New worldwide transit hub plays key role in serving Central and South American markets

SEKO, a global provider of supply chain solutions, has opened a new, expanded gateway office in Miami to enhance its footprint in the growing international trade business to Central and South America. The new, larger SEKO Miami gateway facility is 3,500 square feet, with 28,000 square feet of warehouse space, 14 dock doors, 600 rack spaces, and a 24/7 video surveillance and security system.

A Worldwide Gateway and South American transit hub, the new SEKO Miami facility provides SEKO with a key transshipment point for its expanding business in South America, where it recently opened offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia and Costa Rica, as well as to Caribbean destinations. The transit facility provides both air and ocean freight services for import and export trade; an assembly program with excellent real-time supply chain visibility for on-time information and overseas partner interaction (online) between suppliers, SEKO Miami, its overseas partners and designated ultimate consignees ' all password protected.

To further enhance its supply chain services for its South American offices, SEKO has also recently developed a new state-of-the-art integrated software program that provides total visibility of their freight once it arrives at the Miami gateway warehouse facility. This program scans and documents all data such as when and how shipments arrive at the facility on a real-time basis, enabling each office to specify the exact manner in which it prefers shipments to be distributed, including by category of air or ocean transportation.

'Import/export trade activity has been expanding rapidly in the South American marketplace,' said William Wascher, SEKO's president and CEO. 'Customer demand for supply chain services in this trade zone has increased dramatically in the past two years, and Miami is a natural gateway to that market and beyond. SEKO has long handled a wide variety of domestic and import/export freight from its existing office in Miami. With the addition of the new gateway operation, however, we are now able to vastly expand our access into major new South American markets such as pharmaceutical, Med-Tec, food and beverage and electronics, while streamlining our international freight forwarding business in general. This new SEKO facility greatly enhances our ability to serve these vital trade lanes.'

Station Manager of the SEKO Miami Gateway office is Shaun Lones. Other office administrators include: Jamie Cabrera, gateway manager, who is bilingual and has more than 15 years of logistics experience in air and ocean freight, Monika Perez, international coordinator, who is also bilingual and adds more than 10 years of expertise in the air and ocean freight business and Martha Salazar who is international air coordinator and adds additional bilingual capabilities. Ivonne Sola is the licensed customs broker for SEKO Customs Brokerage.

'We have assembled very strong gateway staff of 28 people, with a combined 77 years of logistics experience and excellent understanding of the South American marketplace,' said Lones. 'The new and enhanced SEKO Miami gateway operation now enables us to better leverage our international shipments by funneling cargo from all over the South-eastern United States through the SEKO Miami gateway office, which is served by both the nearby Miami International Airport and the Port of Miami. In addition to its very experienced staff, the existing Miami office owns eight trucks that enable us to facilitate Miami gateway office shipment requirements.'