Your logistics team in China, without hiring one
We are not just here to quote freight. We help you coordinate your suppliers, arrange factory pickup, manage export customs clearance, consolidate cargo, book ocean or air freight, and solve origin-side issues before they delay your shipment.
Freight is the last step. The China side is everything before it.
We support importers in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and Germany who source products from China and need reliable local logistics support on the China side.
A quote gets a container from a Chinese port to your door. It does not get your supplier to pack to your specification, deliver to the port on the right day with the right documents, or tell you on the day when it cannot. Those are the things that decide whether the container sails, and they happen in Chinese, in Chinese office hours, in a factory you have never visited.
Whether you buy under FOB, EXW or FCA terms, we help you stay in control of your China shipments — without needing your own logistics team in China.
Who this is for
What we do on the China side
Six things, each of which is a job in its own right, and each of which is usually done by nobody when an importer relies on the factory’s forwarder.
Supplier Coordination
One contact for every factory you buy from.
Read more 02Factory Pickup
Trucks to the factory gate, anywhere in China.
Read more 03Export Customs Clearance
The Chinese export declaration, done right the first time.
Read more 04Cargo Consolidation
Several suppliers, several cities, one shipment.
Read more 05Ocean & Air Booking
Space booked on the schedule your delivery date needs.
Read more 06Origin-Side Problem Solving
Problems caught at origin, before they become delays at destination.
Read more
Supplier Coordination
Most delays on a China purchase begin with a conversation that did not happen. A factory quietly slips a cargo-ready date, packs to its own standard rather than yours, or hands the goods to its own forwarder because nobody told it otherwise. When you have four suppliers in three provinces, that conversation has to happen four times a week, in Mandarin, during Chinese office hours. That is the job we take off your desk.
We introduce ourselves to each supplier as your nominated logistics contact, agree the collection date and the packing and marking specification in writing, and confirm the documents we need from them and by when. From then on the supplier deals with us for anything freight-related, and you receive one consolidated status rather than a separate thread per factory.
What is included
- Supplier onboarding call and written collection brief in Chinese
- Cargo-ready date tracking against the sailing or flight
- Packing, labelling and shipping-mark specification agreed before production ends
- Document collection: invoice, packing list, certificates, test reports
- One weekly status across every supplier, exceptions flagged the same day
Best when
You buy from more than one Chinese supplier, or from suppliers who do not export regularly.
Get a quote that includes this
Factory Pickup
A pickup date is derived backwards from the vessel or flight: the container-yard cut-off sets the latest arrival at the port, inland transit sets the collection day, and the factory's loading window sets the appointment. Booked the other way round, from whenever the factory says it is ready, the shipment misses the sailing by a day and waits a week for the next one.
We book the right equipment for the goods. Palletised cartons load into a container at the factory; loose or mixed cargo goes by truck to a warehouse near the port where it is counted, checked and consolidated. For heavy and out-of-gauge pieces we survey the route from the factory to the port before committing the truck, because inland bridge and tunnel clearances are often tighter than anything at the port.
What is included
- Container drayage for live loading, or truck to a port-area warehouse
- Loading supervision, seal number and photographs where cargo value justifies it
- Weighbridge and verified gross mass (VGM) before the port
- Route survey and permits for oversized or overweight pieces
- Licensed dangerous-goods trucking where the cargo requires it
Best when
You buy EXW or FCA, or your FOB supplier is inland and needs its delivery to port managed.
Get a quote that includes this
Export Customs Clearance
A foreign buyer cannot lodge a Chinese export declaration in its own name, which is why an EXW purchase without a China-side agent stalls at the first port gate. We lodge the declaration as your agent, or coordinate it with the supplier's broker when the supplier exports in its own name, and in both cases we check that the HS code, the quantities and the declared value agree with the commercial invoice you will present at import. A mismatch between the export declaration and the import entry is a red flag to customs at both ends.
Some goods need more than a declaration: wood packaging needs an ISPM 15 treatment mark, certain chemicals and dual-use items need licences, and inspection can be called at random or on risk. We build the buffer for that into the pickup date rather than discovering it on the day.
What is included
- Pre-check of invoice, packing list and HS classification
- Export declaration lodged as your agent, or coordinated with the supplier's broker
- Licences, inspection certificates and ISPM 15 treatment confirmed before collection
- Customs inspection attended and resolved
- Copy of the export declaration for your import records
Best when
You buy EXW, or you want an independent check that your supplier's export paperwork matches your import entry.
Get a quote that includes this
Cargo Consolidation
Buying from several suppliers usually means each one ships alone, through its own forwarder, on its own date, with its own origin charges and its own arrival. Consolidating at origin turns that into one shipment: one bill of lading, one loading plan, one customs entry at destination, and one delivery. On cargo above roughly thirteen to fifteen cubic metres in total, a full container also costs less than the equivalent LCL.
The consolidation point is chosen from the suppliers' locations and the sailing: usually a warehouse near the port that the largest volume loads from. Each supplier is given a delivery window, and the loading plan keeps each supplier's cargo segregated so it unloads cleanly at your end. One rule is agreed at the start: what happens when a supplier is late. Ship without them or hold the box, decided in advance, not on the day.
What is included
- Consolidation warehouse near the loading port, with receiving and counting
- Delivery window per supplier, chased in Chinese
- Loading plan by supplier, weight distribution and photographs
- One master and house bill of lading, packing lists reconciled per supplier
- Mixed purchase terms across suppliers handled on one shipment
Best when
You buy from two or more suppliers, or ship from more than one Chinese city.
Get a quote that includes this
Ocean & Air Booking
Under FOB you have the right to nominate the carrier and the forwarder. Exercising it is what gives you control of the schedule, the routing and the charges: the booking is made on your account, the bill of lading is issued the way your bank or your broker needs it, and the origin charges are itemised on our quote rather than surfacing as collect charges at destination.
We book against the delivery date, working back through transit, clearance and cut-offs to the sailing that actually meets it, and we price more than one mode when the decision is genuinely open. Across the ten service lines we run, that can mean ocean for the volume and air for the part of the order that cannot wait.
What is included
- Carrier booking on your account under FOB, EXW or FCA
- FCL and LCL ocean, air consolidation, rail and road where they fit
- Bill of lading drafted to your bank's or broker's requirements
- ISF, ENS and other pre-departure data supplied from origin
- Origin charges itemised on the quote, with the basis stated
Best when
Every shipment. This is the part most forwarders quote; we quote it with the rest attached.
Get a quote that includes this
Origin-Side Problem Solving
The same handful of problems cause most destination delays, and nearly all of them are visible at origin: a packing list that does not match the count at loading, a carton mark that differs from the invoice, a certificate of origin that was never applied for, a battery product with no test summary, a factory that packed on untreated pallets. Found in a warehouse in Shenzhen, each one costs a phone call and an afternoon. Found on a quay in Felixstowe or Long Beach, each one costs demurrage and a week.
We run a fixed pre-departure check on every shipment, and when something does go wrong we tell you the same day, with what has happened, what it changes, what we are doing and when we will next update.
What is included
- Fixed pre-departure checklist run on every consignment
- Count, mark and packing check at loading
- Certificate and licence gaps closed before the cut-off
- Supplier delays re-planned across modes when the date matters
- Same-day exception reporting with a next-update time
Best when
You have been surprised at destination by something that started at origin.
Get a quote that includes thisFrom purchase order to sailing
Brief
Purchase orders, Incoterms, supplier list, product master, destination broker. We return a plan and a quote with origin charges itemised.
Suppliers onboarded
Each factory is introduced to us as your nominated contact. Cargo-ready dates, packing and marking specification and document deadlines are agreed in writing.
Booked and pre-cleared
Carrier space booked on your account. Certificates, licences and treatment marks confirmed. Pre-departure data sent to your broker.
Collected, checked, loaded
Trucks from the cut-off backwards. Count, marks and packing checked at loading. Export declaration lodged. Verified gross mass declared.
Sailed and reported
Bill of lading issued to your requirements, documents to your broker, weekly status until delivery, exceptions the same day.
Who does what under FOB, EXW and FCA
The term on your purchase order decides who is obliged to do each origin task. It does not decide whether the task gets done well. This is how the work divides, and where we sit in each case.
| Origin task | FOB | EXW | FCA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supplier coordination | We, as your nominated forwarder | We | We |
| Collection from the factory | Seller delivers to port; we manage it against the cut-off | We | Seller to the named place, or we collect as your carrier |
| Chinese export declaration | Seller, in its own name; we check it | We, as your agent | Seller, in its own name; we check it |
| Origin terminal handling | Seller pays; we make sure it is not billed twice | We | We, from the named place |
| Consolidation across suppliers | We, at the loading port | We | We |
| Carrier booking | We, on your account | We, on your account | We, on your account |
| Pre-departure data (ISF, ENS, ACI) | We supply | We supply | We supply |
| Risk passes to you | On board the vessel | At the factory door | At handover to your carrier |
A strong fit for companies that
- Import products, materials, components, or equipment from China
- Buy from multiple Chinese suppliers or ship from several Chinese cities
- Need factory pickup, supplier coordination, export customs clearance, warehousing, consolidation, or booking support
- Handle industrial equipment, machinery, auto parts, electrical products, hardware, furniture, construction materials, batteries, solar products, or special cargo
- Want a reliable China-side contact instead of relying entirely on each factory's forwarder
- Need support with standard cargo, urgent air freight, dangerous goods, oversized cargo, or special containers
For the People Who Control Their China Imports
We usually speak with the people accountable for landed cost, lead time and supplier performance. If a delayed container lands on your desk, this is for you.
- Procurement Managers
- Purchasing Directors
- Supply Chain Managers
- Logistics Managers
- Import Managers
- Operations Managers
- Business owners
Where the cargo is going
We support importers in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and Germany who source products from China and need reliable local logistics support on the China side.
United Kingdom
Felixstowe · Southampton · London Gateway
Sea (FCL and LCL), air, and rail to Duisburg with a road or short-sea final leg
Shipping to the UK USAUnited States
Los Angeles / Long Beach · Oakland · Seattle / Tacoma
Transpacific sea (FCL and LCL) to both coasts, and air
Shipping to the USA CanadaCanada
Vancouver · Prince Rupert · Montreal
Sea to the Pacific gateways with rail to Ontario and Quebec, all-water to Montreal, and air
Shipping to Canada AustraliaAustralia
Sydney (Port Botany) · Melbourne · Brisbane
Direct sea services (FCL and LCL) to the east coast and Fremantle, and air
Shipping to Australia GermanyGermany
Hamburg · Bremerhaven · Rotterdam and Antwerp (as gateways)
Sea (FCL and LCL) into the North Sea ports, China–Europe rail into Duisburg and Hamburg, and air into Frankfurt
Shipping to GermanyImporters ask us
Usually yes, and the two are not in competition. Your destination forwarder or broker runs the import entry and the final delivery. We run the China side: suppliers, collection, export clearance, consolidation and the booking. Most of our importers keep their destination broker and add us at origin, and the broker is generally glad of a clean file.
Because under FOB the forwarder works for the factory, and the origin charges you were not quoted come back at destination as collect charges. FOB gives you the right to nominate the forwarder. Naming us on the purchase order costs the supplier nothing and gives you one contact across every factory you buy from.
No. Import entries are made by a licensed broker in the destination country, and that is your broker. We handle the Chinese export declaration and make sure the documents it is made on agree with the ones your broker will use, before the vessel sails.
We handle cargo through all major seaports and airports in China, with factory pickup and export clearance from any manufacturing province. Our deepest operational experience is at Ningbo, Shanghai, Qingdao, Tianjin and Xiamen, and we book from whichever port is nearest your supplier.
Quote requests are answered within one business day, with the basis stated and origin charges itemised. During a shipment you receive one weekly status across every supplier and an exception report the same day anything changes.
Further reading
External standards bodies and government sources, linked for reference. Transeasy is not affiliated with these organisations.