Shipping pallets to the Mediterranean islands isn’t as tough for British businesses as they often think it might be. Of course, places which are surrounded by water, like Sardinia, are harder to reach than those in continental Europe. Nevertheless, all it takes is a bit of forward planning to ensure your pallets get to wherever they might be needed without encountering any delays. If you sell commercial goods to customers in Europe – or plan to in the future – then Sardinia, with a population of over 1.6 million inhabitants, should definitely feature in your business expansion plans.
What should you do if a Sardinian firm places an order for a pallet or two of goods from your company? Read on to find out what you need to know.
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Leverage Logistical Know-How
Unless you have an extensive logistical team working for your firm already – and most SMEs and even some larger firms don’t – you will need some professional expertise to help you get your pallets to Sardinia cost-effectively. To begin with, seek out a BIFA-accredited freight forwarding firm. Such businesses specialise in international logistics and will be able to arrange a door-to-door delivery from your premises directly to your customer on Sardinia. According to Barrington Freight, a firm with extensive freight forwarding experience, you should also ask about groupage shipments to Sardinia. These offer the best value for money but take a little longer than express courier services.
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Consider Your Route Carefully
Getting to Sardinia by road from the UK usually – although not exclusively – means a roll-on-roll-off cross-channel ferry service from southern England. It is also possible to send pallets to Sardinia via Immingham or Harwich, however. From any of these locations, Sardinia is often best reached by Barcelona in Spain or Genoa in northern Italy. Both ports serve Porto Torres in the northwest of the island. Equally, you can send trucks and vans to Sardinia via Livorno or Civitavecchia, both on the Italian mainland. This way, your goods will make landfall at Olbia, one of Sardinia’s biggest cities.
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Ensure Your Customs Declarations Are in Order
It is important to note that EU customs officials will carry out physical inspections of most commercial goods entering the trading bloc from the UK. Expect delays and a close inspection regime if you have not filled out your customs declarations properly beforehand and submitted them online. Note, too, that UK officials will expect your paperwork to be submitted with the relevant EORI number long before your pallets arrive at their port of departure in the country.
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Keep Your Sardinian Clients Updated
Finally, the ability to track the progress of your pallets will be important if you want to maintain good customer service with your Sardinian clients. Choose a logistical partner that can provide frequent contact with the driver of your goods. Ideally, they will monitor the roads in France, Italy and Spain to avoid hold-ups and be able to re-route your consignment to another port if there are delays that can be bypassed by so doing.
