Trade Direct Shipping Services: Ocean & Air Freight
Ship directly from manufacturer to end consumer via air or ocean freight while bypassing costly distribution centers and reducing hand-offs.
What is Trade Direct Shipping?
Trade Direct is a revolutionary approach to international shipping that eliminates traditional distribution center steps. By shipping directly from origin to final destination, you reduce handling, lower costs, and speed up delivery times.
The ShipGrid Advantage: We combine international freight capabilities with consolidated customs clearance and direct-to-store or direct-to-customer delivery options—all managed through a single point of contact.
Trade Direct Benefits
- Bypass costly distribution centers
- Reduce handling and transit time
- Enhanced end-to-end visibility
- Consolidated customs clearance
- Single invoice and contact point
- Lower overall logistics costs
Choose Your Shipping Mode
🚢 Trade Direct Ocean (TDO)
"For economical shipments in major shipping lanes worldwide delivered direct to retailers and consumers."
Port-to-port by ocean container. Contractual DC bypass combining ocean freight and consolidated customs clearance with package or LTL delivery.
Best For:
- Large, predictable volumes on major lanes
- Cost optimization over speed
- Retail DC bypass and multi-consignee delivery
✈️ Trade Direct Air (TDA)
"For urgent shipments in major trade lanes worldwide delivered direct to retailers and consumers."
Airport-to-airport via international air freight. Leverages ShipGrid Supply Chain Solutions air capabilities with direct-to-store/customer delivery.
Best For:
- Urgent replenishment or product launches
- High-value or time-sensitive freight
- Direct-to-store/customer with milestone visibility
How Trade Direct Shipping Works
- → Packages labeled at origin or destination
- → Shipment cleared through U.S. Customs
- → Shipment moved to ShipGrid Supply Chain Solutions
- → De-consolidation & induction to carrier
- → DC/warehouse bypass & handling reduced
- → Direct-to-store or direct-to-customer delivery
Final delivery options include UPS/FedEx/USPS small-package services and LTL for larger consignments.
Key Advantages of Trade Direct
📦 Consolidation & Clearance
- Consolidated movement to destination country
- Consolidated customs clearance
- Simplified documentation process
- Reduced administrative burden
🚚 Flexible Final-Mile
- LTL/FTL forwarding through ShipGrid SCS
- Package delivery through our carrier portfolio
- Multiple delivery options
- Seamless last-mile execution
⚡ Visibility & Speed
- Origin-to-destination visibility
- Improved time-in-transit
- One ShipGrid contact & one bill
- Real-time tracking updates
🎯 Operational Excellence
- Faster time to market & increased efficiency
- Competitive advantage & improved management
- Complete online tracking
- Single point of contact & consolidated invoice
💰 Cost Optimization
- Reduced logistics costs & asset requirements
- Decreased inventory carrying & labor costs
- Lower risk of damage or loss; fewer errors
- Improved customer service and speed to market
🚢 Trade Direct Ocean Freight (TDO)
Ocean Freight Overview
Port-to-port movement is by ocean container. TDO is a contractual DC bypass solution which combines ShipGrid Supply Chain Solutions ocean freight capabilities and consolidated customs clearance with package or LTL delivery to multiple inland consignees.
Objective: Control the need for costly distribution centers while providing enhanced visibility throughout the supply chain.
When to Choose Ocean Freight
- Large, predictable volumes on major lanes
- Cost optimization over speed
- Retail DC bypass and multi-consignee delivery
- International ocean freight needs
- Consolidated shipments to destination country
Ocean Freight Benefits
💵 Cost Savings
- Reduced distribution center costs
- Consolidated freight rates
- Lower inventory carrying costs
- Minimized handling expenses
👁️ Enhanced Visibility
- End-to-end shipment tracking
- Real-time status updates
- Single point of contact
- Consolidated reporting
⚙️ Operational Efficiency
- Streamlined customs clearance
- Direct-to-consumer delivery
- Reduced transit time
- Simplified documentation
Ocean Shipping Container Options
Container Types
- Full Container Load (FCL)
- Less than Container Load (LCL)
- 20' and 40' containers available
- Specialized containers (reefer, open-top)
- Flexible scheduling options
Value-Added Services
- Customs brokerage and clearance
- Documentation management
- Insurance coordination
- Quality inspection services
- Cargo consolidation
Major Ocean Trade Lanes
🌏 Asia to North America
- China to US West Coast
- China to US East Coast
- Southeast Asia to US
- Japan/Korea to North America
🌍 Europe to North America
- Northern Europe to US
- Mediterranean to US
- UK to North America
- Trans-Atlantic routes
🗺️ Other Key Routes
- Latin America to US
- Intra-Asia routes
- Middle East to US
- Custom route solutions
✈️ Trade Direct Air Freight (TDA)
Air Freight Overview
Airport-to-airport movement via international air freight. TDA combines ShipGrid Supply Chain Solutions air freight capabilities with direct-to-store or direct-to-customer delivery options.
Objective: Deliver time-sensitive shipments quickly and efficiently while maintaining complete visibility and control throughout the supply chain.
When to Choose Air Freight
- Urgent replenishment or product launches
- High-value or time-sensitive freight
- Direct-to-store/customer with milestone visibility
- Seasonal demand spikes
- Critical inventory needs
Air Freight Service Benefits
🚀 Speed & Reliability
- Fastest transit times available
- Priority handling at airports
- Reliable scheduled departures
- Express delivery options
📡 Enhanced Visibility
- Real-time flight tracking
- Milestone notifications
- Single point of contact
- 24/7 customer support
🔄 Flexible Solutions
- Multiple carrier options
- Door-to-door service
- Same-day delivery available
- Customized routing solutions
Air Freight Service Levels
Service Levels
- Standard air freight (3-5 days)
- Express air freight (1-3 days)
- Next flight out (critical)
- Charter flights available
- Temperature-controlled options
Value-Added Services
- Expedited customs clearance
- Dangerous goods handling
- White glove delivery
- Packaging and crating
- Insurance and risk management
Major Air Freight Trade Lanes
🌏 Asia to North America
- China to major US hubs
- Hong Kong to North America
- Southeast Asia to US
- Japan/Korea to US/Canada
🌍 Europe to North America
- UK to US gateway cities
- Germany to North America
- France to US/Canada
- Trans-Atlantic corridors
🗺️ Other Key Routes
- Latin America to US
- Middle East to North America
- Intra-Asia routes
- Custom routing solutions
Air vs Ocean Freight: Making the Right Choice
Choose Air Freight When:
Speed is critical for urgent shipments, product launches, or time-sensitive inventory needs. Air freight delivers in days instead of weeks, ideal for high-value or perishable cargo.
Choose Ocean Freight When:
Cost efficiency is paramount for large volumes, non-urgent shipments, or bulk cargo. Ocean freight offers the most economical solution for consistent, predictable trade lanes.
Industries & Applications
🏭 Industries We Serve
- Fashion and apparel
- Electronics and technology
- Pharmaceuticals and healthcare
- Automotive parts and components
- E-commerce and retail
- Consumer packaged goods
🎯 Common Applications
- Product launches and promotions
- Seasonal inventory replenishment
- Just-in-time manufacturing
- Retail distribution center bypass
- Direct-to-consumer fulfillment
- Multi-location distribution