Would you like to prepare as best you can for air transport? Would you like to avoid annoying and unnecessary costs and delays? It’s not complicated at all! Our general advice is to be informed, plan ahead, and maintain a regular dialogue with all parties involved. This article will cover three simple steps and tell you how to follow them in order to optimise your logistics supply chain.
Let’s get started:
#1 INFORMATION: Be up to date regarding your logistics supply chain.
With the fast growth of e-commerce in the last decade, air transport has become a key element in the logistics supply chain for many companies and organisations. You should know that this type of transport (just like other types) only works smoothly if you are fully informed about certain influential factors and circumstances. We recommend that you keep yourself informed of local holidays and public holidays in the regions you are shipping to.
Take China, for example, because it is an important country for many of our clients.
Even if you are in daily contact with China, it is easy to forget when their cultural celebrations or peak logistical periods begin and end. To help you with this, we have prepared a list of Chinese holidays and public holidays, which you can find at the end of the article. Of course, you should be aware of this information regarding all of the important logistic markets!
#2 PLANNING: Make sure you plan your air transport in time.
Once you are aware of all the important information, you should also know how to use this information if you want to avoid certain additional, unnecessary costs or annoying delays.
This may sound complicated at first, but it really isn’t! If you are familiar with the dates of the scheduled air transport, simply compare them with the information available to you and then modify the schedule to allow for any possible delays.
Make sure you don’t leave this for the last minute! It is usually a good starting point to book air transport shipments at least two weeks in advance. Unfortunately, there are peak seasons when you should expect a higher demand, when transport prices can also be higher. It is possible, that if you want a guaranteed space on a given day, it will mean extra cost.
We take care of everything! We are following market developments on a daily basis to help our customers plan their delivery schedules. This will facilitate the prevention of potential obstacles and unforeseen costs.
#3 COMMUNICATION: maintaining regular communication with all participants in your logistics supply chain
Regular communication = fewer misunderstandings! Continuous and consistent dialogue with the supplier or manufacturer reduces the risk of last-minute surprises. This way, you will also be able to provide your supply forwarder with information on the expected quantity and/or date of the air shipment.
If the logistical service provider is constantly informed of possible changes, they can plan the transport more precisely. Which means that, that at the end of the day, all parties experience a smoother goods flow and fewer delays, not to mention that the budget also becomes easier to calculate.
The optimized shipping calendar ensures that everything goes smoothly.
Keep these three simple steps in mind:
# 1 gathering information,
# 2 planning and
# 3 communication
+ 1 Proper packaging is guaranteed future investment
- Avoid disruptions: arrange the necessary labels
- When choosing the packaging material, consider the maximum weight and size guidelines
- Make sure the packaging is properly sealed
- The weight of the cargo is an important factor: use only as much packaging as is really needed
- Forget broken, overused pallets, damaged boxes and wooden crates
If you take our advice, everything will go smoothly!
If you need safe and cost-effective packaging for air transport, please do not hesitate to contact us!
China 2020 HOLIDAYS – CALENDAR
Use the following 2020 calendar only as a guide
| Date | Weekdays | Holiday | Type of event |
| 1 January | Wednesday | New Year’s day | National holiday |
| 19 January | Sunday | Special Working Day | Working day on weekend |
| 24 January | Friday | Spring Festival Eve | National holiday |
| 25 January | Saturday | Chinese New Year | National holiday |
| 26 January | Sunday | Spring Festival Golden Week | National holiday |
| 27 January | Monday | Spring Festival Golden Week | National holiday |
| 28 January | Tuesday | Spring Festival Golden Week | National holiday |
| 29 January | Wednesday | Spring Festival Golden Week | National holiday |
| 30 January | Thursday | Spring Festival Golden Week | National holiday |
| 1 February | Saturday | Special Working Day | Working day on weekend |
| 8 February | Saturday | Lantern Festival | Memorial day |
| 24 February | Monday | Zhonghe Festival | Memorial day |
| 8 March | Sunday | International Women’s Day | Half-day holiday |
| 12 March | Thursday | Arbor Day | Memorial day |
| 20 March | Friday | March Equinox | Season |
| 4 April | Saturday | Qing Ming Jie | National holiday |
| 5 April | Sunday | Qing Ming Jie Holiday | National holiday |
| 6 April | Monday | Qing Ming Jie Holiday | National holiday |
| 26 April | Sunday | Special Working Day | Working day on weekend |
| 1 May | Friday | Labor Day | National holiday |
| 2 May | Saturday | Labor Day | National holiday |
| 3 May | Sunday | Labor Day | National holiday |
| 4 May | Monday | Labor Day | National holiday |
| 4 May | Monday | Youth Day | Half-day holiday |
| 5 | Tuesday | Labor Day | National holiday |
| 9 May | Saturday | Special Working Day | Working day on weekend |
| 1 June | Monday | Children’s day | National holiday |
| 21 June | Sunday | June Solstice | Season |
| 25 June | Thursday | Dragon Boat Festival | National holiday |
| 26 June | Friday | Dragon Boat Festival | National holiday |
| 27 June | Saturday | Dragon Boat Festival | National holiday |
| 28 June | Sunday | Special Working Day | Working day on weekend |
| 1 July | Wednesday | Founding Day of The Communist Party | Memorial day |
| 11 July | Saturday | Maritime Day | Memorial day |
| 1 August | Saturday | Army Day | National holiday |
| August 25 | Tuesday | Chinese Valentine’s day | Memorial day |
| 2 September | Wednesday | Spirit Festival | Memorial day |
| 10 September | Thursday | Teacher’s Day | Memorial day |
| 22 September | Tuesday | September Equinox | Season |
| 27 September | Sunday | Special Working Day | Working day on weekend |
| 1 October | Thursday | National Day | National holiday |
| 1 October | Thursday | Autumn Festival | National holiday |
| 2 October | Friday | National Holiday Gold Week | National holiday |
| 3 October | Saturday | National Holiday Gold Week | National holiday |
| 4 October | Sunday | National Holiday Gold Week | National holiday |
| 5 October | Monday | National Holiday Gold Week | National holiday |
| 6 October | Tuesday | National Holiday Gold Week | National holiday |
| 7 October | Wednesday | National Holiday Gold Week | National holiday |
| 8 October | Thursday | National Holiday Gold Week | National holiday |
| 10 October | Saturday | Special Working Day | Working day on weekend |
| 25 October | Sunday | Double Ninth Festival | Memorial day |
| 8 October | Sunday | Journalists’ Day | Memorial day |
| 21 December | Monday | December Solstice | Season |
| 25 December | Friday | Christmas Day | Memorial day |
