Trade Solutions — 05
Post-Shipment Facilitation
From bill of lading to delivered goods — document presentation, tracking, destination clearance, discharge, claims and settlement, managed through to the end of the trade.
What is post-shipment facilitation?
Post-shipment facilitation manages a trade from the moment goods load to final settlement. It covers preparing and presenting shipping documents for payment, tracking the cargo, coordinating destination customs clearance and discharge, handling quality or quantity claims and demurrage, and following the transaction through to settlement and delivery.
The trade is not finished when the ship sails
Loading is the midpoint of a physical trade, not the end of it. The documents have to be presented and paid against, the cargo has to clear at destination, discharge has to be scheduled, and any disagreement over what arrived has to be resolved.
Each of those stages has its own ways of going wrong, and most of them cost time at a berth — which is to say, they cost demurrage. Post-shipment work is about keeping the second half of the trade as tight as the first.
How it runs
Document preparation and presentation
Bills of lading, invoices and certificates are assembled and checked against the contract and, where one is used, the letter of credit — then presented for payment. A discrepant presentation is the most common reason payment stalls.
Cargo tracking
The vessel or containers are tracked through transit, with the buyer and discharge port kept informed of arrival so berthing and clearance can be prepared in advance.
Destination clearance
Import documentation, duties and any food-safety or regulatory checks at destination are coordinated so the goods clear on arrival rather than waiting on paperwork.
Discharge and delivery
Discharge is scheduled against berth availability, and discharge-port inspection arranged where the contract provides for it, with delivery coordinated through to the buyer.
Claims and demurrage
Quality or quantity differences are handled under the contract's umpire and claims provisions, and demurrage is calculated against the agreed laytime terms rather than negotiated from scratch.
Settlement and close-out
Final invoicing, adjustments and payment are completed, and the transaction documentation is closed out and retained.
What we manage on your behalf
Clean presentation
Documents are checked against the credit and the contract before presentation, because the bank pays on documents, not on cargo.
Clearance delays
Destination requirements are anticipated so goods do not sit at a port waiting for a certificate that could have been prepared at origin.
Laytime and demurrage
Laytime is tracked from arrival so demurrage is calculated on the contract's terms, with the supporting records to back it.
Claims resolution
Disputes over quality or quantity are resolved through the mechanisms already written into the contract — independent inspection and umpire provisions — rather than argued afresh.
Common questions
Frequently asked
Why do letter of credit payments get delayed after shipment?
Almost always because the documents presented do not exactly match what the credit requires. The goods can be perfect and the payment still stall. Checking the full document set against the credit before presentation is the most effective way to prevent it.
What is demurrage?
Demurrage is the charge payable when a vessel is kept at a port beyond the laytime allowed in the contract for loading or discharge. It accrues daily, so delays in clearance or discharge scheduling translate directly into cost.
How are quality disputes at destination resolved?
Through the contract. Where load-port and discharge-port results differ, the contract normally names an umpire laboratory whose result is binding. Having that mechanism agreed in advance is what makes a dispute resolvable rather than open-ended.
Can post-shipment facilitation be taken on its own?
Yes, it is offered as a service in its own right. It works best alongside Pre-Shipment Facilitation, because the documents prepared before loading decide how smoothly everything after it runs.
Related
- Pre-Shipment FacilitationPre-shipment facilitation — supplier verification, pre-shipment inspection, quality and origin certification, export permits and cargo readiness before loading.
- Trade Instruments FacilitationFacilitation of letters of credit, standby letters of credit, bank guarantees, performance bonds and advance payment guarantees — structuring, documentation and presentation against the underlying trade.
- Trade Management SolutionsEnd-to-end trade management — counterparty due diligence, contract management, document control, logistics coordination, compliance, risk monitoring and settlement.
Manage a shipment through to settlement
Tell us the cargo, the route and where the trade is now, and we will set out what remains to be done.
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