The Logistics Of Shipping Luxury Goods Around The World

The internet has given us many things, but online shopping has to take the crown. Consumers now have the ease of ordering things from the comfort of their own home without even knowing where in the world it is coming from. 

While smaller, low-value items can be easily packaged up and sent out within hours – what about the higher-value items? 

With things like jewellery, furniture and antiques now readily available at the click of a button, how are logistics companies changing their strategies to get these products out? 

Forming courier partnerships 

The main challenge facing shipment companies is customer demand. While a seller on eBay can take as long as they like, within reason, to get their product to the buyer, larger companies don’t have this leeway. 

To address this, lots of luxury sellers are forming partnerships with other logistics firms and courier services to make for a smoother process. For example, luxury companies are now working with air freight logistics businesses to buy power and air carrier partnerships to get the best rates on their shipment. 

Flexible planning 

Considering most luxury item buyers are millennials, this also means that companies must adapt to the spending patterns of their main consumer. Millennials are known for favouring things like special launches, collaborations and pop-ups which can cause a sudden surge in demand for the products being sold. 

With the nature of the delivery, luxury goods need to have a flexible plan. Considering that there are more hoops to jump through and more things to pass through clearance, companies are now creating and implementing more relaxed logistics forecasts. 

Becoming thrifty with fees 

Of course, we can’t talk about international shipping without mentioning fees. 

If a company is importing things from America, for example, there will be a lot to pay in air waybill charges. To avoid this, logistic companies are looking at taking advantage of things like the weekly entry program for their shipments at foreign trade zones.  This dodges some inflated custom fees, which can really make a difference to the overall shipping costs. 

The industry of international shipping, therefore, requires thorough planning so that businesses can make the most of their money. 

Embracing digital 

It’s hard to imagine international shipping without the involvement of digital. However, shipping also involves a lot of manual work too. The best way for logistic companies to tackle international shipping is to try and seamlessly combine the two. 

This is done by making sure there is a clear link between e-commerce and the people on the ground. The unified work between the two should make the logistic of the shipment that bit easier. While digital has undeniably changed the face of shipments, there is still a long way to go in terms of future developments and integration. 

In the UK, the general uncertainty surrounding Brexit is due to shake up a lot of things for trading and shipping. The luxury market will likely have to change its processes once again to adapt to this, but currently, there’s no telling how it will all play out.