Summary
The 4 key stakeholders in LCL shipping
Your products are transported by sea by the shipping company. You are unlikely to ever communicate with them or even see any of their written correspondence. You will work with the freight forwarder in Vietnam as your logistics partner when shipping goods internationally. Transportation from a shipper to a receiver, including you, can be arranged by them. The originator of the shipment is the shipper, who could be you, a manufacturer, or a seller whose product you purchase. The person who receives the load is the consignee (This could be you or someone to whom you sell a product).
The process of international shipping in 7 steps
Five physical steps and two documentary steps are required for each shipment of goods to be transported from the shipper to the receiver. There are associated costs at each stage that must be covered by someone, typically the shipper or the receiver. Make sure you have a clear understanding of who is responsible for paying for each of these 7 steps every time you schedule a shipment if you want to prevent cost shocks and unneeded delays in your supply chain. Export transport, origin handling, export customs clearance, destination handling, sea freight, import customs clearance, and interior transportation are the seven steps of international shipping.
If in doubt, check the contract between the recipient and the sender. If it involves sale of goods, transfer of liability for the commodities is generally agreed upon in contract, which serves as a criterion for determining who pays and for what.
Export transport
The first mode of transportation is export transport. This relates to the transportation of merchandise from the sender to the consignee. Suppose the consignment is less than a container load. In that case, the freight forwarder's location is always a focus for export consolidation (an origin warehouse) with its staff or appointed agents under its management. Goods are typically transported by truck, rail, or a combination of the two. It is generally arranged through a local transportation company if it is agreed that the sender would be liable for this transportation portion. If the consignee is dependable, it is frequently more cost-effective to utilize a freight forwarder who can provide overseas transportation as part of international transportation.
Export customs clearance
Customs formalities must be completed for each shipment departing a country to meet regulatory requirements. Customs clearing is a procedure in which a declaration is created, and the necessary paperwork is presented to the authorities; it can only be performed by organizations that hold legitimate customs licenses, known as customs brokers. A licensed freight forwarder or an agent chosen by the freight forwarder may handle export clearance. As an alternative, it can be done by a customs broker who has been hired directly by the shipper and who doesn't necessarily participate in any other aspects of shipping. If not handled by the freight forwarder, the export clearance step frequently needs to be finished before the goods enter the origin warehouse of the freight forwarder before they can leave the country of origin.
Origin Management
Origin processing includes all inspection and physical handling of cargo beginning with receipt at the origin warehouse, until loaded onto a ship in a container. Still, all of this is coordinated and the freight forwarder's responsibility or an agent appointed by the freight forwarder. To put it simply, after the cargo reception, it is tallied, examined, scheduled for loading, combined with other items, stored in a container, and transported to the port where it is ultimately loaded into a vessel.
Regardless of who purchases the freight, origin processing can be paid for by either the shipper or the receiver, even though it is always the freight forwarder's responsibility. For instance, if a consignee decides that the shipper should pay the origin charges and chooses Freight Forwarder "A" for their import shipments, the shipper will automatically purchase the origin charges from that Freight Forwarder. If a shipper thinks that the cost of origin processing is not competitive, the requirement that they use forwarder "A" could lead to conflict.
Sea Freight
The freight forwarder chooses a shipping line to handle the ocean freight from origin to destination in order to maintain the timing requirements for the shipments. A carriage agreement between the freight forwarder and the shipping company governs the container. In this instance, neither the shipper nor the consignee is directly associated with the shipping industry. The cost of ocean freight will ultimately be passed along to the shipper or receiver. However, ocean freight never fully compensates for the cost of transporting goods between ports. Various industry-perceived surcharges, such as the fuel adjustment factor and the currency adjustment factor, will be assessed to the shipper or receiver.
Import customs clearance
Customs clearance for imported goods typically begins before the package reaches the destination. Export customs clearing is a formality in which a declaration is prepared and presented along with the necessary paperwork, allowing the authorities to register and collect customs duties on the shipment. Import customs clearance is handled by the freight forwarder, a freight forwarder's agent, or a customs broker chosen by the consignee. Before the consignment can exit a bonded region in the destination country, the import clearance process must be completed. This indicates that the shipment leaves the freight forwarder's or forwarding agent's destination warehouse.
Destination Management
In addition to cargo handling at the origin, cargo handling is necessary at the destination before being handed over to a consignee. To summarize, destination handling entails moving the container from the ship to the shore and from the port to the freight forwarder's destination facility. It also comprises unpacking the container and preparing the contents for collection by the consignee.
Truck for transporting LCL shipments
Multiple destination charges cover destination handling, which is always undertaken by 
the freight forwarder or an agent appointed by the freight forwarder. It can be charged to either the sender or the consignee, but it must be paid in full before the items are delivered to the consignee. Again, if the contract states that the shipper pays the ocean freight and the consignee pays the destination charges, it is the shipper's decision who should purchase the consignee. As with the original price, this can cause confusion or surprise for the recipient who has not planned for it.
Import transportation
The final stage of transportation is the cargo delivery to the consignee. The freight forwarder or a local transport business designated by the consignee can handle it. If the shipper organizes this transport component, it is often a good idea to utilize a freight forwarder who can also manage import transport. Import transport typically includes transportation to a particular destination but does not include unloading from the truck, which is the duty of the consignee.
