Shipping from one place to another could be a headache and more so if you are sitting in a different continent. The process is complicated and confusing to a normal person but there are also apprehensions relating to the shipping costs. Shipping involves a myriad of shipping companies and government authorities on both sides. There are the issues of safety on-time delivery of products with a satisfactory freight cost. Similarly, shipping from China to UK is also a harrowing business for the first time and might seem intimidating.
While shipping from China, you might want to keep the following points in mind:
Shipping method:
Any business or individual can ship from China in different methods.
• Through regular post: It usually takes two to six weeks to ship from regular china post to the UK. It is the cheapest if your parcels are small but the dangers include safety issues and packages might be lost.
• Using courier services: this is an easy way out for people who do not want to get into the mess of doing it themselves or for first-timers. It again usually takes two to six weeks for delivery. This method is quick and reliable and is mostly taken care of by the courier service but the charges are higher than postal service.
• Via air freight: This method is most suitable if the delivery package is heavy and large. Transit time is also pretty less ranging from 2 days to 10 days. The problem lays in the documentation and the process of customs clearances which will have to done by the importer by themselves. But these tasks can also be outsourced at an additional cost.
• Through sea: transport by sea is the most time consuming but is cost-effective. The most beneficial part of shipping through the sea is that the goods can be of diverse nature and also huge weight can be shipped. It usually takes approximately 6 weeks to reach the destination but the costs are very economical.
• All of the above options have their own benefits and a lot of deliberation is required on the cost, security of the shipment and the available time. The choice should be what suits your current need the most.
Shipping management:
It is difficult to decide whether you want to do the process of shipping by yourself or through another agent or just let the supplier take care of it. The key to this decision might be in the amount of control you would like to have in this process.
• For full control, internal management will be good. Though this will be beneficial for big companies who can book space directly with shipping lines and so and it will be costlier.
• A freight forwarder in the UK can also do your work. This is very convenient but the only problem that such forwarders will charge an agent fee which makes it costly.
• A freight forwarder in China can be another option. It is usually quick and is also cheaper than the above. It also makes it easier to let them communicate with the supplier based in China.
• For saving both time and money, working with forwarders on both sides will be best and it also has a high amount of control over the process.
The choice depends totally on the time and money decisions on the importers' side. It is a crucial financial and logistics decision that will affect the business.
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