Your trade operations department, without the headcount
Hiring a full-time trade manager for a few shipments a month makes no sense. Renting one does. I run your import-export operations end to end as a fractional manager: same ownership, a fraction of the cost.
The problem with growing trade volumes
Companies entering new markets usually improvise their trade operations. Sales negotiates the deal, an assistant books the freight, an external broker files the customs entry and nobody owns the whole chain. The result is late shipments, surprise costs and documents that do not match.
In 14 years of running trade operations I have learned that most shipment disasters are not bad luck. They are missing ownership. My service gives your supply chain exactly one owner.
What I take off your desk
Everything between the purchase order and the delivered goods:
- Order confirmation and shipment schedule management with suppliers and customers
- Freight planning and booking across sea, road and air with negotiated rates
- Complete trade documentation: invoices, packing lists, certificates of origin, EUR.1, ATR
- Customs clearance supervision for import, export and transit regimes
- Shipment tracking with proactive exception handling before delays become problems
- Weekly KPI reporting: on-time rate, cost per shipment, open issues and next actions
How the retainer works
We define your monthly shipment volume and scope, and you get a fixed monthly fee. I plug into your existing team, suppliers and systems, work under your email domain if you prefer, and report weekly. Minimum engagement is three months because real improvements show up in the second and third month.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries can you manage shipments between?
My core strength is flows into and out of Türkiye and China, and I have coordinated shipments across 55+ countries in Europe, MENA, CIS and Asia. For lanes I do not know first-hand, I say so upfront and bring in vetted local partners.
Do we need to change our freight forwarder or broker?
Not necessarily. I first audit your current partners and rates. If they perform, we keep them and I manage them. If they do not, I run a structured tender with alternatives and you decide.
How is this different from hiring a freight forwarder?
A forwarder sells transport and optimizes for their margin. I sit on your side, choose and supervise forwarders, check every invoice against the agreed rates and own the whole process including documents and customs. The forwarder moves boxes, I run your operation.