What is the Work Flow of a Shipping Company?

Definition/Meaning 

As 90% of the world's international trade is done through the ocean, the importance of shipping agent is very important in the process of sending goods and consignments from one country to another via ocean route. They are responsible for handling shipments at harbors worldwide.  

Before understanding the workflow of a shipping company lets first understand what are the shipping company and its agents. To start with we can say a shipping company is an individual or company who acts as an agent between business owners and port authorities. These companies work on behalf of exporter or importer as the case may be. They provide services for cargo handling, ship owning, etc. 

The Process 

 
It is commonly believed that the shipping process starts from the uploading of goods on the ship and ends on the unloading of consignments on the destination port. Rather the process of shipping starts from the time when the importer feels the need for the particular need and enquires for the exporters worldwide who can fulfill the need. 

There is a particular flow of the process that needs to be followed by the shipping companies in order to ensure timely delivery of goods and consignment.

 

• Uploading: Generally, goods are transported to the origin port using trucks and packed in designated sizes. These packed containers are uploaded on the ships when the ship is ready for the voyage. Along with the goods/consignments, the required documents such as the bill of lading, origin certificate, etc are also shipped from the origin port to destination port. 

• Export Custom: Before the goods are loaded on the ship or vessel and shipped, all the goods to be exported are custom cleared and only after payment of required export duty, these goods can cross the borders of the country. After payment of export duty, Bill of lading is handed over to the shipping agent.

• The Journey: Generally the whole journey of the consignment is completed in a single vessel but sometimes due to international rules and some technical difficulties, it may lead to the transfer of goods from one ship to another ship. When goods are transferred, the above bill of lading is also handed over.

• Import Custom: Once goods reach the destination port, these goods are unloaded by paying freight and demurrages. For clearance of goods, customs duty needs to be paid first by the individual or his agent.

• Handling Goods at Destination: From the time the goods are unloaded to the time goods are taken home or exported to some other place, these goods need to be kept safe in custom warehouses for which extra charges are paid. 

All the steps should be completed in a proper synchronized manner to ensure a cost-effective service. 

Conclusion 

As there is a number of participants and agents involved in the international shipping process involved in it. Most of the businessmen and exporters find it to be very cumbersome and time-consuming. This problem can be tackled by employing a shipping company for handling consignments from its origin to the destination for handling all the custom clearances and documentation part.
These shipping companies make the process very easy and cost-efficient for the businessman worldwide. They have a predetermined supply chain of people who are expert in handling daily cargo in international trade.