How Select Trade Resolved a Misdelivered Shipment of 36 Cartons for a Mexican Client

By Vivian Pi, CEO — Select Trade

A real-world cross-border logistics case study: how we traced and recovered a shipment of 36 cartons that the freight company had marked as delivered — but the client’s warehouse had never received.

Why the China → US → Mexico routing exists, what went wrong, and how parallel investigation on both sides of the Pacific brought every carton back on track.

Client Background

Select Trade has worked with this Mexican client for five years, supporting their purchasing and international shipping needs.

Shipping goods directly from China to Mexico can involve relatively high freight costs and complicated customs clearance procedures. To improve logistics efficiency, we worked with the client to establish an alternative shipping arrangement: goods are shipped from China to a warehouse in the United States before being forwarded to Mexico.

This approach has provided a more practical logistics solution for the client’s ongoing shipments.

The Challenge: 36 Cartons Marked as Delivered but Missing

During a recent shipment, the freight company informed us that 36 cartons had been delivered and signed for.

However, when the client checked with their warehouse after the weekend, they confirmed that the shipment had not arrived.

The freight company insisted that the delivery was complete and provided proof of delivery. Yet the person identified on the delivery record could not be verified by the client.

This raised an urgent question: where were the 36 cartons, and how could we locate them before the problem became more complicated?

Our Solution: Taking Action on Both Sides

Rather than relying on a single communication channel, Select Trade took several steps simultaneously.

1. Investigated the proof of delivery. We immediately forwarded the delivery record to the client and asked them to verify the identity of the person who had supposedly signed for the shipment. The investigation revealed that the recipient’s identity could not be confirmed.
2. Escalated the issue with the freight company. We urgently contacted our freight partner in China and requested an immediate investigation with the U.S. delivery team. Because international communication involves different time zones, waiting for updates through a single channel could have delayed the investigation.
3. Identified a faster way to trace the shipment. We noticed that the delivery documentation included contact information for the local delivery driver. We asked the client to contact the local delivery team directly while we continued coordinating with the freight company from China. This parallel approach allowed both sides to investigate without losing valuable time.
4. Traced the shipment to the wrong delivery address. Through direct communication with the local delivery team, the client confirmed that the shipment had been delivered to the wrong address instead of the designated warehouse. Once the mistake was identified, the freight company arranged to retrieve the 36 cartons and redeliver them to the correct warehouse.

The Result: All 36 Cartons Reached the Correct Warehouse

The freight company followed through on the recovery and redelivery arrangement. The client’s warehouse successfully received all 36 cartons, allowing the shipment to continue on its onward journey to Mexico.

The issue was resolved through prompt investigation, direct communication, and coordination across multiple parties.

What This Case Demonstrates About Select Trade

We do more than arrange shipments. We help protect the client’s interests when unexpected problems arise.

• Practical logistics planning. We look for shipping arrangements that make sense for the client’s destination, costs, and operational needs.
• Proactive problem-solving. When shipment information does not match reality, we investigate instead of simply forwarding updates.
• Cross-border coordination. We work with freight partners, local delivery teams, and clients to move problems toward a resolution.
• Long-term partnership. Five years of cooperation reflect our commitment to supporting the client’s ongoing purchasing and shipping operations.

At Select Trade, we believe a reliable China sourcing partner should be judged not only by how smoothly things go when everything works as planned, but also by how effectively problems are handled when something goes wrong.

Looking for a Reliable China Sourcing Partner?

Whether you need help sourcing products from China, coordinating shipments, consolidating orders, or managing unexpected logistics issues, Select Trade can help you find practical solutions for your business.

You can read how we have supported other buyers in our success stories, or review the full range of support in our services.

Let’s discuss your sourcing and shipping requirements. Contact Select Trade to discuss your project to get started.