Why We Started Demdet?

The Case of Maersk’s Missed Train and Export Demurrage: Why We Started DemDet

Logistics is a field full of surprises, but some situations stand out more than others. One such case led to the founding of www.demdet.com.

A customer exporting from France to China decided to use Maersk for both haulage and sea freight. At first, everything went according to plan — Maersk picked up the containers on time. However, things quickly took a turn when Maersk missed their own train to the port. After missing their own vessel, they rolled the container for not one, but two departures. These repeated delays resulted in rolled containers and costly setbacks.

The Problem: Unfair Export Demurrage Fees

To make matters worse, despite being at fault for the delays, Maersk issued an export demurrage invoice. Naturally, we challenged this fee, but Maersk refused to waive it, leaving the customer to cover the cost of a delay they didn’t cause.

This situation couldn’t be escalated at the time, but it was the spark that ignited an idea.

The Birth of DemDet.com

The unfairness of the situation really struck a chord. Why should companies bear the burden of fees when the fault lies elsewhere? This frustration led to the creation of DemDet, a company designed to help importers, exporters, and forwarders claim back unfair demurrage and detention charges.

Conclusion

The case of Maersk’s missed train highlights a common problem in logistics: unfair fees that seem impossible to contest. But it doesn’t have to be that way. DemDet was built to give companies the tools and support they need to challenge these costs and avoid paying for others’ mistakes.