Sending goods straight from the factory to a fulfilment centre removes a handling step and removes your last chance to look at the goods. What to fix before that trade-off becomes a problem.
Direct shipping removes the step where mistakes were caught
In a routed shipment the goods pass through a warehouse or a prep centre, and problems surface there while they are still fixable. Direct to a fulfilment centre, there is no such step: a wrong label, a missing warning, an under-count or a damaged carton is discovered by the receiving process, and the resolution runs on the fulfilment centre's timetable rather than yours. That is not an argument against direct shipping, which is usually the right call on cost and speed. It is an argument for moving the check upstream, to the factory, before collection.
- Nothing is inspected between the factory floor and the receiving dock
- A problem found at receiving is resolved on their schedule, not yours
- The inspection has to happen before collection or it does not happen at all
What has to be right before collection
The checkable items are the ones that cannot be corrected downstream: unit labels applied and scanning, no second barcode visible, carton labels on a flat face, cartons counted and matching the shipment plan, packaging able to survive palletising and stacking, and any prep requirement applied as specified. Carton dimensions and weights matter twice over — they decide the freight you pay, and a discrepancy between the declared and the actual figures is a familiar source of billing adjustments. All of it is checkable at the factory on the same visit as the product inspection, which is the only visit that happens.
- Labels applied and scan-tested; carton count reconciled against the shipment plan
- Cartons and packing verified against declared dimensions and weights
- Prep requirements confirmed applied, not merely agreed
Where the sourcing work ends and the forwarder starts
Booking freight, customs clearance, the import of record, delivery appointments and routing into a specific fulfilment centre are a freight forwarder's work, and a forwarder experienced with the destination programme is worth more than a marginally cheaper rate. The sourcing side ends at the inspection report and the handover of the goods to that forwarder. Keeping the two roles distinct is deliberate: the party checking whether the goods are acceptable should not be the party whose schedule benefits from them being shipped. Give the forwarder the verified carton and weight figures rather than the supplier's estimates, and give them enough notice that a hold for rework does not cost the booking.
- Freight, clearance, import of record and delivery appointments belong with your forwarder
- Sourcing work ends at the inspection report and handover — checking and shipping stay separate roles
- Pass verified carton figures to the forwarder, not the supplier's estimates
Authoritative references
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