The Short Answer
Moving goods from a factory in Guangdong or Zhejiang to a warehouse in Ohio, Rotterdam or Sydney is not one job. It is four jobs stacked on top of each other: pickup and consolidation inside China, export clearance plus the main freight leg, import clearance in your country, and final-mile delivery to your door.
You can hand all four to one company, or split them across a forwarder, a customs broker and a local trucking firm. Which is better depends on how much control you want over your customs records, how many suppliers you are buying from, and how much time you have to chase people in a language you do not speak.
First, Decide Who Owns the Goods at Each Stage
Every decision downstream follows from your Incoterm. It is not paperwork trivia, it decides who pays for what and who has to fix problems when they appear.
| Incoterm | Supplier's job ends at | You pay for | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXW | Their factory gate | Everything, including Chinese inland trucking and export declaration | You need a local agent to pick up; many factories will not load a truck for you |
| FOB (named Chinese port) | Cargo loaded on the vessel | Ocean freight, insurance, import clearance, delivery | Cleanest split for most first-time importers |
| CIF (your port) | Cargo arrives at your destination port | Unloading, import clearance, duty, delivery | The supplier books the freight, so you rarely see a competitive rate |
| DAP (your address) | Cargo arrives at your address | Import duty, taxes, customs clearance | Supplier still runs the freight, but you are the importer of record |
| DDP (your address, duty paid) | Cargo arrives, duty settled | Nothing on paper | The seller is the importer of record, so no customs entry exists in your name |
Most Chinese factories quote FOB, and that is usually a good sign, because it means they hold an export licence and can clear Chinese customs themselves.
The Four Pieces You Have to Line Up
- Inland pickup and consolidation in China - trucking from each factory, plus a warehouse to combine cartons if you buy from more than one supplier.
- Export declaration and the main leg - ocean, air, rail or express courier, booked through a freight forwarder.
- Import clearance - a broker in your country files the entry, pays duty and VAT or GST on your behalf, and handles any inspections.
- Final-mile delivery - port or airport to your door, including liftgate, appointment windows or residential access if your site needs them.
Break the chain into those four parts and it stops feeling mysterious.
Step 1: Ask Your Supplier Three Questions
Before you compare freight quotes, get answers in writing:
- Do you have an export licence, or do you ship through a trading company? Small factories often do not. If a trading company appears on the paperwork, the shipper name on your bill of lading will differ from your invoice.
- What is the closest port or airport, and how long does it take you to deliver cargo there? A factory three hours from Ningbo is very different from one eight hours inland.
- Can you palletise and label cartons to our specification? Loose cartons cost more at destination and arrive damaged more often.
Step 2: Pick the Shipping Mode
| Mode | Best for | Typical transit | How pricing works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Express courier | Under 100 kg, urgent samples | 3-7 days | Per kg, with volumetric weight if the box is bulky |
| Air freight | 100-500 kg, high value per kg | 5-10 days | Chargeable weight, plus airport handling and clearance |
| LCL sea freight | 1-14 CBM | 30-45 days | Per cubic metre, with a minimum chargeable volume |
| FCL sea freight | 15 CBM and up, or heavy goods | 25-40 days | Flat rate for a 20ft or 40ft container |
| Rail to Europe | Mid volumes heading to inland EU | 18-30 days | Per container or per CBM on a groupage service |
A quick reality check: air and express charge by volumetric weight, so a light but bulky product can cost far more than the scale suggests. Measure cartons before you ask for quotes.
Step 3: Handle Multiple Suppliers With Consolidation
If you buy from three factories in three cities, do not book three separate shipments. Use a consolidation warehouse, usually near Ningbo, Shenzhen or Shanghai. Each supplier trucks cartons in, the warehouse checks carton counts, applies your shipping marks, and loads everything into one container or one air pallet.
Ask for photos of the loaded pallets or the container before it seals. This is the cheapest damage inspection you will ever get, and it is much harder to argue about shortages once the container has left China.
Step 4: Decide Who Is the Importer of Record
This is where many buyers get caught. If you are the importer of record, you need a customs broker with power of attorney, your tax or VAT number, and a customs bond in some countries. In return you get a customs entry in your own name, which you need to reclaim import VAT and to prove origin if you ever apply for preferential duty.
On DDP terms, the seller is the importer. It looks effortless, and for a first small order it can be fine. But you have no entry, no duty record, and no way to check whether the declared value matches what you actually paid. If your volumes grow, this becomes a problem.
Step 5: Book Freight and Set the Delivery Appointment
When you request quotes, give the forwarder the following so the numbers are comparable:
- Carton count, dimensions and gross weight
- Whether cargo is palletised
- HS code and product description
- Port or airport of departure
- Your full delivery address and site type
Then ask three questions of your own: What is free time at destination before demurrage or detention starts? Are chassis, THC and destination handling included? Who pays if customs selects the container for an inspection?
The delivery appointment matters more than people expect. A warehouse with a loading dock and a forklift is a different job from a retail unit with a kerb and no equipment. Tell the carrier which one you have.
Step 6: Get the Paperwork Right
Most delays at the border are document problems, not cargo problems. Keep these in one folder:
- Commercial invoice with accurate values
- Packing list with carton numbers
- Bill of lading or airway bill
- Certificate of origin, if you want preferential duty
- Product certificates: CE, FCC, FDA, REACH, depending on category and market
- Importer security filing, required before loading for US-bound ocean freight
- Cargo insurance certificate, if you bought cover
If your HS code is wrong, everything built on it is wrong: duty rate, licence requirements, and whether an inspection is triggered.
What the Final Bill Usually Contains
| Cost line | Who charges it |
|---|---|
| Factory pickup and export declaration | Chinese forwarder |
| Freight and bunker surcharges | Carrier |
| Destination terminal handling and chassis | Port or carrier |
| Customs brokerage and entry fees | Your broker |
| Duty and import VAT or GST | Customs authority |
| Final-mile delivery, liftgate, waiting time | Local trucker |
Ask for a landed-cost estimate that lists every line, then compare totals rather than headline freight rates.
A Realistic Timeline
| Stage | Days |
|---|---|
| Production and packing | Depends on the factory |
| Factory to consolidation warehouse | 1-3 |
| Loading and export declaration | 2-4 |
| Ocean transit, China to US East Coast | 28-35 |
| Import clearance | 1-3 |
| Final-mile delivery | 2-5 |
So from a finished order at FOB Ningbo to your warehouse door, expect roughly six weeks by sea, and about two weeks by air.
Mistakes That Cost the Most
- Accepting DDP at scale and losing your own customs records
- Under-declaring value, which invalidates insurance claims
- Assuming the supplier's quoted delivery price includes duty
- Not checking whether your site needs a liftgate or a delivery appointment
- Letting free time at destination expire and paying demurrage
- Skipping pre-shipment inspection and discovering the problem on your own dock
When a Local Team Pays for Itself
If you are sourcing from several factories, the logistics side is manageable once you know the steps. The difficult part is usually the front end: finding suppliers who can actually produce what you need, checking whether the factory is real, and catching quality problems before the container is sealed.
Globesino is a China-based concierge team that handles supplier sourcing, factory and pre-shipment inspections, consolidation and door delivery for overseas buyers who do not speak Chinese. We can quote the whole chain end to end, or just the part you would rather not manage yourself.