By Karen E. Thuermer, AJOTEx-cell Home Fashions, Inc. has saved money by utilizing North Carolina’s Port of Wilmington. Located 90 miles, or a one-and-one-half hour drive, from Wilmington, the Goldsboro, NC designer, manufacturer and importer of home decorator products trucks each and every one of its containers from the seaport to one of its three warehouses in Goldsboro. “At one time we imported our products through the Port of Norfolk, trying to make that work,” states Jim Wilson, director of Purchasing for Ex-cell Home Fashions. “But we found that we needed to be close to home to have better control over the entry and support of our steamship partners, and to ease our delivery into our plant in the shortest amount of time as possible.” A truck takes upwards of four-and-one-half to five hours to drive from Virginia’s Port of Norfolk to Goldsboro. Moreover, the company was paying around $600 to transport each container, $300 more than it costs to truck from the Port of Wilmington to Goldsboro. Since the company imports around 2,250 containers a year, the savings weighs in at over $600,000, Wilson reveals. “All of our contracts are port to port,” Wilson explains. This means vendors deliver Ex-cell Home Fashions products Freight on Board (FOB) to the dock in India and China. Ex-cell Home Fashions takes delivery of its freight once it has been offloaded and clears customs at the inbound port. “We pay the inland freight,” Wilson states. The cost savings isn’t chicken feed, especially in today’s competitive retail world, and especially with fuel costs irregular and on the rise. “We once tried mini landbridge over the West Coast by shipping to ports in California, then transporting our containers by rail to Charlotte or Wilmington and having them delivered here,” Wilson recalls. “In the past we could save money doing that, but not any more.” It’s the inland freight charges that count the most today. “The price to ship containers from India and China to either the Port of Norfolk or the Port of Wilmington is the same,” states Wilson. “The inland freight is where we save our money.” Ex-cell Home Fashions has found it pays to use the seaport closest to home. Ex-cell Home Fashions is turning to imports to grow its business and that takes cost cutting measures in order to remain competitive. Growth strategyImports have been the key strategy in growing the business at Ex-cell Home Fashions, a subsidiary of Glenoit LLC. When Wilson came to work for the company some 10 years ago, he remembers how Ex-cell Home Fashions then imported approximately 35% of its products from overseas. “At the time, the company had a plant in China and was just getting it operational,” he recalls. “As our business grew, so did our operations in China.” By manufacturing in China, the company was able to keep its price points as low as possible. This helped Ex-cell Home Fashions stay competitive and increase business with a number of the larger retail chains such as Wal-Mart and K-Mart with whom it still does business. “About five years ago, we were manufacturing about 20% of our products in Goldsboro, and importing the other 80% from our plant,” he reflects. But last year the company completely stopped manufacturing in Goldsboro and now imports 100% of its products from overseas. Those goods range from bathroom shower curtains, rings and rods to basic bath accessories such as soap dishes, to tabletop items such as tablecloths, napkins and napkin rings. The company also offers a full line of window treatment products. The business has been evolving quickly. “We have clearly grown our business through importing,” Wilson states. Today the company imports product from as far North in China as Qingdao, to as far South as Shenzhen and Hong Kong. In India it imports products from a manufacturing facility North of New Delhi, and Cochin, as well as Sri Lanka. Ex-cell Home Fashions maintains offices in Hong Kong and New Delhi, India. The staff works with local vendors. <