Toys from India to Riga: Air from Delhi for the Launch, LCL Sea from Nhava Sheva for the Stock

Shipment Facts

The Challenge

The company was preparing a toy launch in Latvia and needed a small quantity on hand before the main stock could arrive by sea. Sending the whole order by air would have been costly for a bulky, light product, while waiting for everything by sea would have pushed the launch back. The goods were leaving India from two points, Delhi and Mumbai, so each leg needed its own origin handling, its own import declaration in Latvia and a coordinated delivery in Riga. On the air leg the cartons were large and light, which meant the chargeable weight would be set by volume, not by the scale.

How Unicore Handled It

• Booked the launch quantity as air freight from Delhi (DEL) to Riga (RIX): 5 cartons of 72×50×40 cm, 44.95 kg actual weight.
• Calculated the chargeable weight up front: the 5 cartons occupy 0.72 m³, which at the standard 1:6,000 air-freight ratio is 120 kg volumetric, so the shipment was charged at 120 kg rather than the 44.95 kg on the scale.
• Booked the main stock as LCL groupage from Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva, Mumbai) to Riga: 21 cartons, 3.05 m³, 182.85 kg, sharing a 40'HC container with other importers' cargo.
• Arranged cargo insurance for the LCL sea leg.
• Lodged the import declaration in Latvia for each leg and delivered both consignments to the customer in Riga.

The Result

• Launch quantity in Riga by air while the main stock followed by sea, without paying air rates on the whole order.
• Sea leg moved 3.05 m³ / 182.85 kg as LCL, paying only for the space used inside a shared 40'HC instead of a full container.
• Both consignments cleared import customs in Latvia and reached the customer in Riga through one forwarder.