How to save your MONEY importing from China involves careful planning and strategic decisions. Here are some shipping tips to help you save money on your imports:
Everything should be started with a plan. It goes the same with your shipping business when you import from China.
The first point of our Shipping Tips is making an effective shipping plan should embody a clear understanding of the scope of the business, the quantities involved, and the frequency of the shipments. This plan will help you negotiate with the freight forwarders. If you don’t have time to make the shipping plan, here in KISUN, we can help you make the best plan, just need your share with us your suppliers in China, and then we will send you the best shipping solutions in 24 hours!
When you plan your shipping, you have to consider the Incoterms, the destination of the product, the shipping lead time, possible routes, the size of your orders, etc. Learn more about Incoterms.
This is the best practice for you to get everything in mind before you get involved in International business. Regarding your sourcing order, you can schedule its shipping before your items are completely produced. Effective planning will finally benefit your business. Incorporate your shipping part into the entire business circle, and make a sustainable shipping plan.
Route planning is a key part of your plan. As we know, there may be multiple routes to ship your items to the final destination. What you have to do is to find the most cost-effective one to reduce costs.
You can choose the best one, or direct transportation to make it efficient and time-saving. It’s known to all that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
Plan your transportation route and optimize it to reduce delivery route and shipping costs. If possible, you are allowed to utilize a combination of ship and truck transport.
2. Choose the Right TIMING
Time is a key factor in lowering the cost of shipping from China. The most cost-effective way is to avoid the Chinese holidays. During Chinese holidays, there is a shortage of workers whether on the road or in the factory, thus the shipping cost increases and congestion at seaports.
Most official Chinese holidays are between September and October. Avoiding importing during these two months will save you a bit of money.
January and February are also two months that you should avoid importing goods from China.
Holiday Impact
- Chinese New Year (about 3 weeks, lunar calendar)
- National Holiday 1 week, Oct 1 ~ Oct 7
3. Choose the Right Container
When it comes to container shipping, you’d better understand the size of them for a better option. For FCL, there are normally 4 types of containers for your options.
FCL 20 feet
FCL 40 feet
FCL 40 feet HQ
FCL 45 feet HQ
Generally speaking, the container with 20 inches is designed to carry more weight than voluminous items. For instance, it is produced to fill minerals, metals, machinery, etc. These items are heavy products of small size.
The container with 40 inches is designed for voluminous items instead of heavy ones. For example, it is to carry tires, clothes, furniture, etc. All these items are voluminous ones.
How can you choose the right container for your items imported from China? Given the container designs, you should choose the right container on the basis of your products given their weight and volume.
You can shape your order based on how many units will fit in a specific container size to save you a bit of money.
4. Choose the Right Freight Forwarder
When you import from China, you will find it is a complex process, especially the shipping process. You have to identify a relevantly reliable shipping provider that offers the best service for all your transportation needs.
They are allowed to give you lots of regular shipping discounts, or special offerings. These special offerings will help you lower shipping costs. If possible, you can even ship your goods without any cost to fulfill your e-commerce orders.
Quality shipping services will help you expand the international market without worrying about the high cost of international transportation.
5. Strategic Use of Partial Shipments
If time isn’t a critical factor, consider opting for partial shipments over one large shipment. This approach allows you to consolidate goods over time, potentially reducing overall costs while maintaining flexibility. In this way, you will need a logistical company located in China, offering warehousing service.
6. Work with logistics of a company directly
If you work with a wide range of products, what’s the best way to manage your suppliers in China, and at the same time, make sure you get the best shipping rates? Here is our advice, Work with a product supplier, and find a shipping agent in China, Work with them directly, and you will get competitive rates at Kisun shipping. So, you get rid of the services of intermediaries and save up to 20% of the cost.
Conclusion
To find the right overseas shipping service provider, lots of you will spend time reviewing relevant shipping companies one by one, which is a huge waste of your time, nowadays Time is money, In KISUN, a forwarder with over 10 years of experience, we hate to see you waste your time on shipping, you should focus on your sales and advertising in your market, and let us handle the shipping for you, given your shipping destinations, product material, order size, shipping lead time you want, we will send you the best offer!
Want to know more about shipping from China? Contact us now!
