Vestfrost Solutions supplies the world with vaccine coolers – including the Argentinian jungle

Special delivery conditions place high demands on communication

In particular, it was important to formulate a detailed plan that could be handed over to Blue Water's agent in Argentina.

The transport process began with double-stacking the refrigerators in containers and shipping them from Esbjerg to Argentina. Once at the port in Buenos Aires, they were stored in a warehouse before being transported by trucks to smaller warehouses near the final destinations. However, as the delivery points were small healthcare centres in densely populated areas without the equipment to handle stacked refrigerators, the final leg required a transfer to smaller lift trucks with the refrigerators now packed in single-layers. This intricate process involved multiple actors across the transport chain.

“When the goods were finally released from customs, it was very satisfying to realise that the plans were followed and were successful. This was largely due to the close dialogue between our local agent, the Ministry of Health and the individual health centres,” says Kenneth Sindahl, Senior Business Development Manager, Esbjerg, at Blue Water. To facilitate the process, both Blue Water's team in Esbjerg and our agent in Argentina were able to communicate directly with Vestfrost Solutions' customer.

“Imagine if you had to be three parties on the Argentina project, constantly updating each other? We were perfectly fine with Blue Water communicating directly with our customer. We trust them with that, and the benefit is a more efficient process for everyone involved”, says Lasse Bech, Wine & Merchandising Sales Director at Vestfrost Solutions.

More in common than the hometown

Both Vestfrost Solutions and Blue Water were ‘born and raised’ in Esbjerg, Denmark, but that is not the only thing we have in common.

Both of our companies are built on relationships and operate at a global level supported by large networks. The various synergies, coupled with a good dose of honesty, are the foundation of the successful partnership. “The collaboration is now at the level where everyone is completely honest with each other. Because if Blue Water said, ‘we can do that’ and just dropped a price, we would think ‘okay, that is probably fine’. But we are also advised to consider X, Y and Z,” says Ann-Katrine Tofting.

Blue Water also manages several of Vestfrost Solutions' other sea and road-related transport tasks. The personal relationship is central to the daily operations and was a key focus when the collaboration was resumed a couple of years ago.

“The chemistry is something you always feel a bit anxious about, but it has been good all round. It is easy to agree on the best deal in the world, but if things do not work in day-to-day operations – or if people do not get along – it becomes a significant challenge. Thankfully, I have not experienced that,” says Niels Borch, Strategic Buyer at Vestfrost Solutions.

The next big project already lies ahead

Vestfrost Solutions has recently given Blue Water the opportunity to deliver a quote on freight in a new exciting tender. This time to another country in South America, where 900 units are to be delivered to 900 different destinations.

“If Blue Water returned and did not want to – or did not dare to – take on such a project, we would be lost. We need a freight forwarder who can help us with this journey. Otherwise, our business will not succeed. So, it works both ways. It is a partnership when you become this dependent on each other,” says Ann-Katrine Tofting.

An extra twist to the already complex project is that everything must be sent as DDP (delivered duty paid), which places a large part of the responsibility on the sender (you can read more about Incoterms here).

At Blue Water, we are proud of our partnership with Vestfrost Solutions. We hope to once again participate in an exciting journey where our joint efforts create meaningful results.