Transportation of products to the USA
Shipping products to the United States was, in the beginning, a big challenge for Adapttech. It's a different reality that we weren't used to: new rules, bureaucracies to receive the products, and the need to always have a broker – a person responsible for the package, who needs to be informed to deal with the US customs and provide all the documents required on time.
CHECKLIST
Before you send a product to the US, there is a checklist you need to prepare to ensure that everything will go as planned:
First, you need to decide what company you want to work with;
Choose the local where the carrier needs to pick up the parcel and do the delivery;
Define a day for them to pick up the product;
Prepare all the necessary information about the product/packaging: quantity, dimensions, weight, type of the box and a description of the container.
In addition to this list, it is also important to define the price of the equipment being shipped, in order to be able to get insurance to prevent and compensate for any loss.
TYPE OF TRANSPORT
Another important part of this process consists in defining the type of transport for shipping. When shipping to the US, there are two major possibilities: by airplane or by sea freight.
When selecting the type of transport, there are some considerations that should be taken into account. Initially, the decision would depend on the time available before the delivery date. Air delivery is considerably faster (3 to 4 days traffic time) but more expensive than sea freight, which would typically take from 2 to 3 weeks due to the traffic.
Another advantage of the airplane is that it allows the complete tracking of the order, which makes it possible to always know where the equipment is along the way. If the method selected is sea freight, this is not possible because of the many traders involved, and because the exact location of the equipment cannot be accessed, which decreases the probability that the process is successful without setbacks.
DOCUMENTATION
In addition to this information, it’s also necessary to prepare some documents relating to the order, which are usually:
Commercial Invoice, which proves the sale of the equipment;
Delivery Note or Packing Slip, which contains the product description (quantity and price).
In the case of equipment containing batteries, such as our wearable device, it must be taken into account that these are considered Dangerous Goods and the process involves several extra requirements. In the case of these devices, the packaging has to be compliant with some rules, such as:
Maximum of 2 equipments per shipment;
Maximum of 2 batteries per equipment;
The batteries must be installed inside the equipment;
Each equipment must be packed individually.
NECESSARY CONCERNS
One of our biggest concerns is to have the products very well packaged, in case there is any bump or imbalance of the package. Regarding our Scanner, we have impact indicators in the box and we provide all the necessary indications for the correct transport of the order.
In addition, there are special concerns whenever we ship our wearable devices as we have to inform the carrier that these are products that are considered dangerous goods and we have to strictly comply with the standards applied to such devices so that they reach their destination without complications.
PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS
Late delivery date
The biggest problem that we often have to deal with during the process of shipping products to the US is the delay that often exists between the date the package should reach its destination, and the date it actually arrives. This delay means that we have to constantly monitor the shipment to try to anticipate any problem, and forces us to send the orders a few days in advance, which is not always possible because urgent situations often happen.
Although this situation is improving, there is still a lot of optimization work ahead.
Packaging optimization
When shipping a product, there are two factors related to packaging that are very important to define the shipping price: the weight and the area that the packaging occupies. Some of our product transport boxes cause special constraints because they don’t allow other orders to be placed on top. To minimize this problem, our team is working on optimizing the packaging and improving the positioning of products inside their box, to make the best use of space and leave as little empty space as possible.
Documentation optimization
When we started shipping products to the US, the information we had about the necessary documentation was not enough. Documents were always missing, products were stuck in customs, and the process was often delayed.
As a solution to this problem, our team has prepared and structured a document whose purpose is to have a quick guide and a checklist when someone contacts the carrier to pick up the parcel until it arrives in destiny. This way, we have the information that is required by logistic companies so well organized and prepared that it will allow us to avoid some obstacles.
As you can see now, this process was quite complicated for a startup like Adapttech in the very beginning. The improvements we have achieved so far make us pleased and, by sharing this, we hope to be able to help other companies like us that are going through the same challenges.
