International maritime transport of goodsWith 5 practical steps and 2 documented steps, do you know that there are many reasons for transporting goods between countries, of course, most of them are to improve the value of goods。With the rapid development of e-commerce, more and more small businesses need to carry out international transportation, this article aims to explain the different steps of freight business。
In international transport, there are many players involved: shipping companies, booking agents, freight forwarders, customs brokers;The four roles of LCL transportation: shipper, consignee, freight forwarder and shipping company are introduced。
A shipping company is a company that provides shipping services to you。You may never talk to them or see their papers or letters。
However, a freight forwarder is the logistics company you want to deal with。They can arrange transportation from shipper to consignee - and you are one of them。The shipper is the shipper from the place of origin, or it can be you or the factory or seller from which you purchased the product。The recipient is the recipient of the goods, which can also be you or the person you are selling to。There are five practical steps and two documentation steps in international transport:
There are five logistics steps and two documentation steps in the transportation process from shipper to consignee, which must be completed for each shipment。Each step has associated costs and must be addressed by someone (usually the shipper or consignee)。If you want to avoid extra costs and unnecessary delays in the supply chain, make sure you clearly agree with who pays for each of the 7 steps each time you order goods。
Seven steps: Export consignment。Origin treatment。Export clearance。海运。Import clearance。Destination handling and hauling of imports。
If you are unsure, consult the contract between consignor and consignee。In the case of the sale of goods, the transfer of liability for the goods is usually stipulated in the contract, which is the source of determining who pays how much。
1.International sea transport exports
The first part is export transportation。This requires the carriage of the goods from the consignor to the place of business。If less than the container is loaded, the location of the freight forwarder is always an export consolidation center (warehouse of origin), which has its own personnel or designated agents。Goods are generally used on roads (by truck).Rail or intermodal transport。If it is agreed that the shipper is responsible for this part of the transport, it is usually arranged by the local transport company。However, if the consignee is responsible for this, it usually makes the most sense to use a transport agent who can act as part of the international transport。
If the goods (loaded onto the truck) are processed at the shipper's location, they are not considered part of the export shipment, as unloading the truck at the freight forwarder's location is generally not part of the export shipment。
2.Export clearance
Every piece of goods leaving a country must go through customs to meet regulatory requirements。Customs clearance is a transaction in which only a company with a valid customs permit (the so-called customs broker) can formulate a declaration and submit the required documents to the authorities。
Exporters can do this through a freight forwarder with a valid license or an agent appointed by the freight forwarder。It may also be carried out by a customs agent directly appointed by the consignor, who may not necessarily be involved in any other part of the transport process。The export clearance step must be completed before the goods leave the country of origin, otherwise it must be completed before the goods are shipped out of the country of origin, which usually needs to be completed before the goods enter the warehouse of origin of the freight forwarder。
3.Origin treatment。
Source management includes the logistics handling and inspection of all goods from receipt from the warehouse of origin to shipping。Many steps are performed by many different parties under origin-processing, but these steps are coordinated and are the responsibility of the freight forwarder or the agent appointed by the freight forwarder。Simply put, after receiving the goods, they are inspected (counted), planned for shipment, combined with other goods, packed in containers, moved to the port, and then loaded on board。
Although it is always the freight forwarder who performs the origin processing in the end, the person who actually buys the freight forwarder can be paid by the consignor or consignee。For example, if the consignee decides to process the imported goods with the goods instead of A, and there is an agreement with the shipper that the shipper must pay the origin fee, then the shipper also automatically purchases the origin fee from freight forwarder A。If the shipper believes that the price of the origin processing is out of line with the market level, there will be some friction, because in this case, they are forced to use forwarder A。
4.International shipping
The forwarder decides to select a transport company to complete the sea transportation from the departure point to the destination in order to meet the schedule of shipping requirements。The freight forwarder and the shipping company signed the container transportation contract, the shipper and the consignee will not have direct communication with the shipping company。
The freight is ultimately borne by the shipper or consignee。However, from port to port, sea transport is never the whole cost of transport。There are many types of additional charges imposed by industries, such as fuel adjustment factor and currency adjustment factor, which are passed on to the shipper or consignee。
5.Import clearance
Import clearance can usually begin before the goods arrive in the country of destination。In the case of export customs clearance, a customs declaration should be prepared and submitted together with the relevant documents to enable the competent authorities to register the goods and collect any duties。The importer or freight forwarder, or the customs broker designated by the consignee, shall go through the import customs clearance procedures。
The import clearance procedure must be completed before the goods leave the bonded area of the destination country。Generally speaking, this refers to the goods from the destination warehouse out of the freight forwarder or freight forwarder before。
6.Destination processing
For the origin, it is also necessary to load the goods at the destination and then deliver the goods to the consignee。Simply put, destination processing includes the transfer of containers from the ship to shore, and the transfer of the destination warehouse from the port to the freight forwarder。It also includes unloading containers and preparing goods for collection by the consignee。
A truck used to transport less than one container load
Destination processing includes a variety of destination fees and is always performed by the freight forwarder or an agent appointed by the freight forwarder。A fee may be charged to the consignor or consignee, but must be paid in full before the goods are delivered to the consignee。Similarly, if the agreement is that the shipper pays the sea freight and the consignee pays the destination cost, in effect the shipper decides from whom the consignee must pay。When it comes to cost of origin, this can lead to friction or accidents where the consignee does not collect the goods as planned。
7.Transport entry
The last stage of shipment is the actual delivery of the goods to the consignee。It can be handled by the freight forwarder or local transport company designated by the consignee。It usually makes sense to use a forwarder who can also arrange for import transportation, generally by the shipper。Imported goods usually include transportation to a specific address, but do not include delivery of goods by truck, which is the responsibility of the consignee。