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Medical equipment is a highly regulated category of goods, because it needs approval from the local health authority, which is usually the Ministry of Health in the destination country. You will need to get a full declaration of your medical equipment.
In this article, we will guide you on how to ship your medical equipment overseas easily. More so, you will also be able to understand what you need to keep in mind while shipping the medical goods.
But before moving towards the process of shipment, let’s see how many types of medical equipment are there. Of course, you can divide them into several kinds but here are the major ones:
Kinds of equipment:
Thing you must remember…
Now, you must be wondering which transport mode you should choose for shipping: Air or Sea. Let’s discuss each.
When time is the essence and critical, air is the better mode of transportation. Imagine if you are part of a disaster relief team and you would have to ship your product as soon as possible to save lives, there would be no other option than to ship it by air.
Air freight saves your precious time but it can cost you a lot, almost 4xtimes of ocean freight.
Air shipment is effective if there are tight deadlines for your freight. You can’t afford to delay the delivery. It also has many flights available so you can ship them without delay. Ocean, on the other hand, would take weeks if not months in case there is a delay at the port.
Delivery of medical equipment is a troublesome process, since the cargo is fragile and expensive. It is necessary to know the exact parameters and characteristics of the transported objects. Based on them, a suitable mode of transport can be selected.
Another important nuance that influences the choice of delivery method is the distance from the place of loading (origin) to the final point (destination). In international transportation, aviation is preferred. The plane will deliver the cargo quickly and safely.
Let’s find out how much does it costs to ship by air.
The cost of shipping medical equipment overseas is not much different than any other products or materials for shipping. The cost depends upon your cargo. The cost is charged according to the weight and volume of the product, and also it is dependent upon the distance between the origin and the destination.
You should also know that the cost involves many factors apart from just freight charges. It can include the charges for documentation and compliance involved as well. And not just that, the charges of handling, transport facility, and the formalities of customs, all of these play a crucial part in taking out the cost.
Let’s take an example:
We calculate the volumetric weight at 6000 cubic centimeters per kg. Thus, if you divide the cubic centimeter volume of a shipment (L x W x H) by 6000, it will bring volumetric weight.
For instance, let’s say, you have a shipment that is 79 x 119 x 119 cm with an actual weight of 295 kg. We have to calculate its volumetric weight in the following way:
Volume: 79 x 119 x 119 cm = 1,118,719 cm3 (cubic centimeters)
Volumetric Weight: 1,118,719 cm3 / 6000 = 186.4 kg
Now here, the chargeable weight should be 295kg because the actual weight is larger than the volumetric calculation.
Here is the further detailed method for you of calculating the cost of air freight.
The packaging of a medical device will play a critical role in the safe delivery of treatment to patients.
The packaging of the medical equipment is costly enough. Because it requires extra care. It needs white glove services. It is a term used in logistics which implies special attention to the details.
The air service is also preferred for shipping medical equipment overseas, because at sea sometimes the water might come inside the container. This can damage the equipment due to the dampness from the moisture. The chances of rusting are also there on the sea freight.
For medical equipment, customized containers are important. They will be important to avoid abrasion, movement, or any other damage. Each kind of equipment, either lab, diagnostic or even surgical, requires separate prevention. And this all can cost enough but of course, you cannot afford to send the equipment damaged, right?
You must ensure the integrity of the product from the manufacturer to its end point of use, and in some cases, the packaging could even work in the application of the treatment.
For these reasons, it is important that medical device manufacturers choose the appropriate packaging to avoid mechanical damage during transport.
While medical technology packaging certainly needs to protect high-value products during shipping and transportation, it must also comply with health and safety regulations.
Medical equipment is unlike other goods. This equipment needs special handling. You just can’t load them by throwing them.
You have to pack your equipment into boxes like stainless steel boxes. Like injections or test tubes, you have to use stainless steel boxes.
Another aspect is refrigerated and frozen cargo. The luggage compartment on the place does not have a refrigerating chamber, therefore, such goods are transported in thromboxes, packed with ice packs. This is a specific type of packaging designed to provide the cargo with the required temperature conditions.
Now after the packing, let’s move towards the actual process of the shipping in sequence.
When you ship a package, omitting even the smallest detail can cause unfortunate delays. Therefore, before you deliver your package, we recommend that you review this list and make sure you cover all the points. We have simplified this process in the form of the checklist for you.
We recommend that you purchase special insurance from your insurer when shipping high-value items.
The most important documents you need to ship by air are the following:
Now you also need to know about the customs clearance process as well.
Customs Clearance
You’ll need to deal with the customs clearance procedure twice: once at the place of origin and the second at the destination place.
At the origin country, the customs agents inspect your cargo at the warehouse and check if there are any unusual occurrences.
Later, at the place of destination there is inspection again. And you have to handover your documents to customs to check if everything is monitored well enough. They’ll charge you with import duty on a few of your products, keeping in consideration its tariff or HS code.
Here is the list of the documents you need for the customs clearance:
You need a reliable and reputable freight forwarder who can handle all your processes in a hassle-free manner. Freight forwarders are connected with the top airlines in the business. It ensures that your equipment is safe and secure by providing you with the best available service.
It is better to acquire the services of those freight forwarders who could provide you with digital tracking. For example, Qafila which is also a digital freight forwarder who can keep you updated about your freight throughout the distance. Not only that, it will negotiate for the best cost for your cargo and handle your customs clearance process to save your precious time.
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