Case Study

Below illustrates how our services have benefitted some of our customers and demonstrates our versatility to handle a wide range of commodities.

Election programme:
Prior to actual elections in various developing and third world countries, Digital Registration Kits are required for pre-registration of voters, each kit which consists of digital camera, portable printer, tripods, printing paper, printer cartridges, charger, battery packs and pouches for issuing the ID cards. The cameras received require firmware updates and QC prior to kitting – just another value added service to compliment our kitting services. Supplies come from all over Asia and water managed the inbound logistics activities and making use of the free port status of Hong Kong as a logistics hub for kitting and assembly to reduce chartered airfreight volume. 100 tons air shipment was delivered in late 2009 and over 80 tons in 2010 and were distributed locally at destination in order for voters to be registered and to be given a voter ID card prior to the Election Day. water has been successful to meet the tight deadline as requested by the international agency customer and the global development organization. water has handled multiple projects for this customer and in each case the kits are evolving as technological advancements are made, the deadlines are extremely tight as international organizations are monitoring these elections and the requirement for accurate kitting is paramount as replacements cannot be found within these countries.

To manage the supply chain of one of our US customers water has been managing logistics centres in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong for weekly Buyer's Consolidations. water organizes shipments with Chinese suppliers as per the sales performance in US and selects the best shipping method to meet the consumer’s demand. Garments from different suppliers are consolidated, relabeled and loaded in such a way that the garment can be ready for store at destination. This direct-to-store practice, or so called DC bypass, enables the customer to reduce or eliminate the warehouse space used in US for sorting and distribution. To better utilize the container space for flat-packed garment, water has implemented a special loading method (sequential loading) to optimize the time for unloading and sorting (handling) - achieving an improved speed to market at a lower cost.

Retail products can be valuable but tiny. water designed and operates a specifically equipped warehouse to accommodate one of our FMCG customers. Shelving setup upon a mezzanine and epoxy floor with wireless scanners for barcode scanning, inventory location generation is the hardware used. Our sophisticated warehouse management system generates the pick list and the scanners help to ensure 100% picking accuracy. Extra security measures such as cage section, smart card access and CCTV gives our US customer confidence of cargo safety. An experienced retail team is assigned for open box (piece) picking, packing, promotional packaging. water can match your service standard as if the warehouse were being operated in-house. With our staff experienced in luxury products warehousing, water can be your best retail distribution partner without substantial investment on the supply chain setup in China or Hong Kong.

Store deliveries in Asia are more difficult that in the US or EU as many store locations do not have dedicated loading docks and street deliveries are common with the use of tail gated trucks. With less than truck load (LTL) delivery being the norm and limited storage space in stores replenishment is expected at a much more frequent level in some cases on a hourly basis. water’s experience in delivering to shop malls and street outlets with side access box trucks controlled by our sophisticated routing and scheduling system ensures just-in-time delivery is possible.
To cope the distribution requirement of a large Japanese retail food chain, water set up an advanced temperature control distribution centre to cope with daily deliveries to stores all over Hong Kong. Bi-weekly shipments received in bulk quantities from Japan must be labeled on a per piece level to comply with Hong Kong’s regulations for food safety and the new 7+1 policy on nutrition fact labels. With specially equipped facilities and transport, water's FMCG solution has been able to meet the Japanese expectations for warehousing and delivery.

Extra care is required for medical and healthcare products. water has been able to provide hygiene standards and storage environments suitable to meet the expectations of Australia and Switzerland based healthcare and medical product customers. Employing temperature and humidity control (data recorded in data logger) and by recording batch numbers and expiry dates our system operates on a FIFO (first-in-first-out) basis thus ensuring products are delivered within their shelf life. water has been able to provide a clean environment not only for storage but also value added services such as gift bundling, shrink wrapping, blister packing and promotional packaging. With our expertise in import, water manages the import of medical equipment from Europe, providing a one stop shop solution: from pick up at shipper's premise, international freight and import customs clearance acquiring the right import license which might be for domestic delivery or re-export to Asia Pacific Region at a later stage

Not all storage solutions involve neatly packed products in cartons, drums or pallets. Our 3PL team works often alongside our Project Logistics team to offer storage solutions for project cargo in the region. Such storage options require thinking outside the ‘box’ and storage in open areas with 24 hour security needs close monitoring and management.
The photo below shows just one such instance where the cargo needed to be held for a period of time – with emphasis on security and safety was paramount due to the sensitive nature of the cargo.
For more information on our Project Logistics team please click here, and for over-sized cargo storage please contact us directly.