Consolidation: several suppliers, one shipment
An order placed with five factories is five boxes that travel separately and are charged as five small consignments. Brought into a single shipment, they become one cargo on a different rate per kilogram. Below: what consolidation gives you, where it genuinely saves money, and where it only appears to.
What it looks like in practice
Suppliers ship to our warehouse in China — each on its own schedule and by its own transport. The cargo sits until the last item arrives. As soon as the consignment is complete, it is packed and released onto its route the same day.
From there it is a single cargo: one quote, one shipment, one transit time. What happens to the boxes at the warehouse until that point — receiving, checking and packing.
Consolidating is not always the right call. If one supplier is ready today and another in three weeks, the whole consignment waits three weeks. Sometimes it is cheaper to send two consignments than to keep your money sitting in boxes; that is worked out in advance, not afterwards.
Where consolidation genuinely saves money
The saving comes from weight, not from the act of consolidating. We accept from 50 kg and encourage assembling from 150 kg — at 50 kg the price per kilogram is markedly higher, and that is the main argument for combining orders.
The second place the difference shows up is density. On road routes the price list distinguishes density in bands: dense cargo runs at about $1.10 per kilogram at 1000 kg/m³, light cargo from $4 at 100 kg/m³. A heavy item added to a light one raises the density of the whole consignment and moves it into a different band.
The third is collection within China. One collection with a $20–50 surcharge costs less than three; but if the suppliers are in different provinces, three collections can eat up the gain from the band. That too is arithmetic, not a rule.
Volumetric weight: where it applies and where it does not
Volumetric weight is a second way of paying for the space taken up: a cubic metre is equated to a number of kilograms, and the greater of the two weights is billed. We do not apply it everywhere, and that is a decision rather than an oversight.
| Route | Volumetric weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Road: Russia TIR, Kazakhstan | not applied | the price list already distinguishes density in bands; the premium for light cargo sits inside the rate itself, and volumetric weight on top of it would be a second charge for the same space |
| Air express | 167 kg/m³, that is 1:6 | there is a single band and it knows nothing about density — without volumetric weight, light cargo would not pay for its space on the aircraft at all |
For an individual package the coefficient can be changed either way by agreement — including switched on where it is normally off. A changed coefficient is stated in the quote and recorded together with the reason: a verbal agreement written down nowhere is indistinguishable from a mistake a month later.
You can work out the density of your own consignment in the calculator on the home page.
Paperwork: what changes when there are several suppliers
The logistics do not change with the number of suppliers — the paperwork does. Each factory has its own invoice and its own packing list, and under official import that is reflected in the documents for the consignment.
This has to be worked out before shipping, not when the cargo is already at the warehouse: the set of documents depends on the import arrangement, the destination country and who your contract is with. Which documents are involved at all — a breakdown of the import document set; who is responsible for what — white import.
The client remains the importer of record. That is our model and it does not change on a consolidated consignment: we are responsible for the logistics and for preparing the documents, while the declaration stays with the importer.
The order in which this is done
- you send the list of suppliers, what you are taking from each, and approximate weight and volume;
- we quote the assembled consignment and compare it with separate shipments — if separate works out cheaper, we will say so;
- we agree who brings the cargo to the warehouse: the supplier itself or our collection;
- the warehouse receives goods as they arrive and reports discrepancies immediately;
- consignment complete — packing and departure onto the route the same day.
It is worth keeping the first consolidated consignment small: it also shows which suppliers keep to their deadlines. How this works step by step — the first shipment.
Frequently asked questions
What is cargo consolidation from China?
It is bringing orders from several suppliers together at one warehouse in China into a single shipment. From there the cargo travels as one consignment: one quote, one shipment, one transit time.
The point is weight: the larger the assembled consignment, the lower the price per kilogram.
How many suppliers can be combined into one consignment?
There is no limit on the number of suppliers. What is worth costing is something else: how long the slowest of them takes to be ready, and the cost of collections if the factories are in different provinces.
If one supplier is ready now and another in three weeks, the whole consignment waits three weeks — sometimes it is cheaper to send two consignments.
How much better is it to assemble a consignment rather than ship in parts?
We accept from 50 kg and encourage assembling from 150 kg: at 50 kg the price per kilogram is markedly higher. The manager states the difference directly in the quote.
The second source of saving is density: on road routes the rate runs in bands, about $1.10 per kilogram at 1000 kg/m³ against $4 and above at 100 kg/m³. A heavy item added to a light one moves the consignment into a different band.
How is volumetric weight calculated on a consolidated shipment?
On road routes — Russia TIR and Kazakhstan — volumetric weight is not applied: density is already accounted for by the bands in the price list.
On air express a coefficient of 167 kg/m³ applies, that is 1:6. For an individual package the coefficient may be changed by agreement, in which case it is stated in the quote and recorded together with the reason.
Are separate documents needed for each supplier?
Each factory has its own invoice and its own packing list, and under official import that is reflected in the documents for the consignment.
The exact set depends on the import arrangement, the destination country and who the contract is with — which is why it is worked out before shipping, not once the cargo is at the warehouse.
Who is the importer on a consolidated shipment?
The client remains the importer of record — a consolidated consignment does not change that.
We are responsible for the logistics and for preparing the documents; the declaration and the importer’s liability stay on your side.
Send us the list of suppliers and approximate weights — we will quote the consolidated consignment and compare it with separate shipments. If separate works out cheaper, we will say so.