How to prepare for shipping medical equipment overseas

Shipping medical equipment overseas is definitely not an easy task. Shippers will be faced with a lot of challenges because of one very simple reason – the cargo they are shipping is too fragile, yet too valuable. Many moving companies overseas will not dare take on such an intricate task, but we here at Transparent International NYC have tackled it many times before. That’s why it will be our pleasure to guide you through the process and help you get your medical equipment and supplies to the location of your choice.

Shipping medical equipment overseas should not be attempted without professional assistance

First things first – it should be noted that you should only attempt to ship medical supplies with professional help. Reliable shipping companies will help you transport your items in a time-saving and cost-effective endeavor. Not to mention the positive influence they will have on the safety of your pricey belongings. However, it’s of crucial importance that you manage to find an experienced moving and shipping company. As always, we suggest you use the Internet for this purpose.

Find the websites of a couple of companies that seem to have the necessary services, credentials, and years of experience. Make a list of three to five potential candidates and venture out to request international moving quotes from all of them. Once the results are in, it will be easy for you to compare and see which company shows the best quality to affordability ratio. Just remember that you aren’t looking for the cheapest company, you are looking for the perfect one.

Perform an evaluation of your medical supplies prior to shipping them

You might think that you’ll go straight to the packing part of the task, but our Transparent International NYC professionals know that there is something you must do before putting your equipment in boxes – and that’s performing an evaluation. In fact, there are two types of evaluation you will need to perform:

• You will need to take a good look at the condition of your medical equipment – ensure that everything is functional, note down any scrapes or malfunctioning parts, and preferably take pictures of every piece. Once everything is relocated across the world, it will be easy for you to determine whether any type of damaged has been inflicted on your items.
• Know precisely the type and amount of equipment that needs to be shipped – it will be great if you could make a moving inventory of your own. It’s something that all reliable movers will do prior to shipping your items, but it never hurts to have your own copy of the inventory.

Only after you have taken care of these two very important steps can you start thinking about packing your items. We can all agree that safety is the most important part of any relocation, and you’ll definitely be one step closer to a successful shipping endeavor.

You will have to think about tailored packing

It goes without saying that you will have to buy all the ordinary packing supplies, such as cardboard boxes and tape. But you will also have to invest in tailored crates and specific packaging solutions. The good news is that there are many packing and crating solutions on the market. The bad news is that you will have to secure custom-built crates for every piece of equipment. We won’t lie to you – this will put a significant strain on your worldwide shipping budget. However, having in mind that it will ensure impeccable safety, it’s definitely something you won’t mind investing in.

Speaking of packing materials, a lot depends on your preferred shipping method. If you opt for ocean freight instead of air freight, you might have to invest in some special materials, such as vapor barrier packaging solutions. There are certainly a lot of pros and cons of ocean freight, and we won’t go into details right now. However, if you do weigh all the pros and cons and decide to use maritime shipping, you’ll definitely need to bear in mind some dangers. Some sort of moisture and vapor-proof packaging is necessary if you want to prevent corrosion on metal surfaces, as that can seriously damage your medical equipment.

Don’t consider shipping medical equipment overseas without the proper insurance

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much time and energy you invest in getting your equipment ready for shipment. There is always the risk of something going wrong and damaging your items in the process. And if something does go wrong, you’ll want to know that the damage will be reimbursed. The only way to know for sure is by purchasing a proper insurance policy.

What type of policy you choose is up to you. This is something that you will decide with special consideration of your budget, as well as the value of equipment you are shipping. Investing in a better policy is always a smart decision. However, if you aren’t financially able to do so, even an average policy will do.

You are embarking on a time-consuming process

You can’t expect that the entire preparation process will last hours, nor even days. No, shipping medical equipment overseas definitely is something that will consume lots of your time. The sooner you come to grips with that, the quicker it will be to prepare your items. Of course, the goal of the entire event should be to safely ship your belongings. In order to do it safely, you’ll have to invest some time. There’s no way around it.