CASE STUDY

Kitchen Equipment at Luxury Resort

One-stop freight shipping, storage, warehousing & last-mile delivery solutions

Kitchen Equipment at Luxury Resort

Moving commercial restaurant equipment to Hawaiʻi—on time and with ease

The Client:

A San Diego-based food service design and equipment company, hired by a luxury resort on the Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawaiʻi to provide both design-build and procurement services.

Project Summary:

After sustaining heavy environmental damage in 2011, a high-end resort in Kona closed its doors. As part of a complete renovation and 2023 reopening, the resort hired a food service design firm to design, outfit, and install the equipment in the resort’s five food and beverage outlets.

The design firm was also responsible for the procurement on the project. They turned to Approved Freight Forwarders as their one-stop shop for moving all of the commercial restaurant equipment from each vendor to the resort in Kona—on a carefully managed timeline.

The Challenge:

The design firm looked to Approved to create an all-in-one solution for moving the commercial kitchen equipment for the resort’s restaurants and bars, including:

  • Full-service freight solutions on the mainland, to Hawaiʻi, and on the Big Island.
  • Mainland storage and warehousing services to control costs.
  • A phase-delivery plan that kept the construction site clear while supplying the installation team with the right equipment at the right time and in the right order.

The precise timeline for the installation left little room for error.

The Solution:

As part of a strategic partnership with the design firm, Approved:

  • Coordinated with each individual vendor to move equipment from various locations on the mainland U.S. to the resort in Kona, while optimizing efficiency. For some vendors, Approved arranged direct shipping from the vendor straight to Kona to manage costs and reduce handling—and the potential for damage. For others, Approved moved equipment to our terminal in City of Industry, California, where it was stored until it was needed by the installation crews.
  • Communicated proactively with the design firm to deliver up-to-date inventory lists of the equipment in the Approved California warehouse. This allowed the design firm to send accurate pick lists so project materials could ship on schedule.
  • Worked closely with the design firm’s project managers to orchestrate phase deliveries from California to Kona. Approved managed both the ocean freight as well as the final-mile delivery to the resort in Kona. On-time deliveries were critical for ensuring the installation crews had the materials they needed to stay on schedule, while keeping the work site clear of unneeded materials. With wholly owned assets on the Big Island, Approved was easily able to manage on-island delivery at the requested dates and times.

The Results:

The design firm was extremely satisfied with the solutions, costs, and timeline that the Approved Freight Forwarding team delivered. Although Approved had air freight options at their disposal in case of any challenges that required expedited freight, the team didn’t need to leverage this capacity during the project.

The resort is currently scheduled to open on time in July 2023. The design firm and Approved Freight Forwarders continue to maintain an ongoing strategic partnership.

Get your FREE QUOTE now