MOOR·E by Evolution (FINAL)

LOGISTICS
THE
IMPORTANCE
OF CREW
& CAPTAINS’
STORAGE
One of the key roles of a local logistics agent is to manage any transactions
between the yacht and its providers. This leaves the captains free to do what
they should be doing –looking after their yacht and crew, and not worrying about
when the suppliers will turn up.
An important service offered by Evolution’s logistics department is the
transport and storage of the captain and crew’s belongings. Txell Castelló, based in
Barcelona, gives us an overview.
The personal property of a captain tends to be furniture or home decoration
items, and they usually just need temporary storage whilst relocation to their home
in France or Spain is arranged within a week. “Occasionally their property remains
in storage for longer, such as the Vespa, bottles of wine and boxing punch-bag that
belong to the captain of a +60m superyacht. We’ve been looking after them for a
year,” shares Txell.
The convenience factor is evident, as items are collected directly from the
boat or pick-up address and are stored by Evolution until it’s time for them to be
forwarded on. Maximum care is always taken to protect items, such as adding
bubble wrap and dark protective plastic so that nobody can see what is being
transported to ensure confidentiality. All items are carefully labelled and classified
according to whether or not the boat is in Barcelona.
As well as their own storage space, Evolution also uses other depots. They have a
logistics collaborator located in ZAL, at the port of Barcelona. A second outsourced
space is in MB’92. Items are classified according to the location of the
boats. The inventory itself is always managed directly by Evolution,
through a system that registers all the necessary information, the
date received, weight, volume, a photo, in which warehouse they
are located, and the content, if known. “It’s a good system, but
it could be improved with a customised software program for
processing all this data,” comments Txell. Large warehouses are
used, with shelves that reach high up, similar to the flat-pack
collection points at retail centres such as Ikea. Short-stay items
are kept closer to the ground where they can be reached more
conveniently, whilst those that will be kept longer in storage are
placed higher up.
“Our client profile is quite varied,” says Txell. “The things that women
tend to send back home are especially clothes, beauty and hygiene products,
whilst men send music and sports equipment such as surf boards and bicycles.”
“THE
CONVENIENCE
FACTOR IS
EVIDENT, ITEMS
ARE COLLECTED
FROM THE
BOAT”
Evolution receives a lot of requests to transport bicycles, and special containers
are used to ensure maximum protection in order to always get them safely to their
destination address. Although the storage and transport service is on behalf of
individual crew members, the cost and registration details is normally
assumed by the yacht.
Txell remembers the case of one crew member who asked
to send all their items home - totalling no less than five large
containers. “It was incredible, we had no idea how he managed
to keep that amount of stuff in a small cabin!” Different
transportation quotes were also requested to send the luggage
to India, the USA and Abu Dhabi, so they didn’t even know
where this person actually lived. Another amusing anecdote
involved the delivery of some Christmas presents, an army of lead
soldiers. Customs demanded a letter specifying their use, which of
course was a gift from the Three Kings to some children. Absolutely
inoffensive, but this apparently wasn’t clear to the customs officers… Luckily,
Evolution was on hand to make sure that any doubts were resolved, and the
children received their festive gifts!
12 BY EVOLUTION 13