International Shipment Workflow
How inventory moves through five legs - manufacturer, freight forwarder, customs, prep center, fulfillment - and where status falls through.
At a high level, an international shipment moves through the same five legs regardless of product or destination - and each leg is owned by a different party.
The five legs
- Manufacturer - production and initial packaging
- Freight forwarder - ocean freight to the U.S.
- Customs clearance - legal release of the goods
- Prep center - receiving, inspection, and labeling
- Fulfillment destination - final delivery and sale
Where shipments fall through
Between every leg there's a handoff risk and a status gap - the moment goods pass from one party to the next is exactly where updates and delays get lost. No single party sees the whole shipment end to end, so keeping each leg visible falls to the seller unless something tracks it for you.
Scenario
A seller orders inventory from a manufacturer in Vietnam. The freight forwarder they've hired picks up the goods, ships them by ocean freight, and coordinates customs clearance on arrival in the U.S. Only after clearance is the shipment released for delivery to the seller's prep center, which then handles inspection, labeling, and forwarding to FBA. If the seller assumed the prep center would handle the customs step, the shipment would sit at the port with no one arranging its release.
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