Noatum’s skills smooth launch of skincare range

Earlier this year Noatum Logistics won the BIFA Air Cargo Services Award 2022, for the support it provided cosmetics brand Trinny London. In this article, originally published in BIFAlink, the association outline why the Noatum Logistics entry stood out and the reasons for its award win.

Trinny London’s business was growing fast by early 2020, so much so that its supply chains had become unnecessarily complex and beset by various risks.

Enter Noatum Logistics, which offered solutions covering regulatory compliance, purchase order and vendor management, end­-to-end supply chain visibility, multi-vendor consolidation and equipment utilisation, and a consolidated air freight platform.

Cosmetics and skincare products contain specialised ingredients prone to adverse effects related to weather, temperature, humidity and light. The supply chain must therefore meet strict regulatory requirements such as temperature- controlled storage and transport.

Trinny London’s Australian launch brought further complexity in the form of regulatory and Customs processes specifically for holding and importing cosmetics into that country. Noatum guided Trinny through these step by step, and its local experts fast-tracked authorisations and product registrations.

Whole picture
Lee Ward, account manager- international supply chain, said: “Rather than just being a freight forwarder who moves things from A to B, we look at the whole picture, including all the Customs processes. Plus, we have the IT to support our clients and we work closely with the factories – so the vendors trust us.”

Not long after Noatum came on board, travel restrictions and lockdowns came into effect around the world. Overnight, Trinny London’s products became even more sought after.

“It was boom time,” Ward recalled, observing that Trinny London is mainly an online brand: an ideal business model to ensure the company’s success during lockdown, particularly with its new, more efficient supply chain.

Ward said coping with peaks in demand such as those that occur around Valentine’s Day and Christmas – and, as it turns out, during lockdowns – is a significant challenge for the cosmetics industry.

He explained: “There are only a few factories that produce high-end products and packaging. So we try to plan ahead using ocean freight and then use air freight when necessary.”

Through the initial COVID-19 period up to the end of 2021, Noatum moved over 250,000 kg of air freight for Trinny, using a blend of ambient and temperature-controlled scheduled, cargo and charter services to overcome the capacity shortages experienced during the pandemic.

Split orders
With available space so limited, it was often necessary to split orders across several aircraft, tranship, or fly to secondary destinations, for re­consolidation before delivery to the factory. Noatum’s proprietary supply chain management platform, PowerVIEW, proved its worth in managing these processes.

On the other hand, 10- and 15-ton time-critical shipments for ramping up factory production ahead of the launch of Trinny London’s new skincare range required chartered aircraft. Spare capacity on these planes was often filled with competitor cargoes to achieve economies of scale and so cover costs – demonstrating Noatum’s flexibility in finding the best solution to any problem.

PowerVIEW supports Trinny London
Trinny London and its global suppliers are now using PowerVIEW, Noatum’s system that provides global end-to-end inventory visibility and control at purchase order and SKU level.

This was essential to support the company’s rapid growth and to handle the added complexities of the supply chain during COVID-19. PowerVIEW also provides visibility of those shipments that are split by SKU in the UK and sent to specific production lines at the filling factories, to ensure traceability of particular products in case they are recalled.

Summary
Shortly after cosmetics brand Trinny London selected Noatum Logistics UK to support the introduction of its new skincare range and its Australian launch, COVID-19 struck. Noatum’s response to the exploding demand and supply chain nightmares won it the BIFA Air Cargo Services Award 2022.

BIFAlink – April 2022