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It appears to me that that there a a number of businesses in Hawkes Bay that import goods, especially from China. They either tend to fill up a container themselves by purchasing more than they need or lines that don't really fit with their business. Alternatively they pay a higher price to an agent to just ship a pallet or two. What about a website where importers (and possibly exporters) could cooperate with shipping and trade container space. For example company A is shipping from X on Y date and has Z m3 of space available.
The advantages would be lower shipping costs for smaller amounts which means that companies wouldn't necessarily need to buy such large quantities which would improve stock turn and cash flow.
08:45, 19.08.2010
This is a really good idea Gavin and I understand that there are similar sites in NZ for cartage of goods around NZ when the containers aren’t full. I have a friend who imports from China, mostly Navman’s & GPS and one of his biggest costs is shipping.
14:06, 20.08.2010
Agree, great idea. We bring product out from China regularly and often have to fill up a container and pay for stock upfront we don’t really need right away to make it cost effective. If there are any other Hawkes Bay businesses shipping out of Ningbo or Shanghai in a similar position who want to talk about setting up an informal collective while waiting for some skilled IT type to set up a website, please contact our MD Andrew at andrewbaker@IQideas.com