Understand how you can save money on your next shipment by choosing the correct method for you...Incoterms are here to help.
So you bought or sold an item, congratulations! now you must move that item from its origin to its destination. The best way to do that is to negotiate at the point of purchase how thats going to be accomplished. But in order for both parties to understand and agree on the particulars they have to speak the same language and agree on what the terms actually mean.
In comes Incoterms to the rescue. Incoterms are a series of predefined commercial terms published by the international chamber of commerce. The Incoterms roles are intended primarily to clearly communicate the tasks costs and risks associated with the transportation and delivery of goods.
Lets say you purchase some goods from a factory in China, you want your freight forwarding company, and it had better be Mars Freight to handle the pick up from the factory's premises and deliver it your store. They will handle all export documentation as a buyer you are assuming the maximum risk but that pays off with the control and reduced cost of shipping, making you the most competitive in your market.
You will have routing control over your shipping and as you will purchase the necessary insurance, you will realise good gains from that too.
There are other terms that you should be familiar with as well. FOB or free on board is probably the most important and most used. FOB means that the seller fulfils its obligation to deliver when the goods have passed over the ships rail, at a particular port of shipment and requires that the seller clears the goods for export.
