Focus on Transportation
Mike Josypenko (MIEX, Institute of Export) along with Sandra Strong (Strong and Herd LLP) presented the focus on transportation webinar.
You can watch the video of the webinar below, and check out our Recent Webinars page to access all the Open to Export webinars giving practical guidance and answers to all your exporting concerns.
Some key areas touched upon include:
Understanding your customers – which means you should know if you are selling to retailers or consumers – each party will require a different mode of transport. In addition to this know what your product is. Know the exact size of the product know if it is being sent in bulk will determine the form of transportation.
The variety of transport available allows you to be able to choose what is best for you and your product. Certain modes of transport will rely upon the product’s weight; for example small consignments (those below 200 kg) will be able to use small parcel services or airfreight. Large consignments (above 10 tonnes) will need container ships or full road trailers.
Import duties and taxes – these are important to understand as they will affect the cost of exporting the product. In most scenarios the importer is responsible for the customs clearance, duties and the taxes. However, where Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) is involved then the seller is the party that is in charge of paying for all the costs.
Travel Agents and Documentation
In the webinar Mike mentioned that a travel agent is a good way for you to find out about what you might need when moving your exports. For instance the agent will be able to advise you on the mode of transport as well as which carriers to use. They will also be able to arrange the transport on your behalf should that be necessary.
Sandra spoke about the documents that are required when moving exports to customers, an important one to note is the shipping invoice. Making sure that you have the invoice will mean that it is clear who is paying and who is responsible for certain aspects of the export; the invoice will describe the good(s), the contract terms and the parties which are involved.