[Tristan Lall]

International shipping happens all the time in the business world, frequently as quickly as you need it, provided that the formalities are complied with. The regional director may have arranged to centralize customs brokerage and freight to save money and to facilitate the process, but if you're in the position where time is more valuable than money and you are willing to get it through customs yourselves (perhaps with the help of a broker of your own), just do it.

As a practical matter, this may require some advance research to determine exactly what is of concern to customs inspectors. You may also want to contact your suppliers to see if a detailed, descriptive customs invoice can be supplied, which lists the intended end use and references standard commodity codes to facilitate processing.