Shipping freight internationally can be complex. It’s a mystifying process: your merchandise leaves your warehouse, only to disappear for an indefinite amount of time, to somehow mysteriously reappear at its destination. There’s reams of paperwork and an alphabet soup of abbreviations to navigate. Life could be easier for all parties, however, if there was a better understanding of what was going on. Here are the top three things your international freight shipping company wishes you knew:
1. The more information you provide, the better!
An international freight shipping company cannot, under any circumstance, ‘fly blind’. They need to know a great deal of information, from an exact description of what you’re shipping, what it’s made of, and where it’s going, before they can even begin to give you a price quote. Varying regulations and transport requirements greatly affect price. The more information you give the international freight shipping company, the better they’ll be able to help you.
2. There are things beyond the international freight shipping company’s control.
Buy insurance. No matter what you’re shipping, or where it’s going, you want to insure your materials. Most international freight shipping companies offer insurance or work closely with vendors who do. Buy it. Planes crash, ships sink, and meteors crash out of the sky and smash delivery vans flat. None of these are common occurrences, but you want to be prepared.
3. Transit takes time.
The people who work at the international freight shipping company live in the same world you do, replete with instant messaging and microwave dinners. It’s a fast paced world, and we’ve all become used to instant gratification.
That being said, there are actual, physical limits to how fast international freight shipping happens. Air shipments generally require a few days. Ocean transport, however, can take longer — sometimes several weeks. Be realistic about your expectations, and you’re far more likely to be pleased with your international freight shipping company.
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