Resellers that work internationally often find themselves spending more ensuring their shipments of technologies receive clearance at the border than they do on their own business and revenue building initiatives when there’s an important transaction to be made. This not only concerns monetary spending, but that of time, energy, the cost of their employees’ peace of mind. Shipping dual use goods such as IT equipment internationally can cause issues for those unfamiliar with the process, or with the receiving country’s legislation. Just a small mistake in the accompanying paperwork can delay clearance, potentially costing both resellers and their clients great sums.

The difficulties involved with cross-border compliance makes securing an importer of record a necessity, but when you work with an experienced professional when shipping IT equipment some of these difficulties are alleviated. There are many helpful IOR services available that can take the various pain points out of the distributions process, and alleviate the pressure that’s put on exporters to do everything correctly. For example, partnering with an importer of record like TecEx allows resellers to give the process over to an expert and return sooner to their scheduled business activities. The importer has a point of presence in over 120 countries and has the power to take responsibility for not-for-sale transactions of equipment being leased to a company or corporation abroad. They moreover have the experience of clearing goods and communicating with customs personnel at the borders these countries, allowing them to guarantee clearance within ten days of accepting a reseller’s quote.

What’s unique about them is they can do the legwork where pre-approval is concerned as well, acquiring all necessary permits, licences and certifications on behalf of the reseller; they can also prepare the commercial invoice and freight delivery waybill. Because they’re knowledgeable about each country’s rules (including the challenging aspects) the global distributions process stops being so stressful.

What also takes the stress away is the importer’s hands-on service. Every reseller hears horror stories about expensive assets getting lost once clearance was finally obtained. This partner will liaise with the reseller’s chosen forwarder or freight service to see that the goods reach the destination they’re supposed to; they even offer their own couriers (though using them isn’t a requirement). Furthermore, they save their clients money by only charging them the landed-cost quote, alleviating the frustration of unexpected fees, and offer tax breaks as they can retrieve value added taxes from at least 40 of the countries they work with regularly. This can prove to be crucial as import taxes can make up to 90% of shipping costs.

The last thing a reseller needs is to have their shipment held or turned around after tirelessly putting in the effort to obtain compliant clearance. They also shouldn’t have to contend with upset clients on the other end of a late transaction. What resellers should be doing every time they’re shipping internationally is partnering with a capable and reliable importer of record, one that has the know-how to guide them through a complex process, especially if shipments are being sent to countries with challenging import laws. Doing so allows reselling entities to focus their energies on other things, like building new client relationships for the future.