Global Product Launch for Wearable Fitness & Sleep Tracking Devices

Case Studies

A leading manufacturer of wearable health, fitness, and sleep tracking devices needed to ship new products to five different distribution centers as part of its Generation 5 global product launch, which was its biggest yet. 

Challenges

Amidst punishing tariffs, air freight demand was so low that many planes were either grounded or shipments blanked, meaning they didn’t exist anymore. OIA’s air freight teams in Hong Kong (HKG) and Shanghai (PVG) had to get creative while working with different carriers to secure the necessary cargo space.

Beating Tariff Deadlines

Tariffs were unpredictable and weren’t included in the standard operating procedures (SOP) for the brand’s latest global product launch, which were distributed to each destination weeks before the product launch date.

Late on a Friday night, OIA was asked to move 70+ pallets from Hong Kong to the U.S. within four days as tariffs were set to take effect on the fifth day. OIA needed to obtain any space to any U.S. destination possible, with the final destination and pallet count changing repeatedly, even after arrival in the U.S. For three days straight, OIA’s team maintained 24/7 communication with the customer—amidst a 12-hour time difference—eventually moving 180-200 pallets into Los Angeles (LAX) and Chicago (ORD).  

 

Last-Minute Reroutings

  • A Chicago-bound shipment needed to be rerouted, although the truck driver was already in the pickup line at LAX airport late at night. Three OIA personnel in three different time zones connected after normal business hours to halt the over-the-road (OTR) carrier and contacted a local LAX carrier to retrieve the freight and hold it in a warehouse until the last free day (LFD). 
  • 12 LAX-bound shipments were quickly stopped and rerouted to partners in Dubai, Sydney, and Germany.

Customs & Compliance

  • Indirect customs representatives were tough to find in Germany.
  • For two weeks, OIA’s customer service representatives and the Chicago branch worked closely to manage different shipments, providing customs clearances as they came into LAX, ORD, and JFK.

Logistics Issues

  • Fixed window of time to move a certain number of products from Chinese suppliers to Australia, Dubai, Germany, and the United States.
  • Confirming bookings while available capacity out of China was at its lowest point amidst 2025’s heightened trade tensions

Solutions

  • Air freight shipments from origin (China & Hong Kong) to destination (USA, Germany, Dubai & Australia).
  • Each destination needed to receive the shipment deliveries and then orchestrate their processing with other transportation partners on the ground.
  • Cross-border customs clearances and brokerage services

The customer’s internal stakeholders didn’t have visibility once the product was in the air, so OIA stayed in constant contact, communicating the latest shipment details via daily calls. Since air freight travels so fast, the OIA Connect dashboard was used as a backup option.

Air Carriers Used

Benefits

OIA cleared and delivered all the freight without any storage issues, mixed cargo, or missing cargo. 

Logistics Services

  • Ability to remain flexible amidst fast-evolving global trade tensions
  • Air freight is faster than other transport modes
  • LAX and ORD teams provided outstanding operational support, staying available during odd hours and assisting as needed.

Customer Communication

  • Communicated with product owners in different regions to secure the jet capacity
  • CSM available 24/7 as primary contact point
  • Sydney’s team provided consistent, hourly updates regarding shipment statuses:  arrived/available for pickup/cleared customs/en route to destination, etc.

OIA helped ship and store more than 1 million different devices as part of a global product launch.

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