10 Things Every International Shipper Must Know
Many people don’t have the exact idea of who an international shipper is. Have you also got this question in your mind?
Before that it is vital to understand the term “Shipper“. So, a shipper is a person or a group of people (company) who can transport your goods by any medium of transportation, i.e., by sea, land or air. A shipper has the responsibility of shipping your goods and in some cases bearing the freight cost also. The shipper also makes sure that your cargo is loaded on time and with due care. The shipper always tries to make your deal with the best quality shipping company in which SAR Transport is a renowned name.
Hence, we can conclude that the shipper has the whole responsibility from the time the goods are handled until the time they are delivered to the final point of contact. While doing this process, the shipper needs to go through various sub-processes which comprise of the loading of the goods, taking care of various laws like customs, excise, dispatching of your cargo and many more…
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The 10 essential things that every international shipper must know can be understood by the bullets below:
1. Regulations and fees of the Custom:
It is one of the most complicated processes while shipping the goods internationally. Usually, proper paperwork is required for the country from where the cargo is being shipped and to the country where the cargo will be delivered. The customs fee is a part of the shipping only which is levied by the customs department of that particular country. The value of the amount charged by the department depends upon the value of the product and the country where the product is going to be delivered. Hence the shipper must know the rates of the customs before shipping the product.
2. Shipping price:
It is the cost that comprises of the shipment fee and the other freight taxes which are charged on the goods to be delivered. The shipper has the responsibility to give the best possible price to the customers by negotiating with various shipping companies because these prices vary from company to company. Demurrage is also a kind of fee which is charged if the containers which are imported are not picked up on time.
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3. Bill of Lading:
While going through the legal process, this document serves as an important part of the shipper as it helps to settle down the payment to the exporter and goods to the importer. The quality and type of goods, freight rate and the point of destination are some of the basic items which are listed on this document.
4. Packaging of the cargo:
It is one thing that needs to be taken care of before sending the goods to the destination. This should be done with extra care and considering the country where the goods will be delivered. Shippers can go for certain shipment companies that handle packaging also if the shipper is not very much clear about the packaging.
5. Insurance of the cargo:
If the goods need to be shipped internationally then the risk of its damage cannot be unseen especially for the goods which are of very high value and for that only one must get the insurance from the shipment company. Though the shipper has to give some extra amount, it can save the shipper from a lot of future problems.
6. Shipment of restricted items:
It is a crucial step before even getting the goods from the customers in order to have seamless export as there might be certain items that are prohibited in the country where the goods are going to be delivered.
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7. Modes of transportation:
When we talk about exporting or importing goods internationally, we have got only two options, i.e., by sea or air freight services. Airfreight is costlier than the sea one but saves a lot of time hence the shipper needs to be sure about the cost and time before delivering the goods.
8. Transit Time:
When the shipper goes for delivering the goods internationally, it needs to give utmost importance to the time required and the exact date when the items need to get delivered as the goods may get delayed on the international level hence the spare time should be considered in this case.
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9. Tracking of the goods:
Almost all the shipping carriers give the option of tracking the goods to the shippers. So, while choosing the shipping carrier, the shippers must know about this facility as it can help in knowing the arrival time and date of the goods, delay of the goods if there is any and the customs clearance of the goods.
10. Terms and Conditions of the carriers:
Before handling the goods to the shipping carriers, the shippers must have a transparent picture about their methods of payment, return. insurance and exchange policies as well.
These are the list of items that should not be neglected and should be given great importance by the shippers while shipping the goods internationally.
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