- Preparing cargo is amongst the most important parts of international shipping. There will be mechanical equipment like cranes, lifts, or conveyors to handle your cargo. So, you need to make sure that it can withstand this. Many shipments get damaged due to improper packing every day. While shipping, it becomes essential to protect the goods from damage.
- Here are 9 tips that will help you prepare your cargo for international shipping-
1) Make sure your goods are ready for the pressures of international shipping
- At first, you will need to check the safety of goods in the journey. It is not only about secure packing, but the goods should withstand the pressures of international shipping. So, you should make sure that the items are arranged in a way that they do not crush down.
- You never know what the other cargo contains that’s kept with your cargo in the container. So, choose sturdy and strong boxes. In most international deliveries, they use forklifts to load and unload the goods. This makes the handling procedure more complicated. If the goods are being shipping by air, you should ensure that the cargo can withstand tilting and some swaying in case of disturbance, turbulence, and landing process.
2. Check Allowed Size & Weight, Get the Packaging Right
- Your cargo must follow the instructed weight and size. While deciding the box or crate for packaging, you should see that it can handle the gross weight of your items. Otherwise, it can damage your goods while shipping, especially if there are valuable heavy items.
- Many times, when the crates cannot support the weight of items, the people have to suffer huge losses.
3. Don’t Forget Internal Packaging and Taping
- No doubt, packaging, and taping of the boxes are crucial to protect the goods. Make sure that the packaging you are doing can support the weight of goods. You can use sturdy air-cushioned support and foam peanuts to fill up the vacant places in the boxes.
- For high fragile items, you should be more careful and focused on internal packing. Cover the free space with durable cushioned support. For long-distance routes, the boxes are generally handled by many associates. If the spaces of your box are not covered effectively, there is a high risk you will get the damaged items later.
- To deal with such situations, you can also make use of the box-in-box strategy. In this, the box of items is put inside a bigger box with the spaces covered.
- The use of H-taping is also recommended where the closures and edges are covered with tapes to avoid any damage during shipping and handling.

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4. Check the max weight of your goods
- Make sure to check the gross weight of your goods does not exceed the maximum container load. You must not over stack the container. This can become more important when you are shipping heavy items.
- You can either check the gross weight of the entire container or weigh the items and container separately.

5. Choose functionality over looks
You can have many packaging methods that look amazing. But for the protection of your goods, you must consider functionality over looks. You will find many attractive and colorful sacks as well as baskets to impress the customers. The most important aspect is the safety of the items, though. The condition in which the customer gets the items is most important. If you are choosing attractive packing, make sure the items are duly packed and covered with tapes. While shipping internationally, hard packing is preferred because of transitional stops.
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6. Base your customers' requst
- While shipping the cargo, it is the most important step- listening to your customers! Collect the feedback of your previous customers about international shipping services. If they are not happy with the condition of goods, you should make extra effort to improve your packaging.
- It is always a good idea to ask for feedback from your customers after the shipment has arrived. This gives you an idea of the packaging you have done or the shipping partner you have chosen is appropriate or not. Especially if you are new to your business, it becomes important to know about your weak points and improve them at the right time.
7. Check shipping restrictions
Before shipping, it is really important to check shipping restrictions. There might be some restrictions for safety concerns and other reasons.
8. Prepare doc what shipping needed, basically invoice and packing list
- Do not forget to prepare the required shipping documents before shipping. The mandatory documents include a packing list, invoice and import/export customs declaration. Air or Rail waybill, certificates, arrival notice, certificate of origin, and letter of credit are also required. An invoice is a very important document needed in the customs clearance process. A packing list is also an important document having information on the packing of the shipment. It also contains the numbers and marks noted outside the boxes.

9. Sourcing one professional shipping agent
you can check all detail and process if find one professional shipping agent.
honourocean shipping is 12 years shipping agent , we can give advise before your ship, and contact with suppier to check process, packing and doc before shipped . so to sure all meet interantional shipping well .
- Selling and shipping your goods internationally is a good sign for your business as it expands the customer base. Yet, you must be very careful about the packaging of your goods so that the customers receive them in good condition. By taking some measures, you can always get the goodwill of your customers.
- Strong and sturdy packaging is essential. The right weight and size of the goods, checking shipping restrictions, making the shipping documents ready are also crucial aspects of preparing your cargo.
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2 Responses
I’m glad that you talked about listening to your customers is the most important step while shipping the cargo, it is the most important. My Aunt is moving soon. Shen mentioned on hiring a moving service to transport her things. I will share this post to her for her reference.
thank you ,jeff.