Almost every importer has once faced delays in sea freight and delivery from China. Sea freight from China is a long haul and you definitely don’t want to add to it. Here we inform you of some of the factors that play a role in these delays. The more aware you are of this, the better you can plan for your time and money. Be aware! Prevent sea freight delays as much as you can.
What can be done to prevent supply chain delay?
What causes customs delay?
How to avoid sea freight delays on busy days?
What are the benefits of preventing sea freight delays from China?
Supply chain delay
When miles of distance separate you from your Chinese supplier, you can’t be so sure about the quality of your product. So, when it’s brought to you after being mass-produced, you find that this doesn’t match up to your requirements. You need to start the whole process again with some other supplier or the same one. Thus, you stay behind schedule. Beware of irresponsible fraudulent suppliers who cause delays and losses.
Solution: Always ask from your supplier to send you a sample before concluding the contract and mass production. You can take some help from a freight forwarder company for convenience. The experts’ help match the sample to your needs and to the quality control standards. This review may help solve problems in front before producing a large number of these.
Just like Topshipping, a freight forwarder company might also find the best and most reliable supplier for you. Our agents, knowing the culture and the language in China, offer you good suppliers. They monitor the production process, too, changing those parts that get damaged during production.
Neglecting this step is going to boost the rate of error and thus increase the delay.
Customs delay
Most frequent and expensive delays happen in customs. Import and export laws vary between different countries. If your good does not meet the legal requirements of either the origin or the destination country, it will be prevented from leaving and entering. In case you don’t put the necessary marks and labels on it or don’t describe correctly its value, customs do a re-check of it.
Solution: So mark the required marks and numbers on its packaging. Ensure all the essential documents are available. Also, provide all the related licenses. Product specifications must be according to the invoice.
You can cooperate with us so that the licenses may be complete. As a whole, we have close cooperation with the Customs broker. On the whole, with some planning, all too many sea freight delays in customs can prevent.
Delay in China customs
In China Customs, you have to have an export license or HS code. It also comprises tax breaks on some commodities. Some suppliers and companies deceive the code in order to get illegal discounts. Or you may inadvertently misrepresent it. In this case, your product is going to stay there to be checked.
Delay in destination customs
You have to make sure that, with you, you have the destination evidence of import papers. In other posts we talked about them for different countries like UK, USA and Canada.
for example for UK customs you should have:
- EORI number
- Commercial Invoice
- Tariff Code
Other licenses may be required depending on the product type, such as dangerous good or valuable good.
Inevitable delays
On the other hand, there are some sea freight delays that are the result of nature and inevitable, such as:
- Bad weather (Storm, etc.)
- Pirates
- Cargo delivery truck breakdown
- Regional tensions
- War and chaos
Solution: There is nothing you can do about it. You can only announce the delivery date a few days in advance. Also apply for your sea freight process as soon as possible. In this case, if there is a delay, you will not fall behind schedule.
Peak Season and China Holiday
Of course, this season includes many sea freight delays, as it’s close to the holidays: starting with the high cost and lack of suppliers to congestion in the ports, customs, and ships.
During Chinese holidays-especially New Year holidays-the Chinese don’t work for two or three weeks. If your production or shipping step coincides with these days, you can be assured there will be a long delay.
Avoid peak season and China holiday. Or if you have to ship in this season, use FCL freight containers. But in case you will use LTL, your cargo may stay in the storage for days, or even weeks until a container will fill.
Despite all development of sea freight logistics technologies, overbooking of ships happens; it happens in very busy times. So just avoid these times.
Benefits of avoiding sea freight delays
Some of the benefits of preventing sea freight delays are:
Gain customer trust
When there is not supply chain or sea freight delays, the goods required by the customers will be provided in a timely manner. As a result, they trust you to meet their needs.
Attract more customers
Timely delivery increases customer satisfaction and attract more customers.
More credit
When you put the good on the shelves in time, your regular customers will increase. Thus your reputation will increase too.
High profit
In the end, these benefits have more money and profits for your business.
Don’t forget if you are for away from your Chinese supplier, it’s better for you to have a agent in there. Topshipping, as your agent, will manage and supervise your whole chain. Also, we will try to minimize your sea freight delays.
Here's some FAQs about this article:
Some common causes of delays in sea freight from China include supply chain issues such as fraudulent or irresponsible suppliers, customs clearance issues, delays in China and destination customs, inevitable delays caused by natural disasters, regional tensions, wars, and peak season/holidays in China.
To prevent delays caused by supply chain issues, it is recommended to ask for a sample from the supplier before concluding a contract and mass production. One can also work with a freight forwarder company like Topshipping that can find the best and most reliable supplier, monitor the production process, and replace damaged parts as needed. To prevent customs clearance delays, it is important to put necessary marks and numbers on the packaging, ensure all necessary documents and licenses are available, and ensure product specifications match the invoice.
To avoid sea freight delays during peak season and holidays in China, one can avoid shipping during these times or opt for FCL freight containers instead of LTL. Additionally, applying for the sea freight process as soon as possible and announcing the delivery date earlier can help mitigate any potential delays caused by overbooking of ships, congestion at ports, and lack of suppliers.
The benefits of avoiding sea freight delays for businesses include gaining customer trust, attracting more customers, increasing regular customers, and ultimately achieving high profits.
An agent like Topshipping can help in minimizing sea freight delays for importers by managing and supervising the entire supply chain, finding reliable suppliers, monitoring the production process, ensuring all necessary documents and licenses are available, and working closely with customs brokers to prevent any delays caused by customs clearance.
