Worth the weight

We soon decided an onboard courier service was the best way to transport the cargo – making it one of the biggest-ever OBC operations. We sent the client a detailed quote within an hour of receiving the initial enquiry. Later that day, our OBC department sent 10 of our highest status couriers and a supervisor from Frankfurt to Hong Kong, using their credentials to save on weight charges and increase the likelihood of airlines accepting such a large shipment. An additional 15 couriers were sent from Asia Pacific to meet them in Hong Kong.

The next morning, the consignment was collected from Zhongshan in two 12-tonne trucks and cleared at customs in Shenzen, before the parts were repacked into 200 bags holding 32kg each. The first six onboard couriers left for Portugal via Frankfurt, followed by 14 more couriers the next day flying via Amsterdam and Munich. The remaining consignment left the next morning with the final five fliers, travelling via Amsterdam.

All 186 boxes of spare parts arrived in Portugal within 72 hours of collection, with no bags missing. Our experienced team oversaw the complex operation from start to finish, overcoming logistical obstacles such as moving some of the bags to a supervised garage when Porto Airport ran out of storage space while customs processed the consignment.