Several businesses ship their products not just in their own country but also across the border. If you ship your products to various other countries, then you must be aware of the overheads and hassles that come along in case your goods are lost, stolen or damaged in transit – given the long transit time and changes of hand. To avoid such situations, here are some of the tips that will help you prepare your goods for international freight shipping.

Packaging Of Your Goods Is Important For Freight Shipping– Do it Correctly

If you plan to ship goods in bulk, then using pallets is highly recommended. Pallets form an integral part of shipping, as they provide security and structure to your goods, enable easy storage, stacking handling and lifting – so that goods are ready for handling the pressure that comes along with various freight shipping modes.

There are many businesses that use corrugated boxes or double layer, reinforced boxes or even gunny bags to pack their goods for shipping. Depending on your goods, you can consider using these options, which would further be loaded in a container.

Additionally, you can also shrink wrap or strap your goods together – to ensure your goods do not fall out and are banded together throughout the transit. Shrink wrapping also protects your goods from the possible seasonal or environmental damage that could be caused to your goods otherwise.

For goods that are fragile, labelling them as FRAGILE on the outside of the packaging is highly recommended – so that your shipping service provider is well aware of the sensitivity of your goods and will handle and load your goods accordingly.

Ignoring Internal Packaging Is Not An Option

While you have taken care of the external packaging of your goods in corrugated boxes or pallets, undermining the internal packaging is a big No No. If your boxes and pallets have multiple products inside, filling the empty space with fillers is highly recommended. This will help shield your products from scratches and breakage. There are various packing materials available that you can choose from, based on your product type like packing peanuts, foam, air cushions. Many businesses also practice a box-in-box packing. Where the goods box is packed inside a bigger box with the empty space filled in.

Now that the internal packaging is taken care of, let’s discuss about taping and sealing your boxes. Though this sounds quite obvious, many businesses take it quite lightly and their well packed boxes end up opened or goods fallen off from the package – leading to a loss of goods. It is of utmost importance to seal your packages in the correct manner with a high quality packaging tape that will protect your packages in transit and while handling.

Ensure Your Goods Can Sustain Your Chosen Mode of Freight Shipping

As we know, there are multiple modes through which your goods can reach their destination – ocean, road, air or a mix of transport modes. While choosing the right mode of freight shipping is one step, preparing your goods to sustain the pressure of this mode and handling is another point that should be taken care. Each of the modes have their own pressures; in ocean freight, the ship can sway, surge, yaw or even roll during the transit which largely depends on the ocean waters, therefore it is highly important you consider these motions and ensure your cargo is well packed to sustain these motions.

In road freight, your cargo can experience shock, pressure and vibration – depending on the roadways.  This can cause damage to your goods, therefore, it is important your packaging can sustain such shock and still be in best shape.

Weigh Your Goods and Pack Accordingly

There are many ways of packaging your cargo, choosing the right type of packaging depends on the weight of your goods. Opting for small boxes, or pallets that cannot handle heavy weight of your goods can damage your goods, specially while they are lifted and handled. Imagine using a small plastic carry bag for a heavy product – eventually, this product will cut through the plastic and fall off on your way home. Now, you don’t want this to happen to your goods – therefore, we recommend choosing the right type of packaging that best suit your goods.

Looks Can Be Deceptive

Many companies consider the looks of package when it is delivered to their customers over the sturdiness of package. While looks are important, they are not as important as delivering the products to the customers in one piece. The objective of packaging is to ensure your goods are secured and protected, making the packaging soft for the sake of looks can lead to loss.

If the looks of the packaging are a really important aspect for you, you can choose to send goods to a warehouse or storage place, re-pack them in soft beautiful packaging then deliver them to your customers.

Feedback is Important

If your goods are directly shipped to your end customer, gather reviews on the product from them – about how the product reached to them, were they happy, were the products damaged or incomplete. If your goods are received at a warehouse or by a wholesealer or retailer, take a feedback from them on how the goods were received – were they in perfect shape or was there any damage or missing parts. Such feedback will help you work on your packaging and freight shipping modes so that you do not incur loss due to similar reasons again.

If you are still unsure on best practices to prepare your goods for freight shipping, get in touch with an expert freight forwarder like ProConnect Integrated Logistics for the best practices and advice. You can always evaluate us for any of your international shipping requirements. Contact Us.