Groupage cargo: what you need to know before ordering?

If you are just starting a business with China, you will certainly be offered to order goods in small batches. This will allow you to get acquainted with Chinese products, assess the quality and reduce business risks. But you understand that a small load will not be able to completely fill the container. What then? The solution is groupage cargo.

What is it, what is special about it, and when and who needs it – we answer these and other questions in the article.

What is "groupage cargo"?

It is better to consider the transportation of groupage cargo using examples. Let's say you purchased 100 units of goods in China. But a standard container holds 30 units. Thus, 3 containers will be full, and the fourth will be only partially full. Do you need to pay for the incomplete fourth container? If there were no groupage cargo, the entrepreneur would have to overpay. But thanks to them, you can save significantly by paying only for the space that the goods directly occupy, and not for air.

That is, a consolidated cargo is a cargo containing goods from different entrepreneurs. It is loaded into one container and transported to customers.

Delivery of groupage cargo from China is a popular service today. It is suitable for everyone, both large businesses and beginners. And especially for salons, shops, restaurants, and gyms.

How is groupage cargo transported?

Delivery of groupage cargo is more complicated in organizational and technical terms than regular sea delivery. This is due to the material and technical base and the specifics of the design.  

The main stage of groupage cargo transportation is the consolidation of small batches. This takes place at a specialized warehouse of the freight carrier company, in the country from which the shipment originates. In addition, an important point is competent personnel who can quickly form a groupage cargo, label it and send it. Goods are assembled into a groupage cargo warehouse according to similar characteristics. That is, food products are not transported with household chemicals.

It is also necessary to create a route that will suit all customers. Delivery is by sea within 55-60 days.  

So, the logistics of groupage cargo has the following stages:

· consolidation and formation of a cargo consignment

· transportation

· Dismantling of the cargo consignment and passing customs control

· delivery to the customer

 What affects delivery speed?

· volume and type of cargo. The more cargo, the easier it is to form a batch for shipment

· type of delivery

What are the advantages of groupage cargo?

Groupage cargo was created to save money. Moreover, both the customer and the carrier save money. As practice shows, customers save 30-40%. Because the less you transport, the cheaper it is. Remember, in groupage cargo, payment is made exclusively for the place of goods. So this allows you to significantly reduce the transportation budget.

And the carrier, in turn, can optimize transportation by delivering more cargo at a time.

Another advantage is turnkey delivery. The transport company takes care of all the organizational aspects and the customer receives the goods “door to door”.

But there are also disadvantages. This method will not work, for example, for transporting perishable goods or goods that need to be delivered in the near future.  

If you are interested in groupage cargo delivery, we recommend contacting professionals. M3Cargo has been delivering goods from China since 2010. The range of services also includes groupage cargo delivery.