Things to Avoid with International Heavy Shipping

These days, businesses are branching out into overseas markets more than ever.

That's because it's easy to do business online. Moreover, with the availability of advanced analytics that assists merchants in developing their businesses overseas by providing them with unprecedented volumes of data, businesses of all sizes have more potential to break into foreign markets.

But there are several potential downsides to expanding globally, despite many potential upsides.

Managing the required logistics can be one of the most difficult components of developing a loyal customer base among international customers for suppliers with little to no prior expertise.

Even the largest corporations have difficulty perfecting the art of international shipping because it requires a careful balancing act. There is no single approach that is superior when it comes to transporting heavy items across international borders.

But we have good news for you and your company: it does not appear that you will be doomed to an endless string of catastrophes involving international shipment.

Your business will do well in international trade if you are aware of the many pitfalls that can appear and know how to prevent them.

What Is Heavy Shipping?

Many countries have different rules that govern 'heavy shipping.' But in most parts, any package that weighs more than 50 lbs is considered a heavy shipment.

However, not all heavy shipments require transportation on a pallet. Shipments weighing less than 154 lbs can travel without pallets, though this varies by region.

Large goods don't have an official category, but anything that needs to go on a pallet is usually categorized as 'heavy.' To be exact, most considers a shipment heavy if they are longer than 108 inches and wider than 165 inches.

Furthermore, your package becomes freight if it weighs more than 150 pounds.

Shipping light or heavy packages often has no obvious difference. The main difference is that there may be an extra fee for additional weight. However, if your shipment is not considered freight, there should be no problems.

Potential Issues with Your International Shipment

So what are the possible issues that can crop up when you delve into the international market and the shipping business?

Everything from customs to exorbitant costs can bring trouble. So let's examine them one by one.

Custom issues

Customs issues are possibly the most frustrating of all the issues that may occur during international shipment. This is especially true if you do not have a reliable logistics partner who can assist you in managing the expenses and complexities of the customs clearance procedure.

Each country you export to has its unique set of rules and tariffs for your goods; clearing them through customs may be a lengthy and expensive procedure.

This is because many nations strictly control or outright ban some imports to safeguard indigenous markets and historical landscapes.

Recent advances in international trade have added even more complexity to the uncertainty. There's nothing we can do to prevent the disintegration of free trade agreements, which in the past have made it easier for businesses to expand into international shipping services.

According to export.gov, a significant number of companies fail to address the most prevalent reasons why the shipment of their goods may be delayed or even denied entrance into the country of destination.

These causes include:

• Incorrect shipping labels.
• Extra burdensome responsibilities.
• Custom officials frequently invoke concerns about public health, sanitation, or safety.
• Difficulties with Certificate of Origin, maximum weight, ingredients, markings, shipping label, etc.
• The exporter failed to provide proper documentation.
• Problems with complying with the receiving country's import and packaging standards.

When shipping internationally, customs delays can be greatly reduced by paying attention to details like getting shipping labels and paperwork right.

Even doing something as simple as accurately depicting the shipment's contents, such as maximum weight and materials used, can also help.

The likelihood of shipping delays decreases dramatically once you (or your logistics partner) resolve customs issues.

And that's a good thing because customs delays raise prices, lead customers to cancel orders, and leave your freight shipments stuck in limbo.

Exorbitant costs

Costs for international shipping services (especially for heavy items) are a major factor in the global economy and one of its most essential components.

The most common reason customers do not complete their purchases is the high shipping cost.

International sales profitability can be severely damaged if you either absorb or pass on shipping costs to customers. But this excludes Amazon, whose shipping and fulfillment expenses comprised only 16.6% of net sales in 2007 but 26.4% in 2017.

What makes international shipping costly?

So why is international shipping expensive? Here are a few reasons why.

1) Destination

Shipping costs are influenced by the distance to your shipping destination and the frequency of flights to the destination. With limited routes to a certain destination, parcel shipments are likely to be expensive.

2) Type of product

Shipping costs also often change based on what kind of object is being transported. For example, shipping prices go up when it comes to heavy items like vehicles and food that spoil quickly.

3) Shipping speed

A faster freight shipment time usually comes with a higher price. The problem with slower shipment speeds is that clients have become accustomed to speedy shipping times despite being more expensive.

Poor communication

A major international shipping failure in today's era of customer experience occurs when shipping companies are unable to explain the shipping procedure to their customers adequately.

Transparency between the buyer and seller on the shipping procedure is essential whether you are a B2C or B2B overseas supplier.

A failure to be clear about responsibilities is one source of business mistakes. Customers should be informed of the method used to collect duties prior to completing their purchases.

For example, a holdup at customs may occur with uncertainty regarding when or how much must be paid.

Another example of how poor communication can have unintended consequences is when companies fail to provide customers with a way to track the delivery status of their packages.

Although it isn't always possible, providing clients with shipment tracking is valuable. This level of openness is especially comforting for long-distance, cross-border goods.

Lack of localization

The term "localization" can refer to a wide variety of concepts:

• Translating your website and other marketing materials into the language spoken by your intended customers.
• Converting all purchases to the local currency at checkout.
• Including features like customer assistance in the native tongue.

Customers may become frustrated with their overseas purchases and abandon their shopping carts if they are not localized properly.

Long wait times

Most businesses operate on a relatively modest scale in the beginning stages of their career. They do this to build a solid reputation in their home country before even considering entering international markets.

Once international expansion becomes a goal for your company, no matter how big or small, you must prioritize global logistics. If you put off addressing logistics problems until you're ready to go to market, you may be unable to deliver on time.

If you get a good start on your preparation, you might be able to avoid the unavoidable delays created by bottlenecks in overseas shipments.

How to Avoid These Issues

These complications prolong the shipping process, which in turn raises both costs and consumer displeasure.

These are steps you can take to avoid the issues:

• To avoid complications at customs, work with a shipping partner who is familiar with the areas to which you'll be sending packages.
• Make use of distribution facilities to save money on shipping time and expenses.
• Invest in localization efforts all through shipment. Find a shipping partner that provides customer service in your area and manages relationships with local carriers if your business lacks the ability to do so on its own.
• Give your consumers as much information as possible about shipping times and costs.
• Use the tools available in modern logistics to reduce the number of mistakes that can occur during transportation.

Conclusion

International shipping of heavy items can pose many problems to you and your company. But partnering with a reliable shipping company can take care of many issues.

Custom issues, elevated prices, poor communication, lack of localization, and long wait times are the common issues likely to occur during international shipment.

There are, however, ways to mitigate the problems. Doing something as simple as completing all the necessary documents or paying custom tariffs on time should do it.

You don't have to worry about these problems if you use the top services provided by A-1 Auto Transport. Contact us today for a free quote.