What is the International Shipping and Fulfillment Process Flow?
The process of international shipping and fulfilment can be complex,
depending on the products involved and the countries of origin and destination. In general, however, it can be broken down into a few key steps.
The development of e-commerce over the past two decades has contributed to the elimination of long-standing obstacles to international trade.
The development of e-commerce heavyweights like Amazon and Alibaba,
together with increasingly integrated supply chains, have helped to meet skyrocketing demand as internet access continues to soar globally.
According to Internet Retailer, more than 15% of all retail transactions are now made online.
Global e-commerce sales increased 18% year over year in 2018 to $2.86 trillion, greatly exceeding the rise of all retail sales.
With the availability of proper technology and infrastructure,
international shipping has become a convenient process and has taken a great leap forward in its overall market size.
With a predicted CAGR of 4.68%, the size of the global shipping container market was estimated to reach USD 13,856.42 million in 2021,
further rising to USD 14,242.18 million in 2022, and USD 18,241.36 million in 2027.
Given these trends, getting familiar with international shipping and its warehouse fulfilment process becomes important for businesses that are just starting to enter the global shipping market.
In this blog, we will discuss what international shipping and fulfilment are all about, the steps involved in international shipping and fulfilment and the role of 3PL in the process.
International Shipping and Fulfilment Process Flow
Importing and exporting commodities across countries is known as international shipping. This can be accomplished via land, air, or water. Typically, it also includes the immigration and customs processes.
Additionally, there may be unique rules that must be observed depending on what is being transported.
The entire supply chain involved in the processing and transporting of commodities, from beginning to end, is referred to as fulfilment.
Strategic sourcing is the first phase in the order fulfilment lifecycle, which includes five main steps in total, concluding with shipping.
Order fulfilment is a term used by many firms to describe operations such as inventory control, supply chain management, order processing, quality assurance, and customer service.
Steps involved in best international shipping and warehouse fulfilment
Here are the following steps involved in international shipping and warehouse fulfilment that might be helpful for your business.
Inventory management: Inventory management is critical in ensuring that products are available when customers want them. An effective inventory management system will track inventory levels, reorder points, and lead times to ensure that products are available when needed thus is one of the significant steps involved in international shipping and fulfilment.
Order management: Order management is the process of tracking and managing customer orders from the time they are placed until they are delivered. The right order management system will track order status, shipping information, and payment information to ensure that customers receive their products on time. It plays a vital role in shipping.
Picking and packaging: Here in this step, the process of selecting the products that need to be shipped, packing them into boxes or containers, and labelling them for shipment is involved. A useful picking and packaging system will ensure that products are safely and securely packed and that the correct shipping labels are affixed.
Shipping: Shipping is the process of transporting products from one location to another. Shipping can be done by land, sea, or air. An effective shipping system will make sure that products are delivered on time and in good condition.
Order export: Order export is the process of sending customer orders to the supplier or manufacturer. If this step is taken care of successfully then it will ensure that orders are sent in a format that can be easily understood and processed by the supplier or manufacturer.
Order import: Order import is the process of receiving customer orders from the supplier or manufacturer.
A productive order import system will certainly be sure that orders are received in a format that can be easily
understood and processed by the customer.
Returns management: Returns management is the last step involved in international shipping and warehouse fulfilment. It is a process of handling customer returns. An effective returns management system will track return requests, process refunds, and provide replacement products when necessary.
Role of 3PL in International shipping and fulfilment
Third-party logistics providers (3PLs) play a vital role in international shipping and fulfilment. They manage the complex logistics of moving goods across borders, ensuring that products arrive at their destination on time and in good condition.
International shipping can be a complex and time-consuming process, so working with NimbusPost the third-party logistics provider,
can save businesses a great deal of time and hassle.
It has the expertise and resources to handle all aspects of international shipping,
from sourcing the best shipping routes to dealing with customs regulations.
It also provides valuable support services such as warehousing and transportation. This can be particularly helpful for businesses that do not have their own facilities in the country of destination. By using NimbusPost, businesses can outsource these non-core functions and save on costs, and focus better on their core operations.
Why Choose a Reliable International Shipping Provider for Making Global Order Fulfilment Easy?
It can be very challenging to handle international order fulfilment on your own. Therefore, many e-commerce organisations rely on 3PLs (Third-party logistics) providers or shipping aggregators for the best international shipping fulfilment. A 3PL that offers competitive pricing for international shipping can really give you leverage over other opponents in the business. Apart from that, there are several benefits of choosing a shipping provider :
- Reduce your shipping expenses
- Provide competitive delivery services
- Easily control inventory levels
- Help in lowering shipping defaults and errors
- Expand business operations more quickly
Conclusion
When businesses ship internationally, they face a number of challenges. First, they must be aware of the various customs regulations in each country. Second, they need to find a reliable shipping partner who can deliver their products safely and on time.
Third, they need to ensure that their products are properly packaged and labelled for international shipping and fulfilment.
,they need to be prepared for unexpected delays and challenges that can occur during the shipping process.
For e-commerce companies, global fulfilment can be difficult, expensive, and time-consuming but also incredibly profitable. If you feel that order handling from abroad is too difficult for you or that you lack the necessary resources, then NimbusPost can be your life saviour.
With so many challenges to consider, it is important for businesses to work with a reliable shipping partner who can help them navigate the complexities of international shipping.
There are seven steps discussed above which will help you get started with the best international shipping and warehouse fulfilment successfully. However, it’s important to keep in mind that there are many other factors that you’ll also need to consider when setting up your operation.
But if you follow these steps or outsource your operations to a 3PL provider
then you’ll be well on your way to success.
NimbusPost assists large and small e-commerce companies in managing supply chain operations throughout India and other countries with its automated shipping platform, thus facilitating the best international shipping in the business.
