Documentation, customs and cold-chain — how a single container moves from a Greek cellar to the dock in two weeks, without anything stalling in between.

Day one starts with the analysis certificate and the export documentation, prepared alongside the producer while the flexitank or ISO tank is booked. From there, customs clearance, routing and cold-chain checks run in parallel rather than in sequence — the discipline that keeps a fourteen-day window realistic rather than aspirational.

The buyer sees none of this friction. What arrives at the dock matches what was agreed on the contract, on the day it was promised — which is, in the end, the entire point of facilitation.

The container you ship in shapes cost, quality and lead time just as much as the product inside it. A practical look at when each format makes sense.

Flexitanks are the workhorse for full-container liquid loads — cheaper per litre, but single-use and less forgiving of temperature swings. IBCs and drums cost more per litre but are reusable, easier to sample mid-transit, and better suited to smaller or higher-value parcels.

The right answer usually comes down to volume and value density: bulk commodity wine leans flexitank, while a small parcel of fine alcohol almost always travels safer in IBCs.