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Our multi-location clients are no strangers to logistical hurdles and site-to-site inefficiencies when it comes to managing IT projects across their footprints. If those footprint extend past US borders, then those logistics and management protocols are further complicated by the sheer size—and breadth—of their logistics needs.
International Logistics in IT: The Trials of Import and Export
Global IT maintenance is hard.
And part of that difficulty is getting the right replacement parts to your international locations in a timely and cost-efficient manner. However, when shipping hardware to a different country, there is a complex vetting process that must occur before the cargo ever leaves the warehouse. Admittedly, anyone with a shipping label and packing peanuts can send a parcel to India, but if you want to avoid lengthy delays, CBP penalties, and potential seizures, you must first:
- Acquire the specific importing license for the destination country
- Apply for the proper VAT import number
- Learn and comply with necessary customs restrictions
- Determine adequate freight insurance
- Pack the equipment appropriately for international shipment
While this is certainly not an exhaustive list, it still represents a great deal of research and preparation that must be done before shipments can occur. And all of this to meet one of the most fundamental needs of your global infrastructure: hardware maintenance.
Better Shipping Practices with CentricsIT
CentricsIT ships internationally for our clients’ maintenance endeavors every day. And we do this to support the global reach you’ve heard us reference when discussing the CentricsIT ITAD and TPM service offerings. However, our international logistics network offers more than just the leveraging of secondary hardware markets.
Our logistics networks enable our clients’ international maintenance processes.
The Comprehensive Knowledge to Ship the Right Way
Emily Santa Maria, Licensed Customs Broker and Logistics Manager for CentricsIT, explains that we “establish and maintain relationships with partners in each of these countries” to expand our legal presence and to employ local distribution knowledge across the globe. This international network of registered import and export specialists—Importers of Record (IORs)—communicates directly with our CentricsIT logistics team to streamline our clients’ hardware shipments from all angles. We ensure accuracy and speed while mitigating complications from both sides of the border.
As a Licensed Customs Broker, Santa Maria has a thorough knowledge of international trade compliance. She can file entries into the U.S. directly, determine duty rate classifications, and provide product certifications—all in-house and without unnecessary delay.
Once a client needs to ship equipment internationally, however, Santa Maria and her team work directly with the corresponding IoR partner for support. With in-country knowledge and experience behind them, each IoR partner will compile all that we need to know for successful exportation to the destination country. These reports include detailed shipping instructions and classification regulations, and they inform us of any international trade restrictions that need to be met. As needed, our IoR partners also obtain necessary shipping licenses for VAT compliance—all of which further provide legitimacy (and smooth the import process) for each country’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency.
Once compliance has been determined (and our IoR partner has vetted all pre-shipment documentation), our highly-trained warehouse team will securely package the internationally-bound hardware and prepare it for overseas transport. As CentricsIT has also established relationships with internationally-trusted carriers, we can also ensure chain-of-custody for each of our customers’ shipments, no matter the destination.
The Dedication to Get It Right the First Time
The experts at CentricsIT fully understand the critical, on-demand nature of IT maintenance, so we stock locally in advance of any critical failures. For other international logistics, however, when a client asks us to export hardware immediately, we recommend a 24-48 hour vetting and preparation period prior to each shipment. In our experience, a few hour’s delay to ensure accuracy is a minor inconvenience that prevents the devastating setbacks that border seizures or tariff penalties can pose. “Rather than wait to figure out what we missed at the border,” says Santa Maria, “Our team at CentricsIT chooses to remove all liability on the front end.” That’s liability that you would otherwise have to face.
We get it right the first time.
Tired of inexperienced brokers causing penalties and delays at the border? Speak to our Licensed Customs Brokers to make your next international shipment a successful one, and never worry about the status of your global maintenance contracts ever again.
