Groupage shipping or Less than container load (LCL) is a shipping term used to mean an act of grouping multiple shipments belonging to different shippers or consignees into a single container. Request quote here If you want Full Container Load (FCL) .
Groupage shipping is ideal for small and medium-sized imports that would not require a Full Container Load (FCL) shipping. Check how container load to Nigeria works.
This is about stakeholder’s relationship in the value chain. We are guiding you on the relationship between a shipper / importer, the supplier, and appointed freight forwarder. Emphasis will also be made on cargo origin processes and delivery procedure in Nigeria.
Nigeria importer is the initiator of the relationship whose responsibility will be to create shipment, select a freight forwarder and coordinates correspondences between his supplier and his freight agent.
In order to fully optimize all the benefits of groupage shipping, it is important that you understand how it works.
Design a budget plan- Importer Sets overall buying and delivery budget.
Signing sales agreement with your supplier.
Collect total weight / volume (cubic meter) from supplier for your forwarder.
Provide selected freight forwarder with your Purchase information from supplier.
Know if Groupage is suitable for your cargo - Check eligibility
Compare cost implication with other mode of shipping.
Check estimated time of arrival from your freight agent.
Make necessary adjustments with supplie.
Connect your supplier with your selected freight forwarder.
1. Design a Budget plan- Importer Sets overall buying and delivery budget: Whether you are a first-time importer or a regular importer of goods, the first step is designing a shipping plan for yourself. It is important to set your overall buying and delivery budget. This will guide and control you; in quantity to buy, which shipping mode will be suitable and when to expect your order in Nigeria.
2. Signing sales agreement with your supplier: Signing agreement will not mean sending and signing hard copy of sales agreement. This can be done via regular email correspondences. This is where you align your buying budget with your quantity order. Note: You can be talking with your selected freight forwarder in another email subject / trail, to get advice on shipping cost based on your proposed quantity order.
3. Collect total weight / volume (cubic meter) from supplier for your forwarder: After you have made your order based on set budget, the next step is to understand what your order is saying in term of weight / volume. Weight and volume can affect your projected budget if not properly monitored and managed. This is because some shipments can have light weights, while other may have dimensional weights. Read about dimensional weight here, and how it may affect your budget and / or change your shipping plan.
4. Provide selected freight forwarder with your Purchase information from supplier: Having signed a sales contract with your supplier and purchase information known, it is time you intimate your freight forwarder or call him a co-loader (in the case of groupage) with more information. The shipment /order information you are dropping with your forwarder is expected to be as detailed as possible. Professionally your supplier is expected to provide you with a packing list detailing; packaging type(s), number of packages, weight per package, dimensions / volume per shipping package.
5. Know if Groupage is suitable for your cargo - Check eligibility: Now that you have transmitted your shipment /order information to your freight forwarder, it is expected that your freight agent provides you groupage shipping cost. At this stage you want to begin to check eligibility, to know if groupage is suitable for the shipment(s) that you are creating.
6. Compare cost implication with other mode of shipping: there are other shipping methods you can use to deliver your shipment to Nigeria. I strongly advice that you compare groupage shipping with other methods of shipping to Nigeria. You may read Container Shipping to Nigeria (How it Works) here.
7. Check estimated time of arrival from freight agent: Groupage shipping to Nigeria offered by Valuehandlers is unique compared to the other types of groupage shipping. One of the unique benefits of our groupage shipping (which is why many importers subscribe to it) is that “Groupage shipping affords Importers to share container with co-loaders and access preferred shipping rates”. Because of this unique benefit, subscribers are expected to weight longer than time it will take to deliver container to Nigeria. NOTE: Container transit time varies by countries.
8. Make necessary adjustments with supplier: Now that you can estimate your buying and shipment delivery budget, it is time to finetune your plan and decide whether- you want to add to your order or reduce your order, whether you want to go with groupage or want to use container, whether the waiting time to deliver groupage align with your expected delivery time in Nigeria.
9. Connect your supplier with your selected freight forwarder: Your decision in 8 above is fundamental and will be the basis for deciding whether to connect your supplier and your forwarder. To connect your supplier with your freight agent, you will provide your forwarder with; Business Name and address of your supplier, contact person with phone number, and supplier contact email address.
10. Pickup and delivery: With above well defined and understood, you want to decide whether picking up by your forwarder is the best option, or your supplier deliver your shipment to a groupage loading facility for onward shipping to Nigeria.
Transit Time: Groupage shipping transit time to Nigeria;
Asia: 30 days to 55 days.
USA / America: 17 to 25 days.
UK (United Kingdom) 15 to 20 days.
European Countries: 12 to 17 days.
United Arab Emirate (UAE) / Dubai to Nigeria: 15 days
New China Groupage: 50- 60 Days.
Listed are Information required to Ship Groupage to Nigeria:
Cargo description: This is nature and type of goods.
Supplier / manufacturer's details,
Cargo Weight in CBM,
Packaging type: This is how your shipment is packaged according to safety and shipping guidelines,
Number of Packages,
Dimensions of each Package,
Cargo city and country of Origin: This is the country that you are importing from.
Consignee details: The individual or company name and address that will receive the package at the destination
NOTE:if you do not know or understand your cargo detail, it is best you connect us (customercare@valuehandlers.com) to your supplier. The supplier has a comprehensive knowledge of the product, and Valuehandlers knows how to mine this information for use.
Groupage (LCL) service unique offer allows you to share containers in order to ship your freight to Nigeria and also cut the cost of shipping. Groupage shipping service will deliver small / medium / large goods to Nigeria from; Germany, France, China, India, Bangladesh, Italy, Spain, UK / United Kingdom, USA / America, Poland, Singapore, Taiwan, Finland, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Holland / Netherland, Japan and Dubai/UAE.
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