Unique Logistics International, Inc. (Unique Logistics) operates as a logistics and freight forwarding company worldwide.
The company provides a full range of global logistics services by providing to its customers a robust international network that strategically supports the movement of its customers’ goods. Acting solely as a third-party logistics provider, Unique Logistics purchases available cargo space in volume from its network of carriers (such as airlines, ocean shipping, and trucking...
Unique Logistics International, Inc. (Unique Logistics) operates as a logistics and freight forwarding company worldwide.
The company provides a full range of global logistics services by providing to its customers a robust international network that strategically supports the movement of its customers’ goods. Acting solely as a third-party logistics provider, Unique Logistics purchases available cargo space in volume from its network of carriers (such as airlines, ocean shipping, and trucking lines) and resells that space to its customers.
Operating via its subsidiaries, Unique Logistics provides a range of international logistics services that enable its customers to outsource to the company sections of their supply chain process. Unique Logistics’ primary services include Air freight services; Ocean freight services; Customs brokerage and compliance services; Warehousing and distribution services; and Order management.
Air Freight Services
Operating as an indirect air carrier or an airfreight consolidator, Unique Logistics provides both time savings and cost-effective air freight options to its customers. An expansive global network enables the company to offer door to door service allowing customers to benefit from its expert staff for guidance with the physical movement of cargo and documentation compliance. Unique Logistics purchases cargo space from airlines on a volume basis and resells that space to its customers at a lower price than they would be able to negotiate themselves for their individual shipments. Through its integrated management system, the company determines the best routing for shipments and then makes arrangements to receive the cargo into a designated warehouse. Upon receipt, the company inspects and weigh the cargo, collect documentation, and process export clearance. Unique Logistics offers real-time tracking visibility for customers to view when an order is booked, departs, and arrives. Unique Logistics contracts with a worldwide network of airlines and other service providers to provide the best airfreight service in assisting importers to ship using the most efficient and cost-effective method. Some of the selections the company offers include:
International, domestic, deferred, express and charter services, which permit customers to choose from a menu of different priority options that secure, at different price levels, greater assurance of timely delivery;
Port to port and door to door shipments, which provide customers the option of managing, independently, the post-arrival services, such as delivery or clearance if the company is not providing such services;
Global blocked space agreements, which guarantee the availability of space on certain flights;
Air and ocean combination shipment, which offer transportation using multimodal, combination movements, by one mode to an international hub, such as Dubai, UAE or Singapore, and converting to a different mode at the hub;
Air and transload dedicated truck shipment, where arriving cargo is transferred from airline container or pallet into a truckload ready for delivery;
Dangerous goods handling requiring qualified handling; and
Refrigerated cargo.
The company’s air freight customer base consists of importers in various industries including fashion retail, technology and general department stores merchandise importers.
The company works with its international network to ensure air freight shipping capacity is secured and planned to meet its customers’ requirements. The company then make this capacity available to its customers at competitive prices and with the added security of availability, particularly during peak air freight shipping periods. The company supplements scheduled capacity with full charter capacity to ensure that it meets customer capacity requirements throughout the year. While capacity management is critical to securing and maintaining air freight customers, the company will try to quickly move to the position of offering additional primary services to its air freight customers.
The company’s integrated management system is built around a cloud-based software package known as Cargo Wise. The software is accessible to the company’s offices or overseas third-party associates when planning and recording the receipt of cargo and booking shipments. The Cargo Wise system assists in the creation of documentation required to plan each shipment, including management information systems that enable the company’s operational management teams to generate reports or provide access to information to its customers so that they have daily visibility to their purchased orders. This enables shipments to be approved, planned, and routed within the available air freight capacity procured by the company.
Ocean Freight Services
Operating as an ocean transportation intermediary to provide ocean freight service both as a non-vessel owning common carrier (‘NVOCC’) and ocean freight forwarder, Unique Logistics provides to its customers ocean freight consolidation, direct ocean forwarding, and order management. The company is a common carrier that holds itself out to the public to provide ocean transportation, issues its own house bills of lading or equivalent document, but does not operate the vessels by which ocean transportation is provided. The company’s roles and responsibilities in ocean freight services include the following:
Selecting the most optimal ocean carriers based on both cost and service. The company has NVOCC contracts with multiple ocean carriers and is thus able to offer its customers a choice in service;
Entering into contract/rate agreement with clients to transport their ocean shipments. Under such contracts the customer is assured of the company’s weekly capacity to carry the customer’s cargo;
Consolidating shipments at origin/deconsolidating of freight at destination. This enables the customer to receive the economics of a consolidated container rate rather than a higher rate for less than full container load. It also makes delivery at destination more efficient;
Arranging pick-up of shipment at origin and deliver at destination, with a factory to door service;
Preparing and processing the documentation/clearance (customs/security) for shipments during ocean transit, in advance of arrival of shipment at destination;
Providing ocean freight services in both major and minor trade lanes with representation in all trading nations in Americas, Asia, and Europe;
Offering a wide array of services typically performed by multiple services providers including, but not limited to, offering options to customers on ocean carrier service choices prior to final selection and securing such space based on customer requirement; this enables the company’s customers to delegate more of their logistics management to it whereas a more limited range of service would require the customer to deal with multiple service providers;
Communicating on any regulation/compliance issues on exporting and importing shipments;
Playing an intermediary role at any point of ocean transportation based on a customer’s routing preferences; and
Providing space acquisition on carrier service for committed delivery during high demand periods and providing a lower-price option in weak demand season for the greatest possible saving.
Some of the major industry sectors the company serves in connection with its ocean freight services are home products and appliances, furniture, automotive, giftware and fashion. The company’s customers include retailers as well as wholesale importers. The company’s volumes enable it to enter significant contracts with shipping lines to lock in capacity at prices that enables the company to secure and retain customers.
Customs Brokerage and Compliance Services
The company’s services help importers clear cargo with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including documentation collection, valuation review, product classification, electronic submission to customs and the collection and payment of duties, tariffs, and fees. Unique Logistics works with importers to develop a compliant trade program including product databases, compliance manuals and periodic internal audits. The development of product databases has become critical in the economic environment due to increasing trade tensions and various tariffs imposed as a result. Unique Logistics also offers importers tools to improve efficiency such as reporting, visibility and trade consulting, including training seminars. The company’s additional services include:
Preparation of the Import Security Filing (10+2) required to be on file 24 hours prior to shipment departure;
Clearance and compliance with other government agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Consumer Product Safety Commission and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service;
Focused assessment and internal audit to determine and eliminate weak areas of compliance;
Post-entry service to change past entries and take advantage of tariff exclusions granted after the original entry was processed;
Binding rulings to obtain pre-entry classification;
Classification and valuation;
Trade agreements;
Warehouse entries to defer duty;
Licensing and country of origin marking requirements;
Free Trade Zone;
Duty drawback to get duty back on items exported under certain requirements; and
Cargo insurance coverage.
Warehousing and Distribution Services
Unique Logistics operates a warehousing facility in Santa Fe Springs, California, and plans to expand such services through its own managed facilities. The company leases this facility, which is 110,000 sq. ft. with storage capacity for approximately 9,000 pallets and 10 dedicated employees. Unique Logistics also provides warehousing and distribution services through third party facilities.
Warehousing and distribution services enable Unique Logistics to greatly expand its involvement in the company’s customers’ supply chain, post arrival of international shipments into the United States. By providing inventory management, order fulfillment, and other services, the company’s customers benefit from cost savings related to space, equipment, and labor due to efficiencies of scale. The company’s warehousing and distribution services include:
Transloading of cargo from incoming containers to trucks for delivery;
Pick and pack services;
Quality control services under customer instructions;
Kitting;
Storage;
Inventory management; and
Delivery services, including e-commerce fulfillment services.
Warehousing and distribution are a higher-margin business than air freight or ocean freight. In the case of freight service, the company is primarily re-selling capacity while in warehousing and distribution it is offering services based on fixed space cost, fixed staffing and equipment cost and relatively smaller variable labor and equipment cost. The customer base includes freight customers with warehousing and distribution needs as well as customers who are exclusively warehousing and distribution service users. Such customers are in a variety of industries, including footwear, apparel, giftware, and home appliances. The company bills customers under three broad categories - storage, transloading (with quick turnaround and no storage) and other warehouse services listed above. The location of the company’s existing warehouse, within 15 miles of the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach and 20 miles from Los Angeles Airport, is an important factor for its customers. Racking as well as bulk storage space availability enables the company to handle a variety of customer requirements. In recent years, severe congestion at the terminals serving the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach has increased the demand for transloading as well as short-term storage services at warehouses such as the company that is within a 50-mile radius of the port.
Order Management
Unique Logistics offers order management services providing importers with total visibility on every order from the time placed with the supplier to door delivery. Importers send orders electronically immediately upon creation, giving the company the ability to assist in firmly holding suppliers to shipping windows. This results in optimizing consolidation and improved on-time delivery. Order management also gives importers the power to control their supply chain by monitoring key milestone events, tracking order status, and managing delivery to their end-consumer.
The company’s order management services include the following features:
Importer and vendor Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) integration;
Key milestone notifications customized per importers’ requirements;
Vendor, booking and document management;
Customized reporting including exception reporting for maximum efficiency;
Consolidation management; and
Tracking visibility in real time.
Customers
Revenue from three major customers as a percentage of the company’s total revenue was 25.0% for the year ended May 31, 2024. One customer represented 11% of 2024 revenues.
Seasonality
Historically, the company’s own operating results, as well as the industry, have been subject to seasonal demand. With the company’s financial year end of May 31, typically its first and second quarters are the strongest with the fourth quarter being the weakest (year ended May 31, 2024). These seasonal trends are influenced by a number of factors, including weather patterns, national holidays, economic conditions, consumer demand, major product launches, as well as a number of other market forces.
Growth Strategy
The key elements of the company's strategy include organic growth and expansion in existing markets; strategic acquisitions; warehousing and distribution; growth of business on the Trans-Atlantic and Latin American trade lanes; and specialized services to the United States companies on their overseas logistics.
Government Regulations
The U.S. Department of Transportation (‘DOT’), the FAA and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, through the Transportation Security Administration (‘TSA’), has regulatory authority over the company’s air transportation services.
The company’s offices are licensed as an airfreight forwarder from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a voluntary association of airlines and air transport related entities that prescribes certain operating procedures for airfreight forwarders acting as agents for its members.
The company is licensed by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to operate as an Ocean Transportation Intermediary (‘OTI’) and as a NVOCC. As a licensed OTI and NVOCC, it is required to comply with several regulations, including the filing of its tariffs.
Under Department of Homeland Security regulations, the company is a qualified participant in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program, requiring it to be compliant with relevant security procedures in the company’s operations.
The company is licensed as a customs broker by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency of the Department of Homeland Security, nationally and in each U.S. customs district in which it does business.
History
Unique Logistics International, Inc. was founded in 1983.
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