Run marble and natural stone exports from quarry to port on one platform
Blocks sell by the tonne, slabs by the bundle and cut-to-size by the piece; run all three flows in one spreadsheet and stock, reservations and shipments blur together. Buyers hand-pick material at your yard, and if the selection is not recorded, the same bundle gets sold twice. Meanwhile a container waiting at the port quietly accrues demurrage. Sighthem manages the quarry-to-port chain, the selection-to-proforma flow and tonnage-heavy shipping on the same platform as the rest of your export operation.
Reach US, Chinese and Gulf buyers: prospecting for the stone trade
In marble and natural stone the buyer profile changes by market: countertop wholesalers and distributors in the US, block buyers in China, project contractors in the Gulf. Sighthem lets you build separate targeting for each.
- Discover companies in your target market and list US stone distributors or Gulf project firms with country and sector filters
- Verify decision-maker emails with the discovery and verification service, so you write to the person who signs off instead of a generic info address
- Run segmented campaigns: one email sequence for block buyers, another for slab and cut-to-size importers, and separate warm leads by opens and clicks
- Scan business cards at stone fairs with the mobile PWA; OCR creates the lead automatically, and fair leads stay tracked by source
Proforma after selection at the yard: a hand-picked bundle never sells twice
In the stone trade the buyer often comes to your yard and picks slabs and bundles in person. The gap between selection and proforma is the most common reason the same material gets sold to two customers.
- Lock hand-picked bundles and blocks to that buyer with order-based stock reservation the moment selection ends, so no other rep can sell the same material
- Issue the proforma with Incoterm, multi-currency and delivery terms; the difference between FOB, CIF or EXW is on the document from the start
- Capture buyer approval through the system; the approved proforma converts to an order in one step, with no retyping of quantities or prices
- See in the revision history which version changed dimensions, quality grade or price, so the record is on your side if a dispute comes up
Quarry, factory and port: block, slab and cut-to-size stock across warehouses, on one screen
With blocks at the quarry, slabs at the factory and export-ready material at the port depot, keeping stock in a single spreadsheet kills visibility. Sighthem models each location as its own warehouse.
- Define the quarry, the factory and the port depot as separate warehouses and see what is sitting where, location by location
- Move blocks to the factory and slabs to the port with warehouse-to-warehouse transfers recorded in the system, so nothing goes off the books in transit
- Give every block and bundle a lot number and scan GS1 barcode labels to record which lot went to which order
- Import your current stock list from Excel and start working with real inventory on day one, without manual entry
From block cutting to cut-to-size: work orders, BOM and quality selection
Slabs cut from the same block land in different quality grades, and cut-to-size orders need production to measure. Sighthem's production module runs this flow with work orders and a bill of materials.
- Open work orders for cut-to-size jobs, so which block gets cut to which dimensions is clear in the production plan
- Define the block input and the slab or cut-to-size output in the BOM, so consumption is recorded as work orders close
- Record the selection result at quality control; issue a conformity certificate for passing material and log a nonconformity report for off-grade stock
- Put critical production steps behind an approval flow, so cutting and shipment release do not move without a manager's sign-off
Tonnage, containers, demurrage: the shipping and customs side under control
Stone shipping is a weight game: an overweight container gets turned back at the gate, and one waiting at the port writes demurrage. Sighthem's shipment module makes weight and time visible up front.
- Bind bundles and crates to the shipment as packages and pallets; the packing list shows gross and net weight per package, so you check container tonnage before loading
- Keep container and forwarder details on the shipment record, and use demurrage tracking to see where free time runs out before the waiting cost lands
- Manage partial shipments from a single order and track line by line which items of a project order went in which container
- Keep the GTIP code on the product card, link declarations to shipments, track the VAT refund file per export, and follow inward processing (DIIB) inputs, offsets and commitment closure if you process imported blocks
L/C, documents, COMMERCIAL INVOICE: the document set and reporting in one place
On Gulf projects and Chinese block sales, payment is often tied to a letter of credit, and a single discrepancy in the document set delays collection. Sighthem keeps documents and reporting covered end to end.
- Bring L/C terms into the system; AI-assisted text reading extracts the critical fields, and you get alerts on latest shipment and presentation dates
- Collect the document set (bill of lading, COMMERCIAL INVOICE, packing list, certificate of origin, insurance, certificates) in one list tied to the shipment, and spot a missing document before loading
- Issue a COMMERCIAL INVOICE for exports and a GIB-compliant UBL-TR e-invoice for domestic sales; the system works with your own e-invoice integrator
- Build order, shipment, lead and production reports with the column picker and download to Excel; role-based permissions keep sales, quarry and factory teams inside their own scope
Tie every yard visit that ends in a selection to a proforma the same day. Once hand-picked bundles are locked with order-based reservation, two reps selling the same material to two different buyers becomes structurally impossible.
When quarry, factory and port stock live on one platform, the question of where a block is gets answered from the screen instead of a round of phone calls. You quote against real stock with reservations already netted out.
Demurrage does not start when the container reaches the port; it starts when free time runs out, and every container held up by a missing document quietly writes cost. Check the document set and L/C dates in the system before loading.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Sighthem different from a generic CRM for a marble exporter?
A generic CRM stops at a list of customers and opportunities; it does not understand the block, slab and cut-to-size flow of the stone trade. Sighthem models the quarry, factory and port depot as separate locations, reserves hand-picked material to the order, and produces the documents in one flow from proforma to COMMERCIAL INVOICE. Container, forwarder and demurrage tracking live inside the same platform.
What happens in the system after a buyer hand-picks material at our yard?
The moment selection ends, you lock the chosen bundles and blocks to that buyer with order-based stock reservation. You then issue the proforma with Incoterm, currency and delivery terms, and capture buyer approval through the system. The approved proforma converts to an order in one step, and reserved material cannot be given to another order until it ships.
Can I see quarry, factory and port stock separately?
Yes. In the multi-warehouse model each location is defined as its own warehouse, so block, slab and cut-to-size stock shows separately per site. As blocks move to the factory and finished material moves to the port, warehouse-to-warehouse transfers are recorded in the system. You can import your current stock list from Excel and start with real inventory on day one.
How are container weight and the packing list handled?
Bundles and crates are bound to the shipment as packages and pallets, and the packing list is built with gross and net weight per package. You see the container's total tonnage before loading and catch an overweight box on screen instead of at the gate. Container and forwarder details sit on the shipment record, and demurrage tracking shows you where free time runs out.
How do I get past the language barrier with Chinese and Gulf buyers?
You use live translation on phone calls and run the conversation in your own language, with the call attached to the customer card. With the official WhatsApp API and the QR pairing mode, the buyer writes on the channel they already use and every message collects on a single customer card. The interface works in Turkish and English, and you send campaign emails segmented by market.
Does the system cover VAT refunds and inward processing (DIIB) for stone exporters?
Yes. You track the VAT refund file attached to the export transaction and collect the required documents and amounts in one place. If you import blocks, process them and re-export, you follow inward processing (DIIB) inputs, offsets and commitment closure in the system. The GTIP code sits on the product card and declarations are linked to shipments.
Bring your block, slab and cut-to-size flow onto one platform, from quarry to port. Try Sighthem free for 14 days on the PRO plan, no card required.
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