Shipping Services- What to do and what not to

There are things one should and shouldn’t do in this world and international parcel delivery services, too, come with a set of dos and don’ts and whether you abide by it or not isn’t your discretion, unless you don’t care what happens to your goods.

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But you do, don’t you? It’s quite simple, relax, and read more.

Dos:
Be aware of the time period you expect your goods to make the journey. Domestic express delivery and international delivery are subject to frequent delays during holidays or in times of calamities. Start your delivery process only if it is convenient to do so.
Understand the packaging needed to initiate the process. International shipping specifies the exact size of the package they expect depending on what your goods are, ignoring which may result in faulty delivery or complete rejection. If your package has multiple items, do separate them from one another.

Hazardous goods need extra precaution while shipping. Pack carefully and keep international logistics services and fulfillment warehouse informed about all necessary details relating to your package.

Don’ts:
Never hide the package details from the logistics distribution. They might know important aspects related to your goods which will be undisclosed if the details of the same aren’t highlighted.
Do not disregard rules and regulations stipulated by the international logistics services and the countries that you are shipping to. If realized later, you could sometimes face some consequences.
Be sure to specify the exact address of the recipient and yourself if you do not want to lose your parcel. And your logistics distribution contact, needs to be made aware. So your addresses on the package and the document should match.

Although these aren’t the only points to mind, it gives you a fair idea about the intricacies involved in international delivery. Ignorance is not always bliss, mind you!

The Number One Historic Logistician is....War – Fare!

Ulysses S Grant was a man who built himself from scratch to become the President of the USA twice. He was a man with a keen interest in the art of warfare including logistics distribution that helped during a war. He then served as a Colonel in the American Civil war, for the Union under Abraham Lincoln against the Confederates who were part of 11 Southern states that seceded from the Union in order to preserve slavery, states' rights, and political liberty.

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The American Civil War lasted four years from 1961 to 1965. The four-year war with 2.5 million people on each side, 50 major, and 5000 minor battles fought, ended with a total of 620,000 deaths and a lot of casualties. The nationwide war was a tough one and the numbers here say so.

A war that lasted four years could gladly make use of today's international logistics services for a continuous flow of goods to take care of the army’s war requirements. Grant was a man with a skill to deliver. He was the architect of the logistics distribution planning that catered to the needs of 2 million soldiers in the North that formed the Union under Abraham Lincoln.

Here are a few things listed below, that an army would need at war:

• Food
• Water
• Ammunition
• Salvage
• Health and Comfort items
• Petroleum, Oil and Lubricants
• Construction materials
• Health and Hygiene products
• Medical materials
• And all captured materials

These are just a few. Grant carefully planned the movement of fulfillment warehouses and logistics distribution with every proceeding of the army and the trucking services that helped carry heavy ammunition. This assisted the Union Army win over the Confederacy. To have designed the logistics distribution for a war so massive, he is the No. 1 logistician in history.

Grant's popularity as a Union War General made him the 18th President of America for the first time.

Few Ways to Identify That Goods Are Damaged

The international logistics services team is expected, mostly as ethics, to ensure they check their inventory before international delivery is initiated. Damaged goods adversely affect transportation costs and also affect their partnerships with third party logistics. It’s needless to say that item that comes through international shipping need to be examined stringently by the logistics distribution team especially while unloading from vehicles. However, not just international shipping but domestic deliveries too, have their fair share in dishing out damaged goods.

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Fortunately we have figured out a few steps to identify faulty deliveries:

1. Leaking containers: This is one of the few easily identifiable faults while receiving inventory. If ignored, consumers are affected and might harm the company’s goodwill. And sometimes could prove to be disastrous.

2. Inflated packages: Such damages are usually seen in carton packages containing food/liquid commodities. The international parcel delivery services usually dispose-off these items unless they have a clause with the vendor which allows them to return the goods back.

3. Dents on the package: Electronic items through express delivery are prone to damages which are easily visible even on the outside of the package. While some such wrecks can be repaired, it is sometimes sent back through the international parcel delivery services with the expectation of some monetary compensation.

4. Foul smell: Some international parcel delivery services have exceptional packaging systems in place. However, a slight oversight could cause foods to rot, and what is left is an unpleasant smell, customers and expenses!

5. Examining the product information on the package: Some goods carry details on the package which sometimes include the products’ shelf life. Often, at times, when the international delivery transit takes longer than expected, it helps because the goods are in the fulfillment warehouse.

There can never be a complete guarantee to deliver undamaged goods, although that is what is most expected. Careful packaging and reliable trucking services soften the blow and reduce the risk that the logistics distribution service has to bear.

Find out how your parcel is delivered down the chain of command

The first thing that we will do if we have to send a courier from USA to India or courier to Europe from USA is to identify which international courier services can undertake the task for us at the lowest international shipping prices. Once we hand over the consignment to the courier services person who picks it up the consignment from our house, all that we want to know is when it will be delivered. And we really don’t know the mode of transport, how it reaches them, and also who are the people involved in delivering to the final destination.

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I happened to dig a bit deeper into this because a Parcel to India from USA which I had booked under the express delivery option got delayed by a few hours due to a human error at the destination end. After having traveled so fast to the destination and a simple manual error could create this delay, I wondered what would if the delay happened at the onset itself.  

Thankfully the International Logistics services providers employ efficient unskilled manpower along with highly skilled manpower who is equipped to handle advanced technologies, channelize, and guide consignments for effective delivery.

The first person in this supply chain is the pickup person who collects the parcel to take it to the office of the international Parcel delivery services. Collection center executive then affix a barcode that contains all relevant details and then entrusts it to ground handlers who take it to the truck. The truck driver takes the parcel to the fulfillment warehouses run by third party logistics providers who in turn have packers and sorters who pack and sort accordingly. 

The fulfillment service executive obtains custom clearances and ensures the parcel is ready for international shipping. Trucking services then delivers the parcel to the cargo aircraft assigned for international delivery. On reaching there, the whole process of logistics, distribution, and delivery repeats and finally, the parcel is delivered, thereby completing the delivery lifecycle.

These are people who are directly in contact with your parcel, but there are a whole lot of other supply chain managers, fleet managers, inventory specialists, and technological tracking specialists who are also part of this, keeping a strict vigil on the parcel from start to finish.