Client Background
A ceramics/building materials enterprise in Foshan, mainly dealing in ceramic tiles and sanitary ware, exporting to the European market, with Rotterdam in the Netherlands as its European distribution hub. Foshan is one of the most important ceramic industry bases in China, with large ceramic export volumes and mature channels. As the largest port in Europe, Rotterdam Port has dense shipping routes and a well-established distribution network, enabling efficient distribution to the Netherlands and neighboring countries after cargo arrives.
The customer's China-Europe business is mainly full-container exports, mostly 40HQ, but the demand for logistics services goes beyond "transport to the port of destination": European customers usually require door-to-door delivery, as well as a one-stop service covering export customs declaration, destination customs clearance, and delivery. Previously, the customer split these steps, with different service providers handling export customs declaration, ocean freight booking, destination customs clearance, and delivery. The connections between steps were not smooth, documentation required repeated handling, and both overall transit time and damage conditions were unsatisfactory.
For ceramics/building materials exporters, the key to dual-clearance door-to-door service is "stable handling and smooth clearance": ceramics are heavy and fragile, so the stability of loading and transport directly determines the damage rate; the EU has high compliance requirements and strict document review for import customs clearance of building materials. Whether the full-package dual-clearance service can be handled under one order from start to finish directly determines the customer's experience and costs.
Key Challenges
Under the old model, the challenges centered on four aspects:
- Damage risk for fragile heavy cargo: Tiles and sanitary ware are both heavy and fragile. Previously, packaging standards were inconsistent and container reinforcement was insufficient, resulting in cases of whole cartons of tiles being chipped or broken, and sanitary ware with damaged corners during transport, leading to a relatively high damage rate.
- Container loading weight vs. space trade-off: Ceramic heavy goods have high weight per unit volume, so container loading must balance load limits and space utilization. Previously, loading was not systematically planned, resulting in situations close to overweight or wasted space.
- Poor coordination in dual customs clearance: Export declaration and destination port clearance were handled by different service providers. EU building materials require detailed clearance documents at the destination port (with many declaration items such as product name, material, specification, and origin). Previously, incomplete or inconsistent declarations led to queuing and repeated supplemental submissions after arrival.
- Unstable door-to-door delivery: After arrival at Rotterdam, clearance, delivery, and unloading were arranged by customers themselves, making delivery times uncontrollable and leading to frequent chasing from European customers.
Among these challenges, damage control and smooth dual customs clearance are the two that customers care most about — ceramic export gross margins are directly affected by damage, and smooth dual clearance determines whether door-to-door service can truly achieve "one order handled end-to-end."
Transport Requirements
- Route: Foshan → Rotterdam Port, Netherlands, full-container ocean freight, door-to-door (export customs declaration + destination customs clearance + delivery and unloading in place);
- Volume: 5–8 x 40HQ per month, increasing to 8–10 in peak season (Sep–Nov);
- Lead time: 25–30 days from container loading to port arrival; delivery and unloading within 2–4 days after destination clearance;
- Customs: Export customs declaration + destination customs clearance fully included (dual clearance), with EU building materials import declaration documents pre-reviewed;
- Special requirements: Tiles and sanitary ware to be palletized when loading; heavy cargo to be controlled for container weight distribution; fragile items to be reinforced; moisture-proof treatment; destination delivery covers Rotterdam and surrounding areas, with unloading in place;
- Settlement and insurance: Settlement per container with clear billing; transportation insurance covers the ocean freight segment and the delivery/unloading segment.
The customer's core need is "one order to the end": export customs declaration, ocean freight, destination customs clearance, delivery, and unloading are all coordinated by Bofeng. The customer only needs to prepare the goods; the rest of the process is fully managed and traceable for each shipment.
Solution
Bofeng customizes for customers a full-container door-to-door solution of "heavy cargo container loading + full-package dual clearance + destination port delivery":
- Reinforced loading for fragile and heavy cargo: Loading engineers formulate a container loading plan based on the characteristics of ceramic tiles and sanitary ware — tiles are palletized, sanitary ware is individually reinforced and cushioned, heavy cargo is evenly distributed to control the container's center of gravity, and on-site supervision during loading reduces collision damage in transit; meanwhile, both the 40HQ weight limit and space utilization are considered, filling each container to capacity without exceeding weight limits;
- One-stop full-package dual clearance: Export customs declaration and destination port customs clearance are coordinated by Bofeng — the export side completes declarations according to the nature of the customer's goods, while the import side pre-reviews EU building-material declaration documents (checking item by item: product name, material, specification, origin, etc.), and after arrival, a local customs broker completes import clearance. The customer does not need to deal with two separate customs declaration systems;
- Preferred sailing schedules and space locking: Direct sailing schedules from Foshan to Rotterdam are matched, and space is locked in advance during peak season, ensuring stable voyage and predictable arrival times;
- Destination port delivery and unloading in place: After clearance upon arrival in Rotterdam, the local delivery fleet picks up, delivers, and unloads the goods in place as planned, covering receiving points in Rotterdam and nearby areas. Delivery receipts are returned, and European customers' signatures confirm receipt clearly;
- End-to-end visibility: The status of each node — export customs declaration, container loading, sailing, arrival, customs clearance, delivery, and unloading — is synchronized in the system, with automatic alerts for exceptions and dedicated follow-up. To learn more about the full service scope of this route, please refer to the China-Netherlands International Ocean Freight Logistics Line and the Complete Export Ocean Shipping Process.
This solution links the "export customs declaration, ocean shipping, destination port clearance, and delivery" of ceramic exports to Europe into one complete chain, coordinated end-to-end by Bofeng under a single order: the customer is responsible for preparing the goods according to the plan, while dual clearance and delivery are fully covered. For customers, ceramics are no longer "done once shipped to the port," but rather "delivered to the customer's warehouse and unloaded in place," with someone responsible for the entire process and traceable for every batch.
Results
| Metric | Before Cooperation | After Cooperation | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transport damage rate | 3% | 0.8% | Container loading reinforcement |
| Average total transit time | Baseline | Shortened by 20% | Integrated dual customs clearance |
| Customs clearance exception rate | 9% | 2% | Document pre-review |
| Operations manpower | Multi-point coordination | All-inclusive dual customs clearance | Save 60% |
Data statement: The above are data from this case (data as of July 2026, based on actual shipment batches during the cooperation period), reflecting the performance of this specific case during the cooperation period and not constituting a service commitment; this case is anonymized and adapted from actual carriage experience, and client information has been concealed as authorized.
After the cooperation, the transport damage rate for tiles and sanitary ware dropped from 3% to 0.8%, significantly reducing port rework and claims. Export customs declaration and destination-port customs clearance are now handled under one end-to-end document, cutting total transit time by about 20% and giving European customers reliable arrivals. Destination-port clearance documents are pre-reviewed in advance, markedly lowering the customs clearance exception rate. Previously, the customer had to coordinate with multiple parties for export customs declaration, ocean freight, customs clearance, and delivery; now Bofeng manages everything, greatly saving operational manpower. European customers have also shifted from "chasing shipments" to "receiving goods on schedule."
The value of this solution lies in integrating the multi-stage services of ceramic exports to Europe into a single-point "all-inclusive dual customs clearance" service: the customer resolves all cross-border logistics through one window, with dedicated staff handling the most troublesome aspects—damage, customs clearance, and delivery. For ceramics and building materials companies that also export to Europe and require full destination-port customs clearance and delivery, this combination of "container loading reinforcement + integrated dual customs clearance + unloading in place" is worth considering. This solution is suitable for export companies shipping full container loads that need full destination-port customs clearance and delivery; for customers with low customs clearance requirements who can have the consignee clear customs themselves, the port-to-door model is more economical.
The two parties have entered the second year of cooperation, and the above data are case records from continuous shipments over the past 12 months.
Client Testimonial
“Previously, export customs declaration, clearance, and delivery required dealing with several companies, and the documents were a hassle to process back and forth, while ceramics often got chipped. Now with dual customs clearance fully covered in one window, container loading and reinforcement are done properly, damage has decreased, European clients receive goods more reliably, and we just need to prepare stock—it saves us a lot of worry.”
— Bofeng Logistics · International Shipping customer feedback (published with authorization and desensitized)
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