A note for importers
The freight invoice is only part of what your imports really cost
Your cargo has probably reached you through TSI before without you ever knowing it was us, which has given us a close view of where landed cost quietly leaks between the vessel and your door.
- Landed cost is decided by everything around the freight invoice, from demurrage and storage to customs and SAPS stops that could have been avoided.
- A service level above 98% means your cargo arrives when we said it would and you spend your time running your business instead of chasing for updates.
- One accountable operator looks after your sea freight, air freight, road freight, cross border transport, clearing, warehousing and distribution.
- A real logistics manager owns your shipment while you can track it yourself whenever you want to.
Let us come and see you
Tell us when suits you and we will come to your offices to discuss your logistics and where your landed cost may be leaking.
Request a meetingOr phone us on +27 (0)11 868-2444
Start here
Where your landed cost really leaks
The freight invoice is the part every importer sees, while the rest arrives later on separate invoices from separate companies and is usually paid before anyone asks whether it was avoidable.
Leak one
Demurrage and detention
Charges from the shipping line when a container stays in the terminal past your free days or holds on to the line’s equipment after it leaves.
With TSI, if it’s not your fault, you won’t pay demurrage.
Leak two
Terminal storage
Charged by the terminal for the ground your container stands on while it waits, on the terminal’s own free period rather than yours, which is why one delay can appear on more than one invoice.
Leak three
Customs and SAPS stops
A stop costs you the days it takes to clear plus every clock that keeps running in the meantime, and many of them start with a gap that could have been closed beforehand, so we do everything we can to prevent unnecessary stops before they cost you time and money.
Leak four
Charges nobody questions
Line items on clearing and handling invoices that get paid because nobody had a reason to look at them twice, and we are happy to go through your recent shipments with you and show you where these leaks may sit.
How we work
A platform for visibility and a person who takes ownership
Most of the money in the previous section is lost when nobody is watching the shipment closely enough to act in time, which is why we pair technology with a real person.
Visibility
The TSI Digital Control Tower
A secure cloud platform connecting clearing agents, importers, exporters, trucking, airlines, ports and customs with live integrations, so you can track your own shipments whenever you want to.
Ownership
A dedicated logistics manager
A real person who follows up, communicates and steps in when something goes wrong, so you are never left guessing and you always know who to phone.
Since 2006
Moving freight for South African importers and exporters.
Above 98%
Service level, tried and tested over the last seven years.
Five ports and hubs
Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Gqeberha and East London.
Read how we think
Two free guides written for importers instead of for freight people
If you would like to see how we approach these problems before we meet you can read both guides in a few minutes.
Demurrage and detention charges in South Africa
What demurrage, detention and terminal storage actually are, who invoices you for each one and how to stop the clock running.
Read the guideSARS customs audits and stops explained
Why SARS stops a consignment, what a customs audit actually involves and the documentation that keeps you out of one.
Read the guideWho you will meet
The people behind the service
You will meet Clifford first and Neil will then look after your account personally, so there is always a real person to phone.
Clifford Blackburn
CEO
Clifford has been in the logistics industry for over three decades and started TSI in 2006, always wanting to make logistics an industry that clients can trust. He holds an MBA from the University of Huddersfield.
Neil McGarry
Personal Logistics Manager
Neil has been with TSI for 18 and a half years and has worked in logistics since leaving school, which makes him an expert in cargo movement and in getting things done. A client said of him “Neil always goes beyond the call of duty and his service is excellent.”
Let us come and see you
Half an hour at your offices is all it takes for us to hear what matters most to you when your cargo moves and to show you where your landed cost may be leaking.
Request a meetingOr phone us on +27 (0)11 868-2444
Built by TSI Central Station, one accountable operator for import, export and domestic freight across South Africa, in business since 2006 and working at Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Gqeberha and East London.
