A pallet held at the port
The distributor in one market takes a different bottle size. Another needs an importer's sticker applied before shipping. A third needs specific documents with the shipment, and their freight forwarder needs them in a particular format. The sales manager knows most of this. The bottling team knows some of it. A pallet goes out with the wrong back label and is held at the other end until it is relabelled at your cost.
Why export details get missed
The requirements for each market are gathered over time, in emails from importers and forwarders, and held by the person who handles that account. When an order arrives, it looks like any other order, and the market-specific steps depend on someone remembering them. Changes in a market's requirements arrive by email and may not reach the bottling team.
- Market requirements are in emails and people's heads.
- Orders do not carry a checklist of what the market needs.
- Label versions per market are not tracked against orders.
- Document packs are assembled by hand for each shipment.
- Changes from importers do not reach bottling in time.
What mistakes cost
Shipments held, relabelled or returned. Delays that make distributors look elsewhere. Staff time spent rebuilding document packs. And risk that is hard to see, because one person holds most of the knowledge and could be off sick when a big order arrives.
We do not advise on export rules, labelling law or customs. We make sure what your importer and advisers tell you is written down once and applied every time.
A market profile and an order checklist
- A profile for each market and distributor: bottle sizes, label versions, importer stickers, carton marks, pallet format, the documents the shipment needs and who provides each.
- Each profile records where each requirement came from and when, so changes are traceable to an email or document.
- Export orders pick up the profile automatically and generate a checklist for sales, bottling, warehouse and logistics.
- The bottling plan receives the right label version and size for export runs.
- Document packs are drafted from the order and profile, using your templates, for a person to check and send.
- When a requirement changes, affected open orders are flagged.
| Requirement | Held where before | Held where now |
|---|---|---|
| Bottle size | Sales manager's memory | Market profile |
| Label version | Email with the importer | Profile and bottling plan |
| Importer sticker | Bottling team's note | Checklist step |
| Shipping documents | Assembled by hand | Drafted from templates |
| Changes | Forwarded emails | Logged, open orders flagged |
Exports that leave right the first time
Every export order carries its own checklist, and each team sees its part. The right label and size go on the bottling plan. Documents are drafted from templates and checked, not rebuilt. When a market changes, open orders are caught. And the knowledge of each market belongs to the business, not one person.
Opening a new market also gets easier. You build its profile as you learn from the importer, and the first order benefits from it rather than being the one where everything is discovered.
Is this your export process?
- Market requirements live in one person's head and inbox.
- A shipment has been held or relabelled.
- Document packs are assembled by hand each time.
- Bottling has used the wrong label version for a market.
- Importer changes reach the bottling team late.