First Export Shipment
Turn a signed export order into a dispatch-ready shipment plan. Check buyer/payment risk, Incoterms, documents, freight, shelf life, and release evidence before the cargo leaves.
Start My First Export
Work a signed export order into a dispatch-ready plan.
For: A first-time or early-stage exporter — often a food or perishable producer — with a signed order but no export execution muscle yet.
Use when: You have a signed PO or contract with an overseas buyer and have not yet booked freight or shipped. Not for the RFQ or negotiation stage.
- The buyer can't be verified as a real legal entity outside the email thread.
- The buyer is new and wants open account with no deposit, LC, or credit insurance.
- The destination requires an import permit or certificate you can't obtain.
- The agreed Incoterm gives you an obligation you can't perform — e.g. DDP where you can't clear customs.
- A perishable's remaining shelf life is under transit + clearance + the buyer's minimum.
- Any party, destination, bank, or vessel returns a sanctions or restricted-party hit.
- Verify the buyer's legal identity and authority
- Judge buyer seriousness and creditworthiness
- Choose the payment method and risk split
- Screen the buyer and the destination
Expert review: Confirm any letter-of-credit wording and confirmation with your bank or trade-finance desk before you rely on it.
· Payment & counterparty
Is the buyer real and are you paid-safe?
Go — Buyer verified and the terms secure you for a first deal (advance, LC, or confirmed).
Hold — Buyer is real but the terms are too exposed — get a deposit, LC, or credit insurance.
Stop — Can't verify the buyer, a sanctions hit, or open account with no security.
· Responsibility
Is every cost, risk, and clearance owned and within your capability?
Go — Every cost, risk-transfer point, clearance duty, and insurer is written down and performable.
Hold — A responsibility (import clearance, insurance, permit) is unassigned — assign it or change the Incoterm.
Stop — You've taken an obligation you can't legally or operationally perform.
· Documentation
Is the doc and certificate pack complete, consistent, and valid to arrival?
Go — Every required document and certificate is issued, consistent, and valid through arrival.
Hold — A certificate is pending or inconsistent — don't ship on a promise.
Stop — A mandatory import certificate can't be obtained — the cargo will be refused or destroyed.
· Loadability & transit
Will the goods arrive sellable and insured?
Go — Booking confirmed, temperature and handling set and verified, insurance bound, shelf life covers transit plus the buyer's minimum.
Hold — Shelf-life or temperature margin is thin — ship a smaller or faster lot, or re-time.
Stop — A perishable can't arrive within its sellable window, or the cold chain can't be guaranteed.
· Final decision
Dispatch this shipment?
Go — All four gates passed, dispatch evidence captured, and payment secured or the trigger met — DISPATCH.
Hold — A gate is on hold — HOLD and fix it before the cargo leaves.
Stop — A gate is a stop — DON'T DISPATCH.
- 1Shipping food on remaining shelf life that fails the buyer's minimum after transit.
- 2Agreeing DDP into a country you can't clear as importer of record.
- 3Discovering a missing health or phytosanitary certificate at the port.
- 4Leaving the Incoterm named place vague — 'FOB China' instead of 'FOB Ningbo'.
- 5Releasing goods before an advance or LC is actually secured.
- 6Documents that don't match across the invoice, packing list, and certificate of origin.
- 7No marine cargo insurance where risk already passed to you at the named place.
A 10-month shelf life gets tight once transit and the buyer's minimum eat into it.
- Order1 reefer · CIF Rotterdam
- PaymentConfirmed LC
- Production shelf life10 months
- − transit + clearance− 5 weeks
- Buyer minimum on arrival80% (8.0 mo)
- Real sellable slack~1.1 months
- Health certificatePending
Export Decision Record
The dispatch-ready record of this shipment — copy or print it to share with a colleague, forwarder, or your internal team.
- Buyer verified
- Legal identity + authority (y/n)
- Incoterm + named place
- e.g. CIF Rotterdam
- Payment method + release trigger
- Met? (y/n)
- Screening result
- Sanctions / restricted-party
- Document + certificate pack
- Complete and consistent? (y/n)
- Freight booking ref
- Carrier + booking
- Temperature / handling set
- For perishables
- Shelf-life margin
- Months of slack on arrival
- Insurance bound
- (y/n)
- Decision
- DISPATCH / HOLD / DON'T DISPATCH
- Evidence stored
- Where the pack lives