In addition to sea transportation, common international cargo transportation includes air transportation and international express delivery. Air transportation issues an air waybill (AWB). An air waybill does not have the same property right certification and control capabilities as a sea bill, nor does it have the practice of “order bill of lading”. Because air transportation must specify the consignee, similar to the named bill of lading in the sea bill of lading, the consignee does not need to use the original air waybill, but only needs to prove his or her identity to pick up the goods. Therefore, you must be mentally prepared when doing air transportation. When you hand over the goods to the air freight forwarder, it is equivalent to handing them over to the customer.
International express does not issue a specific bill of lading, but only leaves a copy of the express bill for the consignor. Each express bill has a unique express bill number as a basis for inquiry. Well-known international express companies all have their own websites. On their respective websites, you can check the status of express delivery in real time through the express bill number: you can also see the contact information of the company’s branch in your location.
The express fee can be paid by the sender, or by the recipient with the consent of the recipient, which is called “cash on delivery”. The operation method of cash on delivery is to first ask the customer for the account number of a certain international express company (most customers have similar accounts), then call the express company to check the validity of this account number, and pay after confirming that it is correct. It should be noted that if there is no written proof that the customer does agree to pay on delivery, then if the customer refuses to pay, the express company will charge the sender the fee.
In addition to internationally renowned express companies, there are also many express companies in China. Domestic express companies sometimes “second-hand” agents for well-known international express businesses. For domestic customers, this kind of agency is not without benefits. For example, some international express companies require that if the delivery is paid, the sender itself also needs to have an account number of the express company or pay a risk deposit. Those who are unwilling to do so can circumvent the problem by arranging international express delivery through domestic express companies-because they have a cooperation agreement with international express companies. Of course, this is naturally not as safe as directly delivering to international express companies, but as long as it is not a particularly valuable item, there is no big problem.
Sending goods through international express saves the trouble of customs declaration and verification. However, when customers receive the goods, they sometimes need to pay import tariffs according to the amount declared by the shipper. Therefore, this should be taken into consideration when declaring the value of express delivery and handled appropriately.
Pay attention to learning and accumulating knowledge on cargo transportation, which will be of great benefit to smooth shipment and cost saving.