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The Beginners Guide To Shipping Abroad

Owning a business can mean many things, and each business in each sector is going to be different from the next. But if you ship anything abroad, there are going to be some very distinct similarities, and this guide to shipping abroad put together by London courier Absolutely should help you work through what you need to know, and get started.

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Find The Right Courier

Perhaps the very first thing you need to do when shipping abroad – certainly the first thing we would recommend – is to find the right courier. At Absolutely we have many years’ experience in shipping abroad, so if you come to us you’re going to get an excellent service at a fair price, and we can assure your goods will reach where they need to be, when they need to be.

There are many different couriers to choose from, so take your time. This is a hugely important aspect of the shipping process, and you need to be completely confident you are happy with the company you’ve chosen. Check out what their customer service is like, and what their processes are. Don’t just work on a price model; sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

What is Export Customs Clearance?

Every time a shipment leaves the UK there are a plethora of customs formalities that need to take place. They have to meet all the correct regulatory requirements, and customs clearance means that you submit all the relevant documents to the authorities requesting them. This can only be done by companies with the right licences, and these are known as customs house brokers. This step needs to be completed before any goods are legally allowed to leave the country.

What is Origin Handling?

Origin handling is about all the physical handling and checking of the cargo. This starts from when it is received into the origin warehouse until it is loaded onto the lorry for the next part of its journey. Lots of different parties are involved in origin handling, so it all needs to be carefully co-ordinated, and the responsibility falls to the freight forwarder, or their agent.

To begin with, when the cargo is received it needs to be tallied (basically, inspected), loading has to be planned, it needs to be checked against other planned cargo to ensure safety, then packed into a container in some instances, and finally loaded into the truck for the next stage of the delivery.

Air Freight

It is the freight forwarder’s duty to choose an airline for the air freight portion of the shipping process. They need to choose an airline that will meet the timeline set out by the customer so the goods arrive when they are supposed to.

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Import Customs Clearance

Of course, once the goods arrive in their destination country, they will need to go through customs. This process can actually begin before the consignment arrives, saving time at the other end. As long as it is completed before the cargo leaves the customs bonded area then everything will be legal, and there will be no time delays. Since time is always pressing on any kind of delivery, starting the process of import customs as early as possible is always a good idea.

Destination Handling

If you think of the process as a balanced one, you’ll notice everything that needed to be done at the start also needs to be completed at the end – the time spent traveling in between is the middle of the process. So there must be destination handling as well as origin handling. Destination handling means checking everything is correct – paperwork and goods – once they arrive in their destination country. Once this is dealt with successfully, your consignment can then be on its way to its final destination.

Import Haulage

The very last leg of the shipping process is the delivery from warehouse to consignee. This might be performed by the freight forwarder themselves, or it could be organised by a local courier company. It will depend where it needs to go and which company you have chosen to help you.

Shipping Abroad With Absolutely

Absolutely is a London courier, but we are well versed in shipping abroad too, and can organise the entire process from start to finish. Why not chat to us today about how we can assist you? Simply call 020 7685 1400 or click on https://www.absolutelycourier.com/our-services/international-courier-services/ to get started.