Importing a Packaging Machine: What the Evidence Settles on Crating, Documents and Receiving — and What to Write Into the RFQ

Incoterms: the evidence gives you no allocation, so the contract must

No source in this set addresses Incoterms at all. There is no risk-transfer point, no clearance allocation, no insurance duty and no unloading responsibility recorded for EXW, FOB, CIF or DAP.

Whatever split you assume between those four terms is unverified, and an assumption held only in the buyer's head is the weakest link in an import. What the evidence does support is treating logistics planning as part of supplier review.

Tariff exposure makes landed cost and lead-time planning part of that review¹⁷, and the RFQ is expected to carry the delivery, installation and commissioning timeline alongside warranty and spare-parts terms¹⁶¹⁶.

Use that as the hook: ask each supplier to state, in the quotation, where their responsibility ends and yours begins, and which party arranges carriage, insurance and import clearance. The sources do not tell you which answer is correct — only that the answer belongs in the written offer you compare.

What to verify before you sign

These commitments are the ones the sources agree belong on the pre-order list. Each is a question with a written answer, not a box you tick from memory.

• ✓Warranty terms and what they actually cover, in writing
• ✓Compliance certifications relevant to your industry — CE, UL, GMP, food-grade
• ✓Installation, training and commissioning support included in the quote
• ✓Expected lead time for spare parts, and whether local service is available
• ✓Delivery, installation and commissioning timeline stated in the RFQ response
• ✓Bills of lading retained with the shipment records for later reference

Specifying the crate: board grade and written strength ratings

Vague wording is the failure mode here. "Export quality" and "heavy duty" are not standardized descriptions, and a supplier's own recommendation on construction is worth having in writing before the order is finalised¹⁸.

Ask for ECT and burst-strength ratings as numbers. On grade, the rule of thumb runs by weight and handling severity: double wall becomes worth the extra cost once product weight exceeds roughly 15–20 kg.

And triple wall is reserved for heavy machinery, palletized industrial goods, or export shipments facing rough handling across multiple transit legs¹⁸. A packaging machine sits in the heavy-machinery and multi-leg export case, so triple wall is the indicated class under that rule of thumb¹⁸.

Treat the 15–20 kg figure as a corrugated-board rule of thumb, not a crate-class threshold — no source sets a weight or dimension threshold that defines a crate class.

Wood in the base: an ISPM 15 step or a material that avoids it

The pallet or crate base material changes your shipping plan. Wooden pallets are subject to ISPM 15 heat-treatment or fumigation requirements, while a non-porous plastic pallet is described as avoiding that obligation¹⁹.

If wood is used anywhere in the base, plan the treatment and its marking as a step with a lead time and a document, not as a detail the forwarder will handle. A plastic alternative removes that step, and the pallet design described in the source also carries handling features .

Integrated deck grooves that lock crates without strapping, rounded edges to reduce impact points, and anti-slip top-deck features¹⁹. Those are properties of that specific pallet, not a general rule for plastic bases.

Decide the base material early, because it determines whether a treatment step exists at all.

Crate construction and rigging: write them as supplier deliverables

Beyond board grade and pallet treatment, the sources stop. No crate construction standard, skid design, shock or vibration isolation, moisture barrier or desiccant requirement is established, and there is no lifting-point, centre-of-gravity, crane-capacity or lift-study guidance in this set.

That makes each of these a requirement you specify and the supplier confirms, not something you can look up.

• ✓Crate construction drawing and skid design, supplied and approved before build
• ✓Shock and vibration isolation method stated for the machine's mass and transport route
• ✓Moisture barrier and desiccant specified if the route or storage is humid
• ✓Lifting points and centre of gravity marked on the crate and stated in the shipping documents
• ✓Hoisting and rigging plan, including crane capacity at your site, agreed before shipment
• ✓Unloading responsibility at destination named in the commercial terms

Lead time and landed cost: demand the build-up, not a date

A single promised delivery date hides everything that can move. Ask for the schedule broken into its stages — engineering, build, testing, crating, transit, clearance, delivery — with the party responsible for each.

The sources give no stage durations, no freight class or chargeable weight, no LCL-versus-container economics, no insurance rate, terminal handling or demurrage figures, and no MOQ pricing thresholds. So you cannot benchmark the supplier's numbers against a published norm; you can only compare suppliers against each other on the same staged template.

Send the identical RFQ to every shortlisted supplier so the responses line up¹⁶.

Out-of-box receiving: agree the procedure before the crate lands

No source establishes an out-of-box inspection scope, so the inspection is a procedure you agree with the supplier and write into the purchase order. The bill of lading is the one document the evidence names for retention¹², which makes it the anchor for any later reference to the shipment.

• ✓Crate and seal condition photographed before opening, with the bill of lading referenced
• ✓Serial number and nameplate compared against the order and the supplier's documents
• ✓Accessories, manuals and spare parts checked against the packing list
• ✓Visible damage recorded on the delivery receipt before you sign
• ✓Damage and shortage notified to the supplier and insurer per the agreed procedure
• ✓Warranty start date confirmed against the delivery or acceptance date

What to confirm before you order

• Ask the supplier for model-specific evidence and record the condition that would change your buying decision.
• Request certificate numbers, issuing bodies, scope and validity for the exact model and destination market.
• Request a written quote with price basis, MOQ, tooling, payment terms and production lead time.
• Confirm named service coverage, response expectations and warranty terms for your destination.