Shifting from “passive sales” to “proactive sales” by partnering with enterprising Sync Logistics! (Shinkyo Transportation Co., Ltd.)

A partner company of Sync Logistics and based at Sakai Senboku Port in Osaka, port transport company Shinkyo Transportation Co., Ltd. offers used car container vanning and customs clearance services. According to them, they have shifted their intra-company approach of “passive sales” to “proactive sales” after partnering with proactive Sync Logistics.

We asked Mr. Suguru Miyanomae of the Sales Department about the operations contracted by Sync Logistics and the effects of their partnership.

Contracted to Handle 800 Vehicles’ Worth of Container Vanning per Month and to Prepare Customs Clearance Documents

Company profile and description of business

We have a bonded area (yard) at Sakai Senboku Port in Osaka, and we offer container vanning, shipping, preparing customs clearance documents and other port transport services.

Our bonded area is near the wharf, a location essential for imports and exports. Only those who have obtained a port transport business license such as our company can rent a bonded area. Therefore, we handle the cargo of import/export companies such as forwarders that do not have a license, and we take care of all the necessary import/export operations on their behalf.

For cargo, we mainly handle used cars and steel materials, and we also import/export of scrap iron and steel.

The impact of COVID-19

Many forwarders were hit hard by the pandemic, and for a time, we also experienced a steep drop in the number of vehicles we usually handle. We were concerned about Sync Logistics because they specialize in the export of used vehicles, but unexpectedly, they quickly resumed exports to Mongolia, and their operations went back to normal by the summer of 2020, which was a surprise.

One of the reasons for their quick return to normal was the early recovery of China, the transit country to Mongolia. But I think the primary factor was their large network of local agents in China and Mongolia, which allowed them to get local information quickly and act accordingly.

While all yards basically stopped all exports, Mr. Ichiki was busy working and talking to those at the destination country, which I found impressive.

Smoothly Managing Complex Operations Using Sync Logistics’ System

Structure of the partnership and work flow

We have 2 operations staff members and 5 onsite (yard) staff members working on Sync Logistics’ requests, while they have 2 employees for operations and 3 onsite staff in Fukuoka. We have a total of 12 people working together every day in order to export 800 vehicles per month.

This is the general workflow. First, Sync Logistics brings the used cars they’ve gathered from shippers into our yard. After the vehicles enter the yard, Sync Logistics sends an export request to our operations staff. Then, the onsite staff of both companies check the vehicles, take photos, and make preparations for customs clearance. Operations staff then prepare advance documents necessary for customs clearance and shipping such as dock receipts, and submit them to the shipping company and others.

Sync Logistics handles customs clearance, and vanning begins once the export permit is granted. In transport via RORO vessels, the vehicles are brought to a designated area on the wharf where the ship will dock. Exporting used vehicles is complex with many processes and people involved, but because progress and documents are managed using the La-Plus system developed by Sync Logistics, our work proceeds smoothly.

Advantages of La-Plus

Both our operations and onsite staff use La-Plus every day because it has various features that make managing progress more efficient.

For example, when Sync Logistics inputs information and uploads documents for a request, and then presses the “confirm” button, a request email is automatically sent to us. When we receive the email, our staff checks La-Plus and prepares documents for customs clearance and other operations based on the data in La-Plus.

We can also upload documents we have prepared, vehicle photos, and other information which can be retrieved anytime using the search function. Because they can be searched easily, we sometimes look for similar requests in the past when vanning. The onscreen marking function of documents when they are uploaded or downloaded is also useful. This lets us see at a glance the status of documents that need to be collated by the customs clearance date. Also, because Sync Logistics handles customs clearance properly, we can always meet our deadlines.

If we handled these documents back and forth through email, managing them can easily become complicated, so we are very grateful for La-Plus which allows us to work efficiently.

Being Able to Shift from “Passive Sales” to “Proactive Sales”

Impressions of Sync Logistics and the effects of our partnership

Sync Logistics is forward-thinking and flexible, bringing a breath of fresh air to port industry.

Our company has been positively stimulated by Sync Logistics, which is an enterprising and determined company. Originally, we had a “passive sales” approach, and we were not on an expanding growth kind of track. But thanks to Sync Logistics breaking barriers and their efforts to increase business, our intra-company mindset has shifted to a more proactive direction.

I myself have learned a lot from Sync Logistics. I am now more aggressive when negotiating with the port authority for yard expansion, or when making proposals to shippers. Because there aren’t any port operators that want to expand their yards these days, the port authority was surprised, saying I’m the only one who’s negotiating for such a thing.

There are no guarantees in the used car export business, as exports can suddenly cease due to conditions in the destination country. Therefore, it’s a risk for us to rent more land for our yard in the medium to long term. But thanks to the support of enterprising clients such as Sync Logistics, we are able to hedge our risks by expanding our business to products other than used cars.

Prospects for future business

In the future, it seems that Sync Logistics will branch into other fields other than used cars. We would like to collaborate with them using our strengths, for example, utilizing bonded areas.

I believe if we team up and combine our strengths, we can expect our businesses to expand. As business partners, we would like to deepen our relationship while doing our best in exporting used cars.

■Company Profile

Company name: Shinkyo Transportation Co., Ltd.
Description of business: Type 1 general harbor transport (limited, number 1059)
　　　　　　Warehousing (port warehouse number 208)
　　　　　　Vehicle transport
　　　　　　Ocean-going shipping
　　　　　　Plant export packaging
　　　　　　Sales, import and export of steel materials
　　　　　　Vehicle forwarding (overland transport number 1233)
　　　　　　Various ancillary businesses

Number of employees: 50
URL：http://shinkyo-trport.co.jp/