Bulk inbound from China, FC-ready pallets at destination
We consolidate stock from several suppliers, prepare and label it to your fulfilment centre's receiving spec, and move it by air, sea, rail or road into the destination market. Buffer storage and pick-and-pack coordination sit on the same file, including the parcel-level outbound leg run by the warehouse appointed for it.
What this service covers
E-commerce logistics is rarely a single shipment. It is a repeating cycle: stock is bought from several factories at different times, it has to arrive at a warehouse that will refuse the delivery over a label or a missing appointment, and the date it needs to be on the shelf was fixed by a retail calendar months earlier. We run this as a programme rather than a series of unrelated bookings, which means the same people see your SKU list, your carton data and your replenishment plan each cycle instead of starting from a blank enquiry every time.
On the inbound side, we collect from your suppliers and consolidate before the goods reach the port or airport. Our deepest operational experience is at five China gateways — Ningbo, Shanghai, Qingdao, Tianjin and Xiamen — and we handle import and export through all major Chinese airports and seaports, so the consolidation point is chosen around where your factories actually are rather than around a single home port. From there the shipment moves on one of four lanes: Europe; Central Asia and Russia; North America, including Mexico; and South Asia and the Gulf, including India and the UAE. Rail is a core strength for us, and for sellers replenishing Europe, Central Asia or Russia the China–Europe and China–Central Asia corridors are usually worth pricing alongside both air and sea, on cost and on time.
Not every unit should go straight into a fulfilment centre. Sending a full year of stock into an FC ties up storage fees and makes you dependent on one receiving point. We offer bonded and un-bonded warehousing, so inventory can be staged in China with duty deferred while it sits in bond, then released against demand. At the destination end we coordinate with the warehouse handling your pick-and-pack so that bulk inbound freight is broken down and moved out at parcel level, and we can split a replenishment across modes — part by air to cover the immediate gap, the balance by sea or rail behind it.
Documentation is where e-commerce consignments most often stall. A mixed pallet of many SKUs needs classification that holds up at the border, value declarations that match the commercial record, and importer-of-record details registered before the goods move, not after. Products with lithium batteries, aerosols or other regulated content are dangerous goods and are declared as such — DG is one of our specialisms, not an exception we work around. Cargo insurance is available across all modes. Every quote request is answered within one business day, and the people quoting are named: Turbe Tan for air, Eissler Xiong for ocean, Dominic Wang for rail and road.
What you get when you book this service
Multi-supplier inbound consolidation
We collect from each of your factories and bring the cargo together at a consolidation point near the gateway before it is exported. Cartons are counted, weighed and measured on arrival rather than taken from the supplier's spec sheet, because the measured figures are what the chargeable weight and the FC receiving system will use.
Preparation to your fulfilment centre's receiving spec
Carton labels, pallet labels and shipment references are applied to the spec you give us, and box-content data is checked against the packing list before the pallets are wrapped. Tell us at booking if you want a photographic record of the built pallets before sealing and we will keep one, so if a receiving dispute happens later there is evidence of how the freight left China.
Mode selection across four lanes
Air, sea FCL and LCL, rail, road FTL and LTL, and multimodal combinations into Europe, Central Asia and Russia, North America including Mexico, and South Asia and the Gulf. A single replenishment can be split — an urgent tranche by air, the bulk behind it by sea or rail — and quoted as one plan.
Bonded and un-bonded buffer storage
Stock can be staged in China rather than pushed into the fulfilment centre in one block. In bonded storage, import duty is not assessed while the goods remain inside the facility, which gives you a holding point between production and the moment demand is real.
Customs clearance and per-SKU classification
Export declaration from the China gateway and import clearance at destination, with HS classification handled at SKU level rather than one code applied across a mixed carton. We flag restricted and licensable items before booking, not at the border.
Dangerous goods handling for battery-containing stock
Power banks, devices with lithium cells, aerosols and similar items are shipped as DG with the correct packing, marking and declarations. We will tell you where a product is acceptable by sea or rail but restricted or impractical by air, so the mode choice is made with the restriction in view.
Peak-season planning against your retail calendar
We plan bookings backwards from your on-shelf dates and around the fixed points in the Chinese manufacturing year — the Chinese New Year shutdown, which falls in late January or February depending on the year and closes many factories for an extended period, and the autumn run-up when space across all modes is generally tightest. Cargo insurance is arranged across the whole journey, not only the main leg.
From enquiry to delivery
Inventory profile and enquiry
Send us the SKU list with carton dimensions and gross weights, your supplier addresses, the destination fulfilment centres, expected volume by month, and anything regulated in the range. Tell us the Incoterm agreed with each supplier — whether you are buying EXW, FOB or otherwise changes where our scope starts. We come back within one business day with a quote and, where relevant, with the mode options rather than a single figure.
Supplier coordination and consolidation
We book collection from each factory and bring the cargo to a consolidation point near the chosen gateway. Cartons are checked against the packing list, measured and weighed, then palletised and labelled to the receiving spec. Discrepancies — short counts, cartons over a weight limit, damaged outers — are reported to you at this stage, while the goods are still in China and a decision is cheap.
Mode, routing and booking
We confirm the lane and mode against your required arrival window: sea FCL or LCL from a gateway port, rail into Europe, Central Asia or Russia, air for replenishment that cannot wait, or road and multimodal combinations. If the replenishment is being split, each tranche is booked and tracked separately but reported together.
Export documentation and clearance from China
We file the export declaration, assemble the commercial invoice, packing list and any origin or DG paperwork, and check that classification and declared values are consistent across the set. Where a certificate of origin or preferential form is needed, it is applied for before departure, because issuing bodies will generally not backdate one.
Import clearance and delivery into the fulfilment centre
The entry is filed against your importer-of-record registration in the destination market, duty and import tax are settled, and delivery is made against the appointment or booking reference the receiving site requires. We confirm delivery and pass back the proof of delivery and any receiving discrepancy noted at the door.
Buffer, release and outbound
Volume you are not ready to place into the fulfilment centre sits in bonded or un-bonded storage and is released against your instruction. Where pick-and-pack sits in scope, we coordinate with the warehouse so bulk stock is broken down and moved out at parcel level, and the next cycle is planned from what the last one actually did.
When this is the right service — and when it is not
Best for
- Online sellers replenishing fulfilment centres on a repeating cycle in Europe, Central Asia and Russia, North America including Mexico, or South Asia and the Gulf
- Consignments built from several Chinese suppliers that need to arrive as one shipment, on one pallet standard, under one document set
- Ranges with many SKUs and high carton counts, where labelling and accurate box-content data decide whether the delivery is accepted or turned away
- Stock containing lithium batteries, aerosols or other regulated items that must be declared and packed as dangerous goods rather than shipped quietly as general cargo
- Sellers who want a bonded or un-bonded buffer between production and the fulfilment centre instead of committing every unit to storage at once
- Retail calendars with hard dates — Singles' Day, Black Friday, Q4 trading — where the booking has to be planned back from the on-shelf date and around the Chinese New Year shutdown
When another mode fits better
This is inbound freight logistics for sellers holding stock at destination, and there are situations it does not suit. If you are shipping a handful of individual orders a day direct from China to end consumers, this is the wrong shape of service — a parcel or postal e-commerce channel priced per parcel is usually cheaper and simpler than building a consolidated freight programme around it. If you buy from one supplier, fill a container and send it to one consignee, you do not need an e-commerce programme at all: book it as straight FCL sea freight and keep the cost structure simple. If you have a live stockout on a small, high-value line, ask us for an air freight quote as air freight, priced on chargeable weight, rather than folding it into a replenishment plan. And if you are not yet registered to import in the destination market — no local entity, no EORI, VAT, EIN or IEC registration in place — the constraint is registration rather than freight, and it should be resolved before the first booking, since an entry cannot be filed in the name of an importer who does not exist on the customs system. It is also worth being clear about what we are: a freight forwarder. We arrange the transport, store and clear your goods, and coordinate the outbound leg with the warehouse and carrier appointed for it. If what you want is a single supplier operating its own last-mile delivery network and its own seller software, that is a different kind of company.
Documents and data an e-commerce consignment from China usually needs
Requirements vary by destination market and by what you are shipping — confirm yours against the specific lane before the first booking.
| Document or data item | What it is for | Usually provided by | Common failure point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial invoice | Declares the parties, the goods, the value and the Incoterm to customs at both ends | Seller or shipper | Declared value does not reconcile with the platform listing or the payment record, which invites a valuation query |
| Packing list | Carton count, per-carton contents, gross and net weight, dimensions | Supplier, verified at consolidation | Dimensions copied from a spec sheet rather than measured, so the chargeable weight changes at the airport or terminal |
| HS code per SKU | Sets the duty rate and flags licensing, restriction or prohibition | Importer, with classification support from the forwarder | A single code applied across a mixed carton of unrelated SKUs |
| Importer of record registration (EORI and VAT in the EU and UK, EIN and customs bond in the US, IEC in India) | Allows the import entry to be filed in your name | Importer | Registration started after the goods have sailed, leaving cargo at destination with no entry that can be filed |
| Certificate of origin, including preferential forms | Evidences origin and supports a reduced duty rate under a trade agreement | Issuing chamber or authorised body in China | Applied for after departure, when the issuing body will not backdate the certificate |
| Lithium battery documents: UN38.3 test summary and safety data sheet | Demonstrates the cells have passed transport testing and states the handling requirements | Cell or battery manufacturer | Test summary covers a different cell revision from the one actually in the cartons |
| DG declaration and packing certification | Declares regulated goods correctly for the mode being used | Shipper, prepared with the forwarder | Battery-containing devices booked as general cargo, discovered at screening, and offloaded |
| Receiving appointment or shipment reference from the destination warehouse | Lets the site book a door and match the arriving stock to expected inventory | Importer, from the platform or 3PL | Booked for a date the freight cannot realistically meet, then re-slotted into a later week |
| Carton and pallet labels to the receiving spec | Scanned on arrival to check the delivery in | Applied at consolidation before wrapping | Printed at the wrong size, placed across a carton seam, or covered by the pallet wrap |
| Cargo insurance certificate | Covers the value of the goods; standard carrier liability is limited by international convention and is not the same thing | Insurer, arranged through the forwarder | Cover taken for the main leg only, leaving the inland pre-carriage and the final FC delivery uninsured |
| China export declaration | Clears the goods for export from the gateway | Shipper or forwarder in China | Exporter details declared by the supplier do not match the commercial invoice |
E-commerce Logistics — common questions
Yes. Delivery into a fulfilment centre depends on two things being right: the consignment must be prepared and labelled to that site's receiving specification, and the delivery must be made against a valid appointment or booking reference. You supply the spec and the reference; we build and label the pallets to it in China and deliver against the slot. Send us the receiving requirements for your specific site with your enquiry and we will confirm what we can prepare before the goods are packed.
That is the core of this service. Give us the supplier list with addresses, contacts and what each is producing, and we arrange collection and bring the cargo together at a consolidation point near the gateway. Cartons are counted, weighed and measured against the packing list at that point, so a short count or an oversize carton is found while the goods are still in China. The consignment then moves as one shipment under one document set.
Yes. Dangerous goods are one of our specialisms, and battery-containing stock is common in e-commerce ranges. You will need the UN38.3 test summary and safety data sheet for the actual cells being shipped, and the goods must be packed, marked and declared correctly for the mode. Restrictions differ significantly between air, sea and rail, and some configurations that are straightforward by sea are impractical by air. Send us the product details and battery specification and we will tell you which modes are realistic before you commit to a route.
Plan backwards from the date the stock has to be sellable, not forwards from the date it is ready. Two fixed points drive the Chinese calendar: the autumn run-up to Q4 trading, when capacity across all modes is generally at its tightest, and the Chinese New Year shutdown in late January or February, which closes many factories for an extended period and creates a rush both before and after it. We would rather have your forecast early and adjust it than receive a firm booking with no room left in it. Share your indicative volumes by month and we will work the booking plan back from your on-shelf dates.
No, and often you should not. We offer bonded and un-bonded warehousing, so stock can be staged in China and released against real demand instead of sitting in fulfilment centre storage. In a bonded facility, import duty is not assessed while the goods remain inside. Which type suits you depends on whether the goods have cleared customs and how long they are likely to sit, and it is worth settling before the goods arrive at the warehouse door rather than after.
In almost every case the importer of record is you or your entity in the destination market, and the entry is filed against your registration — EORI and VAT in the EU and UK, EIN with a customs bond in the US, IEC in India, and the local equivalent elsewhere. We handle customs clearance and brokerage on your behalf, which is a different thing from being the declared importer. If you do not yet hold registration in the market you are shipping to, tell us at enquiry stage, because that determines whether the shipment can clear at all.
It depends on the lane, the value density of the goods and how much time is between the order and the stockout. As an industry-general guide: air is priced on chargeable weight, which converts volume into a weight figure using a standard volumetric divisor, so light bulky goods are expensive by air and dense goods are less so; LCL sea freight is charged on whichever is greater, the volume in cubic metres or the weight in tonnes; and FCL becomes worth considering as volume approaches a container load. For Europe, Central Asia and Russia, rail is worth pricing alongside both. We will quote more than one option where more than one is sensible rather than pushing a single mode.
We answer quote requests within one business day. To give you a usable number rather than a range, send the SKU list with carton dimensions and gross weights, supplier locations in China, destination fulfilment centres or delivery addresses, target volumes, the Incoterm agreed with your suppliers, and a note of anything regulated in the range. Email joy@sztranseasy.com or call 86 0755 3321 1432, and your enquiry will go to the specialist for the mode — Turbe Tan for air, Eissler Xiong for ocean, Dominic Wang for rail and road.
Guides related to this service
Peak Season Planning: Booking Capacity Before Golden Week
Rail, ocean, and air capacity all tighten around major China holidays — plan bookings accordingly.
Read More Customs & Compliance GuidesUnderstanding Bonded Warehousing for Import and Export
Bonded storage lets goods sit in China without customs duty due until they actually move.
Read More Shipping How-TosHow to Pack and Palletize Cargo for International Shipping
Good palletizing protects cargo and speeds up handling at every stop along the route.
Read More Shipping How-TosFCL vs LCL: Choosing the Right Ocean Freight Option
Not every shipment needs a full container — here's how to tell which one you need.
Read MoreExternal standards bodies and government sources, linked for reference. Transeasy is not affiliated with these organisations.