Things to note when setting the shipment date
(1) Give full consideration to the supply of goods. If the supply is sufficient, the shipment date can be set earlier; if the supply is tight, the factory is short of funds, has difficulty in financing, or it is difficult to purchase raw materials, the shipment date should be set later to avoid being unable to ship on time, which would result in a passive situation.
(2) The shipment date should be clearly defined, specific, and standardized. Avoid ambiguous and vague provisions such as “06/07/05”, “Immediate shipment”, “Prompt Shipment”, and “Shipment to be made as soon as possible”.
In addition, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) once recommended the use of a year-month-day writing method such as “2006-6-9”, but so far, not many people in the international business field seem to respond. In order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and troubles caused by different understandings between the buyer and seller, it is recommended to use a more standardized date expression such as “June 17, 2006” that is not misunderstood by everyone.
(3) The length of the shipment period should be appropriate. The shipment period should not be set too short, otherwise the preparation work such as the source of goods, commodity inspection, and export customs clearance may not be in time. The shipment period should not be set too long, so as to avoid unnecessary troubles, market changes, and the contract falling through.
(4) The shipment period should not be set too rigidly. For example: “Shipment: Oct 15, 2010.” (Shipping on October 15, 2010.) Such an inflexible shipping clause is difficult to enforce. If something unexpected happens in the middle, such as a power outage at the critical moment of production, an occasional machine failure, a car breaking down on the way to deliver goods, or a customs computer being attacked by a virus during the customs declaration process, etc., then the goods will definitely not be shipped on that day.
(5) Try to avoid major holidays during the shipping period. The eve of major holidays is often the peak period for international trade cargo shipment. At this time, factories, commodity inspection, customs, transportation companies and other related departments are particularly busy. Moreover, the busier you are and the more anxious you are, the more paper leaks there will be. In order to avoid trouble and passivity at work, you should try not to join in the “bustle” when setting the shipping deadline.