A look behind the scenes: SILS
Your order in ten steps
When you order a KanJam product, your order will be delivered in no time. But what exactly happens in the background? How does KanJam ensure that your product is delivered in perfect condition? With this blog, we’d like to give you a look behind the logistical scenes at SILS, our logistics partner. An organisation that knows us well and knows what we believe to be important.
The inventory of KanJam Europe is stored at SILS in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. But before it finds its way here to our shelves – at our permanent location – and before ultimately being delivered to you, we go through an extensive process.
Your order in ten steps:
- KanJam products come by sea container from America to the Netherlands – to Rotterdam, to be precise.
- SILS knows exactly when the KanJam container will arrive at the port and ensures that the container is quickly released and is transported to Apeldoorn.
- Of course, at SILS, they know exactly what is in the container, because they request cargo lists from us.
- Based on the cargo lists, SILS prepares a plan.
- Before the container can be unloaded, the shipment must be cleared. Useful, therefore, that SILS has its own customs department.
- Once the shipment is cleared, the container can be unloaded. That takes some time, because pallets are often not used for sea freight. This means that the logistics employees of SILS will first palletise the contents of the container; that is done at product level. In other words: sort by sort.
- Has everything been placed on pallets? If so, the cargo list is reviewed carefully to determine whether this shipment is complete. In addition to the completeness of the delivery, an inspection will also be carried out for any damage. If everything is correct, the entire KanJam delivery will be accepted by the software system and we will be alerted that the inventory is available.
- When an order is placed, SILS will of course be informed of that. An order picker retrieves the necessary items for your order from the shelves, after which your package will be compiled and prepared for shipment.
- Logistics employees from SILS Logistics place the products that are ready for shipment in the shipping area, after which they can be loaded.
- Finally, the transporter carefully selected by SILS arrives at your door to deliver the order to you, after which your will be completed in our system.
Why SILS? Simple. SILS is a local player with a global scope. They also have cargo, logistics and customs under one roof and they focus entirely on the logistics process. We benefit from that. For example, they know everything about current legislation and regulations and always select the transporter that fits best with us and our products.
>> Did you know that all KanJam products from America are not yet packed in the box that you receive? SILS receives a batch of flat boxes and flat Kans, because sea containers must be packed optimally and every possible centimetre must be used efficiently. At SILS’s location, all of the separate elements are then processed into the full KanJam boxes that are delivered to you.
According to SILS…
“We are involved in logistics for the sake of logistics. This means, for example, that we do not have our own lorries. This is a conscious choice. Because we do not have to load our own lorries, we are independent and we select the transporters that are best suited to the products and wishes of our clients. Thanks to our focus on the logistics process, we can also continue to invest in automation to make the chain as efficient as possible. I do not want to have to make the choice between a round of automation or new Scania lorries. I therefore simply do not want anything with wheels”, says Willem-Jan Cramer, Managing Director at SILS.