Partial shipments, or shipments that don’t fill a container, are common in shipping and logistics industry. As a solution shipping agents club 2 or more shipments in a single container as another option that can provide more prospect for bottom line savings for the shippers and increased the efficiency of the agents. Which enables the consolidating agents to increase the volume and frequency of the shipping.
Consolidated shipping is a method of shipping where a consolidator (shipping agent) combines LCL shipments from various shippers into one full container with a single Bill of Lading (Master Bill of Lading). And issue house B/Ls for all individual LCL shipments participating in consolidated shipping. Which awards the shippers the preferred and attractive rates? When the container arrives at its destination, the shipments are then deconsolidated into their original LCL shipments.
1.All individual shipments need to have separate Export Declaration
2.All individual shipments will be issued separate Bill of lading by the console agent
3.A Master Bill of Lading will be issued by the line in that shipper will be the consolidation agent and consignee will be the deconsolidation agent at destination
4.Individual Packing list and invoice needed for each LCL shipments
5.If Certificate of Origin needed then it must be taken individually
6.Master D/O (Delivery Order) will be issued to the deconsolidation agent
7.Deconsolidation agent issues House D/O for Individual shipments
8.Customs clearance conducted for each shipment separately
9.As per the location’s shipments are dispatched separately
10.Duty and Taxes charged separately
(a) LCL shipment may not be consolidated directly to a destination as the consolidator may not have enough shipments to a particular destination which leads the consolidator to ship various destined shipments to a shipping Hub (like Los Angeles, New York, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Dubai, Malaysia and Singapore etc.)
(b) To reduce the selling cost, the consolidator at origin depends on the rebates from the deconvolution agent at destination which compiles the destination agents to over charge the consignee.
(c) If the shipments go via a shipping hub then the transshipment agent also adds up their margin which again increases the cost at the destination.
If the shipments are not commercial, or destination charges are prepaid then consolidation might end up in a disaster. The consignees will have to pay a huge some of destination charges which perhaps may be higher than a full container. Our advice to the shippers if you have at least 10 Cubic meters then plan a full container instead.
Groupage shipping is similar to LCL consolidation but there are many advantages in groupage shipping
(a) Shipment goes directly to its destination
(b) All charges are paid at the origin
(c) No extra charges at the destination
(d) Only Duty and Taxes paid at the destination
Groupage shipments are mainly offered by International Movers for the Household Goods and Personal Effects.
