Cargo consolidation in China
Several suppliers, one shipment — instead of paying groupage rates several times over.
If you buy from four suppliers and ship four separate consignments, you pay the fixed costs of a shipment four times: pickup, documentation, terminal handling, clearance. Consolidation collects the goods at one warehouse in China and sends them as a single shipment.
The saving is rarely just the freight. One customs declaration instead of four, one set of documents, one delivery to receive. For importers buying regularly from a cluster of suppliers in the same region, consolidation often turns groupage economics into full container economics.
The warehouse stage is also the natural place to inspect. Goods are physically in hand, before they are sealed into a container — which is the last moment where a problem is cheap to fix.
Who it is for
- Importers buying from several suppliers in the same region
- Anyone whose individual orders are too small to ship economically alone
- Businesses that would rather receive one delivery than four
- Orders where inspection before loading is worth having
What it covers
- Collection of goods from suppliers to a warehouse in China
- Receipt, count and photographic record of each delivery
- Optional: repacking, palletising and reinforcing weak cartons
- Optional: quantity and quality inspection against your checklist
- Dispatch as a single shipment by the mode you choose
What to watch for
- Storage is free only up to a point. Ask how many days you get before charges start, especially if suppliers deliver at different times.
- The slowest supplier sets the sailing date. It is worth agreeing a cut-off rather than waiting indefinitely.
- Repacking changes the dimensions your quote was based on — expect the volume to be recalculated after consolidation.
- Each supplier still issues their own invoice, and all of them are needed for clearance.
Common questions
Check whether you are overpaying
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