Ship by sea? More work?

[twalsh]

I've got a great supplier in Guangdong who has been sending goods via FedEx. This is dead easy as it just arrives at my door.

As my orders are getting larger I'd like to know the extra effort for sea freight. I'm only getting to the point of pallet size deliveries. Can I get these door to door or would I have to deal with customs?

 

[Mister B]

It's no more hassle at all and a fraction of the price. The only downside is the five week transit time compared a few days via courier.

Find yourself a good forwarder and they will handle everything for you, including the customs side. All you have to do is supply the freight information-then leave the rest to them.

You will pay the forwarder directly for both freight charges and customs charges.

Mister B

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

If you use a freight forwarder it will be a little more hassle, but the saving you will make in the shipping costs should make it worthwhile!

 

[GraemeL]

I'm only getting to the point of pallet size deliveries. Can I get these door to door or would I have to deal with customs?

A UK based FF will take care of everything. All you have to do is to make it clear you want delivery to your premises.

But don't get carried away by thinking of 'pallets'. If you really really want a pallet then you may have problems with a) the untreated wood and b) making use of the height of the container - making it more expensive to ship.

Think of your larger orders as 'less than a full container' (ie LCL). Give the details of carton sizes, weights and contents together with the factory address and your premises address to the FF and they will quote you. Don't concern yourself about pallet quantities. The FF will tell you if your volume is too small for sea freight.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

If just one pallet, sea will save you a lot, but airfreight will be a lot less than using a courier. Speak to a FF who should give you good advice.

Btw you need to bare in mind the unit cost/value of the product and profitability. As volumes grow, keep stock flowing and even consider split shipping.

 

[twalsh]

Hi and thanks for the responses. If anyone has a personal recommendation for a freight forwarder I'd appreciate it.

 

[GraemeL]

[email protected]

I have used them.

 

[MOIC]

It's not a case of "more work" or "extra effort", rather than economics and speed you want your goods to arrive landed in your warehouse.

Whether the goods are sent by air or by sea, your work is virtually the same.

The differences will be cost and arrival times.

Sometimes speed is of greater importance to fulfil deliveries as well as keeping cashflow moving.

A combination of both is sometimes a good idea.

 

[Maple Sourcing]

It's a good idea to use a pallet, nowadays, most of pallets are made of plastic instead of wood, so no worries about the hassle of wood pallets such as fumigations.

Not only palletizing will make the transition easier, but also and more importantly, palletizing will protect the products significantly.

For my projects, we try to use pallets no matter for FCL or LCL, as we cannot afford the cost of products getting damaged during transition, and save the hassle of unloading them at warehouse.

It will not really waste container space much, if you consult your FF in advance and load the products on pallet to the maximum allowed height.

 

[NicoleSourcing]

Hello twalsh,

If you intend to order larger quantity by sea freight you should not worry too much. It is very easy and yes it will save you lot of money compared to Fedex. It will just take more time to receive.

You can directly ask your supplier to do it for you. Suppliers are used to do it for their customers. And you can ask Door to Door without problem. If you don't trust your supplier then ask the help of a sourcing agent or a shipping agent.

 

[KimyChung]

FedEx pricing sometimes go crazy when it comes to extra large freight, the sea shipping is the wisest way so far and little more complicated that FedEx though. You'll have to find a good and reliable forwarded company, they'll do all that customs staff, but their service is not door-to-door though

 

[Carousel-Freight]

Hi there,

Indeed as others have said, using a forwarder simplifies things: they do the running around with very little involvement from you, if that's what you want. We at Carousel would be happy to offer you more advice if you wish.