Highlights:
A customer requested separate deliveries of two “roomfuls” of giant data servers to two cities more than 250 miles apart in Japan.
Successful delivery would require precision and special care to handle sensitive, oversized shipments valued at more than $12 million when fully outfitted.
At ICAT Logistics Detroit, we knew it was time to double down on our efforts to deliver a strategic plan and execute it flawlessly.
Challenge:
The servers and components were huge and contained delicate components that required careful handling.
Secure, temperature-controlled storage was a must. So was security, to protect valuable information held by the servers.
Access to the servers was necessary. The customer’s engineers needed to update data during storage and before shipment.
Lithium-ion batteries inside the servers posed air shipping safety considerations.
At destinations, customers required secure storage and oversight.
Solution:
Dave Saladin, our export operations specialist, determined the assignment required a multi-layered, multi-faceted approach.
Servers were housed in racks eight feet tall and placed on specially selected trucks to move from Tennessee to our storage facility near Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
Secure warehouse space was arranged to meet the customers’ request for access engineers to tweak the servers’ data before being transported.
Storage included interior controls and sensors for security, surveillance, and temperature at the warehouse and throughout transport.
Saladin’s plan – call it “logistics choreography” – was a carefully calibrated sequence for moving more than 20,000 pounds to data centers in Tokyo and Osaka.
All paperwork was completed to assure air delivery, with each step communicated to the customers. Transparency is essential to the customer service culture that distinguishes ICAT Logistics Detroit.
In order to successfully deliver, the team had to remove the original packaging and customize new packaging to be able to deliver through the physical front door with specialized lift equipment.
Throughout, “we kept control and eyes on it,” said Saladin.
Our “White Glove” services were implemented to deliver a higher level of oversight and safety at both destinations in Japan. With more than a quarter-century of experience, ICAT Logistics Detroit has developed a reliable network of partners and affiliates serving more than 30,000 airports worldwide.
Big Picture:
You don’t have to think twice when it comes to selecting a specialist to move sensitive, expensive, oversized freight around the globe.
ICAT Logistics Detroit delivers experience, skills, service and a commitment to keeping customers informed each step of the way.
Add to that unmatched proficiency dealing with complex shipping challenges that require detailed planning and rigorous follow-through.
“No surprises from start to finish,” said Saladin. “You only get one shot. Our goal is to identify every possible challenge, review those with our team and clients, overpower obstacles and deliver successful solutions for customers.”