Companies new to the export market may well not put enough planning into the different types of packaging their good may well need in comparison to packaging for the home market. The kinds of movements goods go through on and off from different types of carrier put a great deal of stress on packaging and if companies want their goods to arrive in excellent condition to the end user, it is worthwhile planning this into the process from the outset – and there are companies that will specialise in giving advice on appropriate packaging as well as appropriate labelling fulfilling all the requirements of the process of handling and for correct identification by the carrier and the countries they will be exported to.
Packaging for export will include goods that remain unpacked –such as vehicles which just need to be carefully stowed, boxes and crates are very popular, and usually stored on pallets for easy movement and shrink wrapped. Then there are drums for dry powders or liquids. In order to make transport more efficient and also to protect goods, packaged goods are often containerised in metal boxes usually around 6 metres by 2.4m wide. These containers not only give extra protection to packaged goods, but also offer much greater security from theft. Container shipping companies will also offer part-container consignments, so making the process more economical for small-scale export.