10 important steps that you should pay attention to when delivering your cargo

Based on many years of experience in delivering goods to Ukraine, CARAT reminds you of 10 important steps that you should pay attention to when delivering your cargo with a “cargo” company:

Search for a supplier

First of all, you need to find and make sure your supplier is reliable. Everyone knows that any search begins with GOOGLE. Also, to select a supplier, you should register on major trading platforms: TAOBAO, ALIBABA, ALIEXPRESS for China and Asian countries, as well as on EBAY and AMAZON for buying goods in America. There is a huge risk of stumbling upon a dishonest seller, so the task is to get as much information about him as possible:

• Business name, employee names, website, email addresses, physical address, telephone, fax. According to these data, on the Internet, you can find information or reviews about this seller.
• It would not be superfluous to ask the supplier for: a general description of the product, a certificate of quality, dates and terms of order production, a pro forma contract. It should be no problem for reputable suppliers to send you all of the above information.
• And the most important test is ordering samples (a trial batch of goods). By ordering samples once, you will be able to fully verify the reliability of the supplier, check the method of delivery of your products and save yourself from many problems that may arise from a large blind order.

Payment for the goods

There are several options for paying a foreign invoice. Before you go to pay it through the bank, be sure to consult with your “cargo” company, perhaps its manager will be able to offer you other optimal payment methods with a minimum bank commission.

Recommendations to the supplier on the packaging of your cargo

Companies form the cost of delivery of your cargo “cargo” based on three parameters: weight, volume and product group. If everything is clear with the product group – these are either household goods or more expensive types of goods: branded clothing, shoes, leather goods and electronics (although some types of such products can also be classified as household goods and brought at a lower tariff), then with weight and volume you need to be extremely careful. According to the rules of air transportation, 1 cubic meter of cargo must weigh at least 167 kg. If it is less, “cargo” companies charge an additional surcharge to the basic tariff for “volumetric weight”. Therefore, you should clarify to your supplier so that he packs the cargo as compactly as possible, using the entire usable area of the packaging material, leaving no empty spaces, for which you will then have to pay extra. At the same time, you need to remember about the reliability of the packaging of your cargo, especially if it is electronics or fragile goods.

Choice of your carrier

Now there are a lot of offers on the market for the delivery of goods to Ukraine from anywhere in the world with the same types of transport and cost of services. The most important criteria when choosing a “cargo” company:

• Variety of services. Qualified carrier companies can offer a wide variety of types of transportation: land, air and sea transport. Of course, this does not mean that they should own planes, steamships, trains and personal customs, this implies that they have a wide agency network and are able to involve third parties in the transportation for even more efficient and economical delivery of your cargo.
• Possibility of “turnkey” transportation – when the carrier fully takes care of all the concerns associated with the transportation and customs clearance of cargo, relieving you of all the hassle associated with logistics.
• Availability of transportation insurance. This service allows you to avoid financial losses in case unforeseen circumstances occur with the cargo during its transportation.
• Online support and personal manager. Before sending the cargo, be sure to check with the “cargo” company for the name and contact phone number of the manager, from whom, if necessary, you can find out the current status of the transportation and the date of arrival of the cargo.
• Additionally, pay attention to: the age of the company, the presence of a website, groups in social networks, the absence of negative reviews on the Internet, the presence of its own warehouses and representative offices, both in Ukraine and in other countries, the quality of feedback on your requests, etc. d. and so on.

Delivery of your cargo from the supplier’s warehouse to the carrier’s warehouse

As a rule, suppliers can cover the cost of this delivery, providing you with an additional bonus for the purchase of goods. The most important thing is to discuss this point at the stage of the order and before the moment of payment for the goods.

Control of the receipt of cargo at the warehouse of your carrier

Ask your sender to send you a tracking number or a scanned copy of the courier invoice for the delivery of goods from your supplier’s warehouse to the company’s cargo warehouse. This will allow you to know the exact date of arrival of the goods at the warehouse of the carrier company, from which, in fact, the countdown of the delivery time begins. It will not be superfluous to send this information to your manager in the “cargo” company.

Tracking the status of the cargo in the process of its delivery

The most exciting moment in our life is waiting. So why not brighten it up with pleasant communication with the manager of the “cargo” company, specifying the location and timing of the arrival of your cargo. A distinctive sign of the professional work of the “cargo” company is the timely and most truthful provision of information on the status of transportation at the first request of the client.

Customs clearance of cargo

Often, “cargo” companies, when importing goods into Ukraine, clear them for themselves, while drawing up all import customs documents for their company. In this case, you receive only the customs cleared cargo, without any customs declarations or other documents. This procedure is suitable if you do not import especially large consignments of goods for their further wholesale on the territory of Ukraine. If you need to put the imported goods on the balance sheet of your company and receive a full package of import documents, then you should first notify the carrier company about this and agree on the most suitable, as well as economical option for the delivery and customs clearance of your cargo.

Control of the integrity / completeness / safety of the cargo at the stage of its issuance to you, after customs clearance

Before paying with the “cargo” company for the Delivery and customs clearance of your cargo, and transferring it to you, you first need to make sure that the goods are intact and in proper appearance. Of course, this is easy to do if you personally pick up the goods from the carrier’s warehouse. If the carrier sends you the goods using a courier company, ask him to send a photo before the calculation, which will show that the factory packaging is not broken, and the box has its original shape. Otherwise, ask for a full recalculation of the items so that the quantity of the goods matches what you originally ordered. Anything can happen, and just at this stage, the transportation insurance service can be very useful, which should be issued when filling out the booking form, before sending the cargo to the company’s “cargo” warehouse. As a rule, the cost of “full” insurance for the carriage of goods is 2% of its value.

Delivery of cargo across Ukraine from the carrier to your hands

Delivery in Ukraine is carried out by quite a lot of courier companies. Of course, the most famous of them and, indeed, easy to use, as well as offering a quality service, is “Nova Poshta”. But the tariffs of “Nova Poshta” are not always economical, especially when you need to send a large consignment. Companies such as “Intime”, “Gunsel”, “Mist Express” or “Autolux” can be useful here. Therefore, before sending, compare the rates for the delivery of your cargo across Ukraine with each of these companies, choosing the most favorable rate for yourself.