Learning Objectives（教学目标）

After completing this unit, students should be able to:

—comprehend basic vocabulary related to delivery;

—identify and understand the basic elements that determine delivery time and methods;

—develop communication skills to:

● ask for an early delivery;

● settle delivery dates;

● discuss problems related to delivery dates.

Lead In

1. Delivery time and terms

Time for delivery is given as accurately as possible but is not guaranteed. The customer shall have no right to cancel the order for failure for any cause to meet any delivery time stated. 

The date of delivery shall in every case be dependent upon prompt receipt of all necessary information, final instructions or approvals being obtained from the customer. Alterations by the customer in design, specifications or quantities required may result in delay in delivery and adjustment of the pricing. 

Failure by the customer to take delivery of or to make payment in respect of any one or more installments of goods delivered hereunder shall entitle the company to treat the whole contract as repudiated by the customer.

The company will endeavor to comply with reasonable requests by the customer for postponement of delivery but shall be under no obligation to do so. Where delivery is postponed otherwise  than  due  to  default  by  the  company the  customer  shall  pay  all  costs  and  expenses including a reasonable charge for storage and transportation occasioned thereby. 

The customer is responsible for arranging all possible import and re-export permissions. 

2. The Meanings of Shipment

Shipment has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.

Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck. In air and sea shipments, ground transportation is often still required to take the product from its origin to the airport or seaport and then to its destination. Ground transportation is typically more affordable than air shipments, but more expensive than shipping by sea. Shipment of freight by trucks, directly from the shipper to the destination, is known as a door to door shipment. Vans and trucks make deliveries to sea ports and air ports where freight is moved in bulk.

Much shipping is done aboard actual ships. An individual nation's fleet and the people that crew it are referred to its merchant navy or merchant marine. Merchant shipping is essential  to the world economy, carrying 90% of international trade with 50,000 merchant ships worldwide. The term shipping in this context originated from the shipping trade of wind power ships, and has come to refer to the delivery of cargo and parcels of any size above the common mail of letters and postcards.

Vedio Learning: Purposes and factors of packing

Question: How can packing be classified?

For reference:

 Outer packing or big packing is mainly employed against the shipping hazards, while inner packing, or immediate packing or packaging helps promote the merchandise, which is highly appreciated  in marketing. Usually we use packing and packaging interchangeably, but packing of goods should not be confused with packaging of goods. Packing refers to how individual packages of goods are prepared for shipping. Packaging refers to how goods are packed for distribution to consumers. 

Vedio Learning: What is the business insurance for?

For reference:

In international trade, goods which travel long distances to another country out of the direct control of both the buyer and the seller may face risks or losses and therefore must be insured against loss or damage at each stage of the journey. In order to have themselves compensated for any considerable losses of the goods, the buyer or the seller should cover transportation insurance with their underwriters prior to shipment.