A table for a client in Switzerland
A client abroad has commissioned a dining table and chairs. You are delighted. Then the questions start. How big and heavy is the crate? Who makes crates? Which freight forwarder? What goes on the commercial invoice, and what is the commodity code for a solid timber table? Does the timber need any documentation? You spend days on emails with forwarders and a crate maker, and the finished table waits in the workshop.
Export work is occasional and unfamiliar
Many makers ship abroad now and then, which is exactly why it is hard: nobody builds the habit or the records.
- Crated dimensions and weights are measured at the end, not recorded as the piece is made.
- Crate makers and forwarders are found fresh for each shipment.
- Commercial invoices and packing lists are made from scratch.
- Commodity codes and any timber documents are researched each time.
- Tracking the shipment means emailing the forwarder.
Customs and export rules vary by destination and change over time. What applies to your shipment is for your forwarder or customs adviser to confirm; the aim is to have the facts they need ready.
What each export costs you
The time spent on each overseas shipment is often more than the workshop time for some pieces. Delays in paperwork hold up delivery and payment. Mistakes in documents can hold a shipment at customs. And because the costs are hard to predict, freight and crating are often underquoted in the original price.
An export flow for commissions
- When an overseas commission is quoted, the destination is recorded and an early freight and crating estimate is requested from forwarders you have used before, so the quote includes it.
- As the piece is finished, its dimensions, weight and materials are recorded on the commission.
- A crate spec is produced from the piece dimensions and sent to your crate maker.
- Freight enquiries go to your forwarders with crate sizes and weights, and quotes are compared in one place.
- The commercial invoice and packing list are produced from the commission, with the commodity codes and descriptions your forwarder has confirmed for similar pieces before.
- The shipment is tracked on the commission, with the client updated at each stage.
| Task | Today | With the export flow |
|---|---|---|
| Freight in the quote | Guessed | Early estimate requested |
| Crate spec | Measured at the end | From recorded dimensions |
| Forwarder quotes | Separate emails | Compared in one place |
| Shipping documents | From scratch | From the commission |
| Tracking | Email the forwarder | On the commission |
Overseas orders without the dread
Freight and crating are in the price from the start. Documents are produced in minutes and checked by your forwarder. Each export makes the next one easier, because codes, descriptions and supplier contacts are stored. And clients abroad get regular updates, which makes a long wait feel managed.
Many makers find that once exports are organised, they are more willing to take them on. Overseas clients often find makers through social media and design press, and a clear answer about crating, shipping and paperwork at the enquiry stage makes you easier to buy from. The records from each shipment make the next quote faster and more accurate.
Is shipping abroad a headache?
- Each export starts with a round of research.
- Freight and crating have been underquoted.
- Shipping documents are made from scratch.
- Finished pieces wait while paperwork is sorted.
- Clients abroad chase for updates.