At the end of 2024, during the Red Zone and annual importation licensing renewal periods, the Partnership for Supply Chain Management (PFSCM) collaborated with freight forwarding partners and custom clearing agents to expedite the delivery and customs clearing processes of two urgent shipments cold chain and frozen next-generation sequencing products due to Nigeria before 31 December.
PFSCM Senior Logistics Specialist Lucas de Aguiar explains that shipping health products to Nigeria around mid-December carries some increased risks.
“During this busy holiday period, air cargo space is limited, and for Nigeria specifically, licenses required for the importation of certain health products expire at the end of the year, meaning products covered under that license need to arrive in-country and be cleared in a short timeframe while the licenses are still valid.”
He adds that annual license renewals generally can only happen in January and may take a few weeks to complete.
“If products arrive in-country during that renewal period, there is an increased risk of detainment resulting in detention charges and a decline in the remaining product shelf life.
“Managing this period-specific risk was critical to us, as our shipments, though not a large volume, were fragile, expensive and time and temperature-sensitive.”
De Aguair continues that despite planning for this busy period, procurement services agents must always accommodate late orders and navigate common delays and supply chain disruptions.
“Supply chain management is dynamic and fast-changing, and we are constantly responding to unique challenges and working to overcome last-minute changes to best support our clients, who operate in demanding environments.”
He notes that in the case of the two December 2024 shipments, PFSCM navigated several complexities, including a delay in receiving the products, limited air-freight availability, and other supply chain pressures caused by the Red Zone period.
He says PFSCM’s position as a 4PL overseeing the whole supply chain enabled the organization to tap into its diverse freight forwarding base to tailor a rapid logistics solution that brought together the resources and expertise of two freighters and a stand-alone customs clearance agent.
“When a product delay pushed our transport plan into mid-December, we responded rapidly by allocating the shipments to a freight forwarder who could deliver promptly, we leased data loggers from another freighter who had them available at that time, and we assigned our own customs clearing agent to speed up the process.”
Overall, PFSCM achieved exceptionally short turnarounds. The negotiations for the air cargo and data loggers were completed around mid-December, and just about a week later, the health products were delivered at the airport and released immediately to be customs cleared in the client’s warehouse – all before Christmas and well before the 31 December deadline.
“This was an exceptional shipment success in the sense that we were dealing with product delays and limited flight options at the beginning of December, and in about just two weeks, we managed to arrange a custom transport solution that ensured the more than 20 boxes of time and temperature-sensitive products reached their destination promptly.”
De Aguiar attributes PFSCM success to the experience and professionalism of its 3PLs and customs clearing agents network.
He adds that PFSCM’s Strategic Advisor in Nigeria and the team overseeing upstream logistics from the Netherlands have, throughout the years, gained invaluable insights into Nigeria’s importation environment and have put systems, processes, and tools in place to build strong relationships with in-country clients and suppliers.
“Nigeria is one of our largest clients, and we have invested in human resources in the country, extensively mapped importation procedures, educated suppliers on the importation of health products, and spent a lot of time understanding our client’s needs and coordinating with stakeholders like customs clearing agents to align processes to reduce lead times,” concludes de Aguiar.