Trade has become the bloodline of modern age businesses. It is equally important for the individual as well as corporate business development. For the boundary-less growth of your business, cross border transportation is imperative. It ensures the speedy, timely and efficient delivery of your goods to your vendors or customers. This article will highlight all the crucial aspects of cross-border transportation.
What is cross-border transportation?
Cross-border transportation is the process of trading your goods across borders under a business deal. Although it sounds simple, it involves various legal and procedural aspects that you must know. Heavy haul trucking companies know all these aspects of cross-border transportation. All you need to do is, find an efficient trucking company in Canada or whatever country you live in, and they will take care of your goods.
What to look for in a company offering cross-border transportation?
Since you have to deal with expensive and sometimes fragile shipments, it is crucial to choose the freight company accordingly to avoid disappointment and financial loss. Ensure the following things in a trucking company:
● Safety
Safety of your goods comes first. So, you have to look at the safety measures that the potential heavy haul trucking company observes for its operations. Similarly, always go for a company with good standing in the market and a respectable reputation. Timeliness is another important aspect when it comes to cross-border transportation.
● Assets
Another important thing is the assets of the company. You need to pick the one that can start processing the shipment quickly and has sufficient investment in its freight equipment like heavy haul trucks.
● Reputation of company
A well-reputed company is the one which is considered reliable and efficient in the business. Therefore, you should not work with a freight company that does not have a good reputation in corporate circles. This will only risk your goods, and you may end up in a significant loss.
● Options offered by the company
In most cases, the heavy haul trucking companies offer various options when processing the shipment, such as frequency, volume, delivery options, location, etc. You have to choose the company which provides the best opportunities regarding cross-border transportation.
● Experience of company
As they say, “there is no shortcut to experience,” a freight company with the most experience in the market will likely be the best choice for you. They know the business better than the newbies and have staying power. Surely you don’t want to risk your precious investment by choosing cheap but inexperienced trucking companies.
Benefits of Cross Border Transportation
Hiring a heavy haul trucking company to handle your cross-border shipments worths your investment. Following are some benefits of hiring cross-border transportation services:
- Reduced Inventory Costs
- Flexibility
- Expansion of your customer base
- Convenience
- Minimization of delays
Steps involved in cross-border transportation
Before you finally decide to go for a cross-border business deal, here are some essential steps in the process that you must know:
● Shipment preparation
Since cross-border transportation involves large shipments, you have to abide by some regulations of your host country. For example, Indiana oversize permit is essential to handle the freight transportation in this area. If you need crossborder transportation in a different location, you need to check the associated licenses accordingly. Then the nature of items should be considered. Ideally, you should hire a broker to handle many things for you like documentation, maintenance, payment of duties etc.
● Estimation of duties
Once you classify the goods, it will be easier for you to calculate the duties paid. For example, some countries charge you the federal duty taxes as well as the local duties. So, this calculation is very crucial for the business process.
● Shipment of goods
Finally, when you have everything in place, you can now ship your goods. Here, your broker will help you to get a smoother transport. They should get the pre-approvals and make things easier for you. If you hire a well-reputed heavy haul trucking company, you can leave the hassle on them. It will be their responsibility to deal with every legal process to ensure timely delivery of your goods.
● Dealing with customs
Now, you will find it easier to deal with customs if you have done all your homework like documentation, labelling of the shipments, invoicing, an explicit mention of the countries (both original and the host), compliance with the International standards etc.
● Record keeping
Once the cross border transportation is complete, you have to keep the record. Again, depending upon the countries’ laws in which you are operating, you will have to keep the records for a specific period of time. To get an idea of the price for transporting your goods by air, checkout air freight calculator Australia.
Conclusion:
Cross-border transportation requires many legal processes depending upon the area of operation. A heavy haul trucking company takes responsibility for all these processes and ensures the safety of your goods. In addition, they own the necessary equipment to transport your freight in a given time frame.