route is a lot longer. Would I still be receiving my products without worries and in time? Due to the much lower costs and the promised speed of rail transport, I was persuaded to give this a try.”

Easy scheduling thanks to status updates

For many customers, it is very important to know what they can expect. If they don’t, there is no way they can maintain a tight schedule. That is no different for Retailsale; because their storage space is limited, they need to know exactly when the goods arrive. That is why we send standard status updates at every major milestone, and there is one contact person for all questions.

Kevin: ‘Thanks to the status updates, I always know where my consignment is. That works like a treat. Sometimes, I have a question about something. Like recently, when I wanted to change the delivery day. I called Martin, and it was arranged straight away. I really like that flexibility!”

It is certainly worth repeating

In the meantime, Retailsale has been importing from China via LCL rail transport several times. Looking back on this, it has brought them a lot.

Kevin: “Rail transport has proved ideal for me, especially because of the speed and costs. Besides, the selection of delivery days gives me a bit more flexibility when scheduling. I have also been able to reduce my transport costs, which was of course my starting point. Overall, I am very satisfied. Meanwhile, I have recommended rail transport to a befriended entrepreneur.”

Would you like to know more about rail transport from China?

Would you like to know more about rail transport from China via the New Silk Route? Please visit our page or contact us today.