Realogistics finished forwarding pure batteries from SZ to India

As Class 9 dangerous goods, the cross-border transportation of pure batteries often faces multiple challenges such as policy compliance, cost control, and timeliness guarantee. The pure battery transportation project undertaken by Realogistics this time, which was shipped from Shenzhen to India, encountered a series of tough problems due to the special nature of the goods and the complexity of cross-regional collaboration.

I. Policy and Qualification Dilemma in Domestic Transportation Channels

Lithium-ion batteries are classified as Class 9 dangerous goods. Domestic shipowners are strictly regulated by maritime policies and must transport them in accordance with dangerous goods container standards with a Dangerous Goods Packaging Certificate. Those who illegally accept such goods as general cargo will face severe penalties, so they directly rejected Realogistics' application for general cargo transportation. However, the client was unable to provide the Dangerous Goods Packaging Certificate, making it difficult to advance the dangerous goods container transportation plan. This formed a rigid impasse between policy requirements and the client's qualifications, completely blocking the domestic transportation channels planned by Realogistics.

II. Cost Overrun Problem of Alternative Transportation Schemes

Although the two alternative schemes proposed by the shipowners could avoid the qualification issue, both significantly exceeded the budget: first, dangerous goods container transportation, whose comprehensive cost was 30%-50% higher than that of general cargo; second, OOCL reefer container transportation for general cargo, with a cost increase of more than 40%, plus hidden costs such as demurrage fees and temperature control fees. This was completely contrary to Realogistics' core service requirement of "cost saving" for the project, putting Realogistics in a dilemma where "compliance clearance and cost control could not be balanced".

III. Communication and Timeliness Pressure in Cooperation with Hong Kong Shipowners

To break through the predicament, the Realogistics team turned to Hong Kong shipowners for cooperation, which required providing more than ten accurate documents including UN38.3 Test Report and Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). Due to the particularity of cross-regional communication, the document verification process experienced repeated delays, and it had to go through the shipowner's three-level approval process, which took a full week. Any delay in any link would directly affect the container loading plan on September 17th, exposing Realogistics to the dual risks of "failure in space application and overtime in container loading".

IV. Potential Risks in Compliance Connection of Shenzhen-Hong Kong Cross-Border Transportation

The transportation process of the project required completing general cargo customs declaration in Shenzhen first, then transporting to Hong Kong for container return, during which it was necessary to deal with inspections by customs authorities of both places. If there was any inconsistency between the customs declaration documents submitted by Realogistics and the approval information of the Hong Kong shipowner, or if the customs questioned the battery properties, the inspection might fail, requiring container unpacking and re-declaration. This would directly affect the departure plan on September 26th, bringing potential risks of "poor connection between general cargo declaration and cross-customs inspection" to Realogistics.

V. Game Between Cost and Timeliness of Container Guarantee Service

After returning the container, it was necessary to apply for container guarantee service: if not applied, the shipment might be delayed due to tight terminal space; if applied, Realogistics had to negotiate additional fees with the shipowner, which was likely to exceed the budget. Meanwhile, the approval of the container guarantee application needed to be completed within 24 hours. If the approval failed, Realogistics had to urgently adjust the transportation plan, eventually falling into the final game where "container guarantee cost and departure timeliness were difficult to balance".

Conclusion

Faced with the above multiple challenges, the Realogistics project team successfully overcame the difficulties and completed the transportation task of the batch of pure batteries by accurately controlling the risks in each link, efficiently coordinating multi-party resources, and timely optimizing the transportation strategy, demonstrating professional cross-border logistics service capabilities.

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Realogistics International Group Co., Ltd. Established in 2012 in Hong Kong.