The Bill of Lading is the single most important shipping document. It serves as: receipt of goods, contract of carriage, and document of title. Three main types: Original B/L (controllable — need signed copy to release cargo), Sea Waybill (non-negotiable — cargo releases automatically), and Telex Release (electronic — fastest but no physical document). Choose based on payment terms and trust level with the buyer. For L/C transactions, only Original B/L is acceptable.
Sea freight from China to major global destinations typically takes 25-35 days for the US West Coast, 35-45 days for the US East Coast, 30-40 days for Northern Europe, and 20-30 days for the Middle East. These are transit times only and don't include loading, unloading, or customs clearance. Always add 7-14 days to the transit time when quoting delivery dates to your customers. Buffer time is not waste — it's risk management.
Pre-shipment planning prevents half of all logistics problems. Confirm: correct HS code classification, complete shipping documents, proper packaging for the transport mode, correct labels and marks, insurance coverage, and destination country import requirements. A pre-shipment logistics checklist shared with your supplier and forwarder ensures nothing is forgotten. Good logistics is 80% preparation and 20% execution.