The questions we get asked every week

For most importers, FOB gives you control of the main leg without handling export formalities yourself. EXW gives more control but makes you responsible for export clearance in a country you do not operate in. Avoid DDP unless you trust the supplier's forwarder completely — you lose all visibility of cost and routing.

A commercial invoice, a packing list and the supplier's contact details are enough to start. For customs we also need your EORI number, and for some goods a certificate of origin, a conformity declaration or an import licence. We tell you which ones apply before the cargo leaves.

Air and rail usually land within a day of the quoted figure. Sea freight is the volatile one: schedule reliability across Asia–Europe has been running well below pre-2020 levels, so we quote a realistic window rather than the carrier's headline number and alert you the day a vessel rolls.

Carrier liability is limited by convention and is far below the value of most cargo — typically a few euros per kilo. We strongly recommend all-risk marine cargo insurance, which we can arrange at a percentage of invoice value. It is a small cost against a total loss.

Often yes, with the correct classification and packaging. Send us the safety data sheet and we will confirm the UN number, the packing group and whether the goods can go by air, sea or road. Declaring dangerous goods as general cargo is the fastest way to have a container refused.

We tell you the day we know, not the day it lands. Depending on urgency we can switch the balance to rail or air, hold the cargo at origin to avoid demurrage, or reroute through a different discharge port. The options come with the notification.

Yes. LCL sea and air consolidations start from a single pallet, and our origin warehouses can hold small deliveries until you have enough for a full container. Below about half a cubic metre, express courier is usually cheaper and we will tell you so.

Send the pickup address, the delivery postcode, the gross weight and either the volume or the carton dimensions. With those five things we can price a routing the same day. Everything else can follow.