FGX

While many companies reach out to us to provide 3rd party IOR services, they often don’t even need one. An Importer of Record (𝑰𝑶𝑹) and an 𝑰𝑶𝑹 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆 are two different things: An IOR is a logistical concept. It’s the entity—whether a business or individual—responsible for ensuring a shipment bound for import meets all regulatory and compliance requirements of the destination country. An IOR service is where you hire a company—typically a trading company or brokerage—to act as the Importer of Record on your behalf to fulfill all of the relevant requirements to import your shipment into the destination country. If you’re working in a large multinational enterprise, chances are you’ll have a business entity in many of the countries that you need IT hardware in. In these scenarios, your company may not need to use a 3rd party IOR service. While FGX offers 3rd party IOR services, we also work with our customers to set them up to act as their own IOR whenever possible. This ensures they reduce their import costs, enable any eligible import taxes to be reclaimed, among other benefits. Sometimes, clients worry that acting as their own IOR means more work. But with FGX’s Entities feature, you can have the seamlessness of using an IOR service with none of the drawbacks. Learn more about how FGX is different from IOR brokers here 🔗: https://lnkd.in/ea74kpMn Learn more about FGX’s Entities feature here 🔗: https://lnkd.in/eEF6W9Cf

IT Logistics - IOR Services - Skin in the Game It’s a tough world out there if you’re shipping IT assets internationally. What do you do when everyone says they follow the rules? How can you decide whether or not you can trust a "trading company" or IOR provider? One way to think about this is by assessing, "what parts of your supply chain is your vendor managing directly?" When they don’t manage much directly, an IOR vendor can simply shut their company down tomorrow and start a new one. They don’t need to maintain relationships with partners. At FGX, whenever we manage a client’s shipment, we are also putting our own relationships with our logistics partners, our future opportunities to perform customs clearances, and our insurance partners on the line. That’s why we care that the compliance and commercialization is done correctly. The more parts of the supply chain your vendor manages (ideally, they have their own private supply chain) then the more they are putting on the line to make sure your company’s IT assets get shipped with proper compliance and commercialization.

You’re expecting a shipment of mission critical servers to arrive at your colocation. You find out that your colocation partner has rejected the shipment and marked it as “Return to sender.” When you ask why, they tell you that the shipment was missing a delivery ticket number. This “tiny” error has cost businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars in operational and opportunity cost and happens much more often than it should. When you’re shipping IT hardware internationally, every detail matters. Here are just five you should keep top of mind, amongst many others: → Obtaining the necessary certificates of insurance prior to collection → Making note of the destination’s site operation hours → Confirming the correct contact information well ahead of time → Requesting ticket numbers and gate passes prior to any logistical activity at a data center location → Finding out the receiving location’s receiving capabilities (loading dock / forklift availability, etc.) With the Sites feature in the FGX Platform, you can add all of your enterprise approved addresses that your team commonly collects from and delivers to. You can then store all kinds of information about your Site, ranging from simple address data to complex details such as what data points are specifically required to open a delivery ticket number at the location, including carrier name, tracking, driver name, truck license plate number, etc. When you add information to Sites, you’ll make collections and deliveries much more efficient. Instead of emailing you about whether a delivery ticket number is required or if a loading dock is available, we’ll immediately be able to act on it. While you aren’t required to fill out every single detail about your Site to get started, booking a quote or shipment will be much smoother if you do. Sites are just one part of the FGX Platform. Learn more here: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dGXfTpkH 

“Our shipment has been stuck in customs for a month. It doesn't look like it will be cleared any time soon. What can we do about this?” Rather than respond to a stuck shipment, the ideal solution is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Many multinational enterprises trust our team at FGX to deliver best-in-class, seamless, global IT shipping solutions for their infrastructure. We provide coverage to 174 countries with a 99.98% customs clearance and delivery success rate. To make sure your shipments clear customs, cover these 4 fundamental steps: 1. Make sure you have the correct HS codes Customs officials calculate duties and taxes using these codes. Some codes are also subject to additional restrictions. So, if the HS codes are missing or incorrect, customs will hold your shipment until they receive the right ones. If you contact your carrier and they require an HS code to provide to customs, you can use an HS code classification tool like @SimplyDuty.com to determine the applicable code. 2. Triple check your commercial invoice for common errors Common invoice errors include not having the correct values listed, typos in the consignment or importer information, missing incoterms, and not having the correct HS codes and ECCN numbers. Take time to triple check that you’ve covered all of your bases, especially on your commercial invoice, to reduce the chances of stuck shipments and delays. 3. Prepare for customs inspections Random inspections occur frequently when shipping internationally, especially when shipping to countries with stricter import controls or when shipping regulated commodities. For example, customs in China and Brazil will inspect almost every shipment. If the shipment doesn’t meet the proper permits and declarations, it will be subject to lengthy delays and potentially confiscation. To prepare for an inspection, make sure you have all of the supporting documentation for your shipment, such as applicable permits, datasheets for all products, supporting commercial paperwork, and copies of your import entity’s business registration. 4. Triple check your declared values Customs is always on the lookout for shipments that have an under-declared value. In many countries, customs will compare the declared value of what you are shipping with the same or similar products that have been imported in the past. If the value discrepancy is significant , customs may impose a fine and force you to amend the declared value. This is a serious problem especially for IT equipment, given that manufacturers (OEMs) and resellers (VARs) often provide large discounts. Make sure that your declared value can be backed up with supporting commercial paperwork. To learn what to do in case your shipment ever does get stuck, you can learn more here: https://lnkd.in/e_-P_Qg9

Many companies default to using a 3rd party Importer of Record (IOR) service when shipping their IT hardware because it enables a seamless door-to-door experience. But it’s also a costly service because it renders the import taxes irreclaimable by all parties and limits a businesses’ financial and accounting flexibility. Although there is a place for utilizing 3rd party IOR services, it shouldn’t always be a company’s default solution. With the FGX Platform’s Entities feature, eligible enterprises can now enjoy the same level of seamlessness that 3rd party IOR services provide with none of the drawbacks. → Reduce your export and import fees. → Reclaim 100% of your import VAT paid, if eligible. → Get access to all export and import customs documentation. With the average IT shipment’s purchase value being greater than ~$70,000.00 (based on our experience) and an average import tax rate of 20% and Importer of Record rate of 8% for non-US countries, your cost savings can range from thousands to millions of dollars. Learn more about the FGX Platform: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eEF6W9Cf

When shipping IT equipment internationally, you’ll need to know what an Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) is. ECCNs are five character alpha-numeric designations that tell you about the “control” status of the products, meaning some ECCNs require export and import permits whereas others may be exempt depending on the scenario. Knowing your products’ ECCN numbers and their international trade implications is crucial to ensuring a smooth export and import clearance process. The most common IT hardware related ECCN that’s controlled is 5a002. If you’re looking to export a product from the USA with an ECCN of 5a002, be sure to reference the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) website to determine whether you’ll need a license or are eligible for an exemption. As a part of our shipping process, FGX automatically identifies ECCNs and ensures all of the appropriate export and import requirements are fulfilled on your behalf. If you want to learn more about our shipping process, please visit: https://lnkd.in/eAUbp9tb

Introducing the future of global IT logistics, the FGX Platform → 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e-Zzbek6 Today, we’re starting to roll the FGX Platform out to new and existing customers. Here’s a preview of what it can help you do:  → Save tens of thousands to millions of dollars by acting as your own Exporter or Importer of Record with the Entities feature. → Stay organized by setting default enterprise approved physical locations and corporate entities for your team. → Keep your team aligned on all outstanding global IT projects quoted and live with the Quotes and Live Shipments dashboards.

2024 marks a significant milestone for FGX as we celebrate a decade of delivering world-class IT logistics solutions for our customers. From everyone at the FGX team, we’d like to thank all of our clients that have trusted us with their IT shipments over the years, our partners that have been instrumental in helping us deliver great outcomes, and to anyone that’s been a part of our journey. To celebrate the last ten years and to kick off the next, we’re excited to unveil our updated brand identity that reflects our commitment to our mission: to make best-in-class global IT logistics as seamless as possible. To read the extended version of this post and to learn more about what we're working on, please visit: https://lnkd.in/gdrBQzMs To subscribe to our updates, please visit: https://lnkd.in/g3KJZRQM Thank you for trusting FGX with your shipments and for your continued support.