What are the preparations needed for shipping your valuable cargo internationally? Much of the customers and the business vendors are not much aware of this crucial yet not much researched area of shipping cargo overseas.
Shipping secures a prominent role in the trading world, either between adjacent regions separated by water or across the large oceans. The growth of e-commerce and enhanced business prospects with globalization have led to a substantial growth in the shipping industry. By revamping the international shipping strategies, you can give new freshness to the normal pattern in the shipping industry.
This article hopes to discuss the preparation strategies and ideas needed to improve cargo shipping to various international shores.
Make your goods ready for overseas shipping
Above everything, check and analyze for yourself the safety your goods enjoy in the entire journey. This is especially for the case of a large bulk of goods. It is not limited to preparing the goods securely, but also if it is able to withstand the pressure of shipping with large quantities of items crushing it down. This means the one shipping should make sure the items can be arranged in whichever way one deems it to be. Particularly with the groupage kind of modes, it may be the case that the items will be shipped alongside other variety of goods, the experts find it essential they are all secured and at the same time facilitates one on the top model of arranging with the chances of getting ruined or damaged.
Make adequate preparations for your goods in such a way that they can even withstand various handling methods, even a forklift. It is most likely that in a large number of international deliveries, the goods will be loaded and unloaded by forklifts leading to stacking or such complicated procedures on its journey – the one’s shipping has to check if the handling is done properly and securely. In case of sending goods by air freights, keep the cargo prepared to meet some swaying and tilting in case of turbulence, disturbance, or even the take-off and landing process.
Plan ahead to make necessary changes to keep the items compact and secured even some worse scenarios arise. If you send your items to ship via the sea freight by chance, take precautions for the wild waves thrashing at the basement with the moving ship. Last but not least, if your choice is land transport, keep it safe and adequately packaged to withstand the tremors and shocks while on the road with the transport and mechanical processing.
How to protect the goods for ocean transportation?
The major challenge in ocean freight shipping is the presence of moisture around the ship and the items it holds. Moisture is rather a very constant issue as the process of condensation can form in the areas of the ship that have cooling and dehumidifier. Apart from this the rest of the components that can play a role are whether the cargo is put inside in the presence of humidity and moisture or not as well as if the other ports on the way offer storage facilities.
Holding these ideas tight in your mind, it is of high priority to prepare the items for ocean shipping with the following guidelines:
- Keep an eye on the product-specific hazard labels
- Packaging material should be resistant to moisture.
- Prefer palletizing and containerizing the goods.
- Try to spread the weight of your goods evenly. This can ensure proper placing of the item inside the container.
- Keep the containers sealed and filled.
- Avoid writing on the packages to prevent chances of threat, letting strangers know what the item is kept inside.
- The items can be secured and safely transported by employing the straps, customized packaging and shrink wrapping.
Prefer suitable packing materials for the goods transportation
It is not new for those who employ ocean freights for international cargo transportation to make use of containers that they received from the carriers or from private leasing companies. It is a great option for ocean freight containers since these are able to carry most of the available cargo.
Shipping globally on sea freight is distinct – sea freight cargo is heavier than the ones sent through air shipments, but care must be taken to protect it. In most cases, the normal quality packing is accepted, if this is relevant to keep the goods you send. Finally, transportation costs are summed up by taking the volume and weight – and the industry promoting easy exports has risen to manage the situation, making lightweight materials to pack the items without increasing the weight constraints. You could possibly save money on international freight by packing goods in such a way to minimize volume and weight, while securing your goods as well.
Do not overlook internal packing
We have already discussed the importance of packing materials. Now, with the boxes crated and palletised to protect the goods, the emphasis it throws light on is that never underestimate the crucial importance the packaging holds. Using foam peanuts and the durable air cushioned support is an appreciable way to cover the vacant space in the parcel boxes – with more considerable focus on the internal packing for the high priority and fragile kind of goods to reduce free space inside the boxes. It does not matter how hard or durable your box looks, if you are placing small or brittle goods inside without using the space around, there are high chances that you will end up facing a damaged and ruined box at a later stage. This can be a highly susceptible possibility if the goods are supposed to travel long distance routes and that are too handled by multiple associates. The chances of getting the items ruined are most likely in such a situation. One can also use the box-in-box packing strategy, in which the box holding the goods is placed inside a much larger box, with the vacant space filled around. Another important tip to note is to use H-taping where the edges and closures of the parcel box are closed with parcel tapes to prevent any damages during the handling and transportation.
Keep an eye on weight of goods and their respective crates
It is important for you to weigh the goods and decide your choice of parcel packaging is in line with the size and weight of the items you prepared to transport. Picking a box or a crate that is not fit to handle the item’s gross weight will make packaging efforts futile and most likely lead to unforeseen effects on the goods while on the transit. This becomes a real issue when you are planning to send heavy valuable commercial items over a long distance.
If the packing crates do not support the sheer weight, there are high chances for it to suffer huge losses for those who ship the items.
Pick functionality of the packaging and not appearance
There are many packaging methods prevalent in the industry which look photogenic and highly captivating based on their outside appeal but ideally, one should prefer protection than the appearance of the packaging. Softer but attractive packaging like colorful sacks and funky baskets are gaining popularity in many commodity packing. Though these make an impression on the customer about the looks, an important aspect everyone comfortably forgets is the condition of items inside the sack. If you have plans to use more attractive or eye-pleasing packaging, try to pack it first on the basis of safety and then move on to choose the attractive packing outside the safely packed items. When you do the shipping internationally, choose shipping items in hard packages as there may be intermediate stops, where your items may endure handling and hard packing can considerably ensure the safety of the items. The goods can be then packed in the attractive manner, but protective enough, to ensure the goods are protected for as much of the journey as possible.
Choose a trusted customs clearance company
Anyone indulged in export and import will be well aware of the requirements that lingers with the whole process. The long tiring paper works need to be handled efficiently for the smooth shipping of goods. For this, you need the service of experienced and reliable customs clearance company or such service providers who can do the paperwork without delay for swift transportation of goods.
Promoting your goods globally is a sign of a high growth prospect and can bring forward pragmatic ways to expand the customer base. It helps to drive your business forward to the next level in no time. Nevertheless, it is significant to monitor and improve your approach towards international shipping. These 7 tips to prepare your cargo for international shipping can definitely work wonders taking your business miles forward.
