shipping FAQ

You found a China supplier on a trade show like Canton Fair, the suppliers looked good and professional, you gave them business, sent the payment and waited to receive the products. However, one delay after another, months on, your stock and inventory is running out, but the supplier still didn’t make the delivery. To solve this late delivery issue, firstly we need to know why the suppliers didn’t ship the products within the time limit provided in the contract. 1) Supplier is too busy, and you are not on the top of their priority list Many buyers try to find big and established suppliers, despite their own business size and order size. They didn’t notice that big but busy suppliers often fail to catch up the deadline of delivery.One of my clients has been buying car mats from a decent-sized supplier from East China. They buy one 20’ every month, the order…

There are totally 11 shipping terms (Incoterms), which define the various responsibilities, costs, and risks that are borne by the buyer and seller when goods are traded internationally. I am not going to go through all 11 but I will give a brief overview of the most common: EXW = Ex-Works: This is where the seller of the goods is not involved at all with the transportation costs or risks (i.e. damage in transit). They simply make the goods available to the buyer for collection at their site. It is then the buyer’s responsibility to collect the goods from the seller and get them back to the Europe, the buyer also bears all the risks from the moment the goods are collected so insurance is advisable.  FOB = Free On Board: This is where the seller is responsible for the costs and risks of getting the goods on board the ship. Once…