Guidelines to Start International Shipping for your Business

If you want to expand your ecommerce business, expanding beyond your borders could be a great next step - but you'll need to figure out how to ship internationally first.

Shipping worldwide for your Small and Medium Business

Having a successful eCommerce business in domestic market proves that you are doing well in your niche. But your niche can be spread all over the country.

Fortunately, there are numerous parcel delivery services that can assist you in getting your product into (almost) every country on the earth - depending on what you're selling, of course.

There are several factors that are needed to be considered before starting to serve your international customers:

1. Check Customs and International Shipping Regulations

The best way to find out what is allowed and what is not is to visit the official customs website for your destination country. Most governments make it quite clear what is and is not permitted.

There are different restrictions in different countries so you need to carefully asses all the restrictions in your target countries.

     2. Asses extra cost for shipping internationally

If this is your first time shipping overseas, or you just send it sometimes, the major delivery firms have calculators that can assist you figure out the ‘landed cost' of a product. There are several Costs that you need to check - Taxes, fees, duties, tariffs, there’s a lot of words here that basically mean ‘extra costs’.

     3. Adequate packaging for international shipping

One of the most important things you can do to minimise the possibility of extra expenditures or delays is to pack your products correctly. There are several packaging supplies available to help you achieve this quickly and elegantly.

Follow these 5 steps to secure adequate packaging for international shipping:

• Quality Packaging

•  Avoid empty spaces 

• Consider the weight

• Seal properly

•  Clear label

     4. Find the right courier partner for your eCommerce business

You need to find the right courier partner for your shipping needs. Make certain that you pick the most cost-effective shipping choice for you without sacrificing delivery time or dependability.

eCourierz allows you to find best shipping rates for your business for both domestic and international. You can compare and book with best carrier partner also you can calculate rates on rate calculator along with several other analytics tools and personalized dashboard.

     5. Automation and considering third party fulfilment

If international parcel delivery is becoming too difficult for you, consider enlisting the assistance of other provider. Third-party fulfilment providers can take the tedium out of overseas shipping.

Your life will be made a lot easier if you automate your overseas shipping process. More and more couriers are providing completely integrated and automated technologies to aid in the fulfilment and delivery process.

You also need to consider these before starting international shipping:

• Does my product contains dangerous elements -

Even if your product is not openly restricted, certain aspects of it may be prohibited or deemed unsafe.

Take lithium batteries, for example. A single battery will not harm you, but most are constructed of flammable materials.

• Is my product valid for importing to other countries -

There are two sorts of import limits that countries face.

Restricted items are things that must meet certain criteria before they may clear customs and enter the country.

Prohibited items are those that cannot be introduced into the country in any way.

• Taking insurance for your shipment -

It's understandable to be concerned about overseas shipping if you're sending anything valuable or fragile. You don't want your consumer to receive a faulty product, but you also don't want to be out of pocket if they do.

International shipment sure comes with some complications and risks but if done properly can lead to benefitting your business in large scale.

eCourierz helps you in Shipping worldwide by providing you access to ship to 220+ countries, our Business Experts help you in creating strategy for international shipping and secure various benefits like CSB -5 to help your business grow.