How Ambra Automotive Leather gained efficiencies with Twill’s logistics services

Executive Summary:

Ambra Automotive Leather – shipping wet-blue leather from Italy

Ambra Automotive Leather (Ambra) is a historic brand from Italy. The company processes wet-blue leather for accessories, apparel, footwear, and gloves. The company’s industrial production is located in Arzignano, Veneto, in Northern Italy. The primary market for the wet-blue leather commodity is in China, while the demand on the Korean market is growing as well.

We spoke to the logistics manager of the company, Cinzia Gasparotto, about why the company chose Twill and how the experience has been for them so far. 

The challenges

Cargo delays, unexpected disruptions and costs

For many years, Ambra relied on local freight forwarders when shipping from Italy. But that led to challenges. Requesting quotes from freight forwarders took multiple days to get a final reply on available schedules and processes. That left Ambra with uncertainty, problems with buyers, and delays in their shipments. Reliability and immediate rates and schedules available were essential to Ambra as they saved the company time and money.

THE LOGISTICS SOLUTION

Twill’s real-time freight rates and schedules speeded up Ambra’s logistics process

Ambra was open to new alternatives and got to know the Twill platform, which instantly offers routes and prices. The predictability of schedules and prices as well as the intuitive platform convinced the leather company to try Twill as its new logistics solution. And as Cinzia outlines – she was not disappointed: “Thanks to Twill, we were able to see both schedules and prices in real-time to plan both the production and the shipment itself.”

On top of that, Ambra was surprised about Twill’s reliable customer support and assistance regarding their bookings. The consignee informed Ambra that they were not able to collect cargo as the bill of lading was not released. This usually implies some time to be solved, as origin and destination offices/agencies need to align on the proper owner of the cargo and related release order. Twill’s local team was able to reach out immediately to a destination colleague and managed to release the cargo immediately with real-time visibility.

Getting started on Twill’s platform: Instant prices and schedules

At first glance, Cinzia found that she needed to invest a bit more time to get to know Twill’s platform instead of sending an email to a local freight forwarder stating her shipment’s details. However, she found that this time was not wasted.

Moreover, Cinzia is now more independent when booking her shipment as the Twill platform is easy to use. And if she needs support, she can get it quickly from the Twill customer support team – without having an agent as a middle-man.

THE FUTURE WITH TWILL

Next steps: How Ambra will continue its journey with Twill

Moving forward, Ambra wants to continue its logistics journey with Twill: “Thanks to the good level of service and reliable support of the local Twillers, we will keep shipping with Twill”, outlines Cinzia.

Since the beginning, Ambra was in need of end-to-end logistics solutions, not only ocean freight services. Today, Ambra is booking ocean freight, inland transportation, and customs clearance services with Twill. Moving forward, the company is looking into additional services such as Value Protect and other options to simplify its logistics.