When using freight forwarding delivery services it’s extremely important to make sure that your goods are prepared and packaged safely to avoid items becoming lost or damaged during transit.  Your freight forwarding company want your items to arrive at their destination in perfect condition and will do everything in their power to ensure that this happens.  But they also need you to ensure that you have followed the recommended guidelines for packaging your shipment.

Crates and boxes

If you’re using cardboard boxes to pack your items make sure that they are new boxes and you’re not recycling old ones that will have become weakened.  The safest option is to use plywood crates to pack your items as they are solid and will offer your shipment the best protection.  You then need to line the sides of the container with at least 2 inches of padding to ensure that nothing gets broken.   Don’t over pack or under pack your shipment, remember that the boxes are going to be handled lots of times so they need to be fully secure.  If your containers are heavy make sure that you are either sealing the seams or stapling them closed to prevent items falling out and getting lost.

Pallets

When packing for large load shipping or for shipping very heavy items you will need to package everything onto pallets to protect your shipment.  When you’re packing pallets for large load shipping make sure that you secure everything with bands and/or plastic wrapping to stop it moving around during transit.  Make sure that you stack your boxes onto the pallet from corner to corner and edge to edge rather than trying to interlock the load or stack it in a pyramid shape.  Also ensure that there aren’t any items overhanging from the pallet and try to distribute weight evenly across the pallet as you pack it.

Labelling

Every single package in your shipment needs to be clearly labelled with a shipping label.  The label should include the name, address and postal code of the shipper and the consignee.  This information should be a perfect match of the information on the shipment’s bill of lading.  If the package has any particular handling requirements then a suitable pictorial sticker should be clearly stuck onto the box to indicate this.  It’s also recommended that you mark on the pallet the total number of boxes that it contains.

If you need any more help or advice on preparing and packing your shipment then give one of our friendly team at Espace a call and we’ll be more than happy to advise you.

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