Basics About Shipping

December 1, 2022
Business Insight

All the basics about shipping that you need to know, four participants, trade terms, shipping methods, and containers.

Four Participants

1. Exporter

It usually refers to someone with a legally licensed export certificate, like us.

2. Importer

It usually refers to licensed importers, which means your company has the importing license to do customs clearance

3. Freight forwarder

Ones who would book vessels with shipping companies and hand over all needed customs files from us.

4. Shipping line

This means the shipping lines from our loading port(port of loading) in China to your unloading port(port of discharge).

Licensed buyers have constantly been doing export/import business, so they already develop their own freight forwarders’ group.

Non-licensed buyers: tend to cooperate with our freight forwarders.

As a top pet supplies wholesale exporter, we focus on one industry and offer all solutions. With over 10 years of exporting, we’ve got our long-term cooperating freight forwarders for different shipping lines.

Trade terms

1. Licensed buyer

FOB: Free on Board

CIF: Cost Insurance and Freight

2. non-Licensed buyer

DDP: Delivered Duty Paid

FBA: Fulfillment By Amazon

Shipping Methods

1. Ocean

This is the most common and cost-effective shipping way. It takes a long time, up to 20-45 days or even longer.

A large container cargo ship travels over a calm, blue ocean

2. Air

It’s more costly, but the fastest way. It takes around 3-10 days.

If customers require a small package of samples or it’s an urgent order, we do air shipping.

3. Rail

It’s an intermediate approach between air and ocean shipping in terms of cost and time, 15-30days.

Basically, only when you book cargo from china to Europe, having rail shipping is like, you have one more option.

Container

However, in most cases, ocean shipping is always the top option. Just like a product has variations, in ocean shipping, shipping companies also have different sizes of containers. The most common and cost-effective ones are

20GP

40HQ

LCL(less than container load)

FCL(Full Container Load)

HIPET SUPPLIES EXPORTER IN CHINA

1. MATERIAL SOURCING

For sewing products like custom dog clothes and beds etc, the quality of fabric material is the key to the finished pet supplies. And we locate in Shaoxing, China, a very well-known manufacturing city.

Within 10+ years of fabric and pet supplies exporting, we already develop a competitive supply chain from material to finished pet items.

2. SAMPLE CONFIRMATION

We will send out samples for your reference. You pay for the product samples, and we will pay for your international express fee.

Ready goods for quick shipment—Samples can be sent out immediately
OEM order for customization–-Samples can be sent out within 3-7 working days.

3. FACTORY PRODUCTION

After customers confirm samples and OEM order details, we step in and communicate all processing details, track the order status and keep customers updated as a professional wholesale dog supplies exporter.

And this ensures product quality, quantity, and order lead time. Obviously, this step is extremely important and requires laborers to keep tracking periodically.

4. QC AND WAREHOUSING

While producing, we will do a 3-stage inspection, including Pre-production, Mid-production sample check, and Final-check before loading.

We will collect all of your required products from our warehouse and do a responsible final inspection before loading to make sure quality. In the meantime, we will send all products and inspection pictures and videos on WhatsApp Business for your approval.

If there are any faulty products, we will directly send them back to factories and redo them until they are all met the quality requirements.

5. LOADING AND SHIPPING

Before loading, we will check the product list again to make sure all products are right and waiting in the warehouse.

During loading, we distribute the cargo evenly in the container, basically simple rule is to put heavier fabric rolls or carton boxes on the bottom and set lighter ones on the top.

After loading, we double confirm the loaded products info and send all pics of Empty Container, Half Container, Full Container, Container Door Locking and Sealing Key for customers to keep updated.

6. CUSTOMS DECLARATION

As a professional custom dog pillow exporter in China, after we complete the container loading, the next process is to do China Customs Declaration. We will have to submit the needed documents to China Customs including ED(Export Declaration), CI(Commercial Invoice), PL(Packing List), DPL(Detailed Packing List), etc.

The China customs department will check and verify the documents to ensure that all details are the same as the actual cargo details in the container. The goods will be released only after approval by China customs.

KEQIAO, SHAOXING, CHINA

1. HISTORY

The ancient city of Shaoxing, in neighboring Zhejiang Province, boasts a history of over 2,500 years. Widely known for its beautiful scenery and rich culture and heritage, it is also called the “museum with no walls.”

There are four national economic and technological development zones in Shaoxing — Gaoxin, Keqiao, Paojiang and Shangyu — as well as Shaoxing Binhai New Town, a provincial-level industrial park established in 2010. These development zones have been providing a wide platform for investors and career-builders.

As an industrial city, Shaoxing is famous for its textile and mental process industries. It is also an important export base under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

To date, Shaoxing has completed a very developed production supply chain in the textile-based industry, including grey fabric–dyeing– processing– export.

Shaoxing has also a good international reputation for its business environment, providing an efficient administrative service to all investors in the city.