Consolidating Orders: when several small shipments become one
Buying from three factories in one province is normal. Shipping as three full export processes is not. When consolidation pays, what the forwarder needs from you, and where mixed loads go wrong.
When consolidating pays
Loose cargo is charged largely by volume, and a partly-filled container is charged as if it were full. The question is not whether you can fill a container, it is whether your cargo is close enough that combining it beats waiting.
The break-even shifts with density: a light, bulky product reaches container economics much sooner than a dense one of the same value. Compare on cubic metres, not on cartons.
What the forwarder needs before anything moves
Per factory: packing list with carton count, dimensions and net/gross weight per carton, the product description and the code used for export declaration, the agreed trade term, and the name of the person who will answer questions.
Ask early who files the export declaration, and whose name is on it. That single question prevents the most common consolidation delay.
Mixing suppliers in one load
Every factory has to deliver to the same place by the same cut-off, with the booking reference on the delivery note. A carton that arrives without the reference is a carton nobody can match to your shipment.
Keep the number of suppliers in one consolidated load small. Two or three is manageable; six is a paperwork exercise with a shipment attached.
Do not put fragile cartons under heavy machinery. If the load needs both, require stacking photographs from the loading, not just photographs of the goods.
Where the risk sits
The trade term decides who carries the loss between the factory gate and the container: under Ex Works the goods are your problem from the moment they leave, and under CIF the seller carries them further. Match the term to who actually controls the transport.
Insure the whole consolidated value, and check that the cover starts when the first factory's goods do, not when the container is sealed.
Documents that decide who gets paid
Ask whether you will receive the carrier's bill of lading or a forwarder's house bill, because they behave differently when you need to claim or to divert.
Do not release the balance against a promise. Agree in advance which document the balance is paid against, and keep that document in the contract, not in an e-mail thread.
Our own buyer-side working practice, not legal, customs or financial advice. Freight terms and documentary requirements differ by route - check with your forwarder.