The designated goods means the foreign buyerdesignates the freight forwarder who is responsible for arranging the cargo transportation on its behalf. Usually it refers to the FOB, EXW and other freight-paid goods (namely goods with the freight borne by foreign buyer).

Handling Process for Designated Goods

First, the freight forwarder (hereinafter referred to as foreign freight forwarder) designated by the buyer sends an email to or contacts the domestic company or partner through other contact methods to inform them of the shipper’s contact information. Then after receiving the contact information of the shipper, the domestic freight forwarder contacts the shipper to inquire about the status of goods, and informs the foreign freight forwarder byemailor by other means. If the goods have been ready, it may informthe other party of the expected shipping information and ask whether it can arrange for shipping matters. If the booking number of the foreign freight forward is used, the booking number shall be requested from them so as to submit the same to the shipping company. It is necessary to pay special attention to the fact that the designated goods are under the instructions of the consignee, not those of the consignor. When the consignor has any unconventional requirements, he shall inform the foreign freight forwarder and the arrangement shall not be made until the permission has been obtained from the foreign freight forwarder. Otherwise, the consignor’s request cannot be accepted. Especially when you first deal with the consignor’s goods, you should pay more attention to avoid unnecessary troubles. After obtaining the permission instructions from the foreign freight forwarder, you may arrange the space booking, trailercustoms declaration and other matters. Of course, for the stable goods that are regularly shipped,you may informthe other party of the voyage information while booking the space. At the same time, you need to ask the other partywhat format of HBL is issued, usually it will be the HBL provided by the foreign freight forwarder. During the shipment of goods, in case of any goods status update and any problems encountered, it is necessary to communicate with the foreign freight forwarder in a timely manner. After the goods are shipped and the bill of lading is issued, it is necessary to ask the foreign freight forwarderabout the amount of handling charge, and then send the same to foreign freight forwardertogether with MBL, HBL , PSS (profitsharesheet), and other customs clearance documents (if the agent requires them from you). In addition, since there may be more than one cooperative freight forwarders in a country, you shall not confuse the goods of different freight forwardersso as to avoid unnecessary embarrassment. If your company has branch in the country, you may not disclose the branch information to foreign freight forwarder, which will make the foreign freight forwarder feel that you are competing with them and thus affect the future cooperation.

What is the risk of designated goods?

The bill of lading issued by the freightforwarderto the consignor is HBL (House-Bill of Lading) instead of MBL (Master Bill of Lading), and HBL does not really achieve the purpose of controlling the property in goods, so it will cause the foreign freight forwarder to “release goods without bill of landing”, namely, in the absence of HBL, the freightforwarderrelies on its own MBL to take the goods from the shipping company and then delivers them to the consignee, resulting in a situation in which the consignor’s loss of goods and funds. Of course, there are very few cases where the goods are released without bill of landing. But when the exporter and the importer cooperate for the first time, attention shall still be paid to this problem. Efforts shall be made to urge the consignee to pay the purchase price as soon as possible.