Ward manages North Florida Warehouse FTZ, a general-purpose zone within FTZ No. 64 equipped to handle all types of cargo. The company works on behalf of shippers by accepting the cargo under their bond, managing the required Customs paperwork, and facilitating the shipment of the product to its final destination.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, a New-York based fashion retailer importing product into Jacksonville looked to Ward and her team for assistance with inventory management.
“With retail, you are planning orders months in advance based on what you know at the time,” said Ward. “For this customer, they needed flexibility and support to handle the large volume of product already on the water when COVID hit.”
Ward used her expertise and strong partnerships with the local CBP team to develop a unique solution that allowed the shipper to minimize demurrage costs and maintain their supply chain amidst the uncertainty within the industry. “In 30 days, we unloaded more than 600 containers of product for the customer,” said Ward, “and did it in a way that allowed them full visibility into their merchandise while it sits in our facility.”
The result is a flexible solution that allowed the shipper to address the situation quickly and maintain cost savings at a time when cash flow was critical.