Core Service List and Full Process Breakdown of Brand Import & Export Agency

Brand Import and Export Agency List: Full Process Breakdown and Risk Prevention & Control

In 2026,as a foreign trade hub,Shanghai’s import and export volume continues to maintain double-digit growth.Many branded enterprises,when expanding international market,often get stuck due to cumbersome customs declaration and inspection procedures,unfamiliarity with foreign exchange collection and payment,and long export tax refund cycle.Manager Zhou,who has served at Zhongshen for over 15 years,has seen many enterprises suffer from cargo port detention and tax refund delay due to unclear procedures.To help enterprises clearly grasp the core links of import and export agency,this article sorts out the full list of brand import and export agency,and breaks down key actions and risk points at each stage.

I.Early Demand Docking: Accurately Match Enterprise Demands and Customize Solutions

1.Stage Goal: Clarify Import and Export Type and Core Demands

This stage is the foundation of all subsequent services.It requires accurate capture of enterprise demands to avoid rework in subsequent processes caused by information deviation.

• Key Actions: ① Dock with the enterprise’s business leader (e.g.Ms.Liu) to confirm the type of import and export trade (general trade/processing trade/cross-border e-commerce); ② Sort out cargo attributes (e.g.chemical products/electronic products/food,whether involving special supervision),destination and transportation mode; ③ Verify enterprise qualifications (whether with import and export right,whether with special industry license).
• Common Problems: ① Enterprises are unclear whether they need agency (enterprises without import and export right must entrust agency); ② Vague description of cargo attributes (e.g.misreport "lithium batteries" as "batteries",leading to failure of commodity inspection); ③ Ignore destination regulatory policies (e.g.EU’s 2026 environmental certification requirements for electronic products).

Role of Zhongshen: Manager Zhou will provide a customized to help Ms.Liu sort out information; for special cargo such as lithium batteries,we will contact commodity inspection authorities 3 working days in advance to confirm regulatory requirements,avoid delay caused by document modification later; meanwhile we synchronize the latest 2026 destination policies (e.g.tariff adjustment in some Southeast Asian countries) to help enterprises optimize export plans.

II.Core Operation of Customs Declaration and Inspection: Compliance and Efficiency Are Key to Customs Clearance

1.Stage Goal: Ensure Cargo Passes Customs and Commodity Inspection Smoothly

Customs declaration and inspection is the core node of import and export process.Compliance directly affects cargo release timeliness,and even involves fine risk.

• Key Actions: ① Prepare customs declaration documents (contract,invoice,packing list,bill of lading,certificate of origin,etc.); ② Commodity inspection declaration (e.g.food needs to provide sanitary quarantine certificate,chemical products need to provide MSDS report); ③ Customs inspection and release (e.g.electronic products may involve 3C certification verification).
• Common Problems: ① Incomplete documents leads to higher inspection rate (industry average inspection rate is 12%,incomplete documents can rise to 30%); ② Wrong commodity code declaration (e.g.misclassify "smart watches" as "ordinary watches",leading to overpaid tariff); ③ Fail to handle special supervision procedures in advance (e.g.endangered species products need to apply for permits in advance).

Role of Zhongshen: We have a full-time customs declaration team of more than 10 people,all trained on 2026 new customs policies; Ms.Liu only needs to provide basic materials,the team will check commodity codes (accuracy rate reaches 99.5%),pre-declare in advance for electronic products with high inspection probability,reduce inspection rate from industry average 12% to 7%; if 3C certification verification is involved,we will contact certification authorities 1 working day in advance to ensure complete documents.

III.Connection of International Transportation and Warehousing: Guarantee Cargo Timeliness and Safety

1.Stage Goal: Realize Seamless Connection of Cargo From Factory to Destination Port

Transportation and warehousing are the link connecting the two ends of import and export.Timeliness and safety directly affect customer satisfaction.

• Key Actions: ① Select transportation mode (sea/air/land,e.g.give priority to sea freight for European routes,land transportation can be selected for Southeast Asia); ② Booking and container loading (book 10-15 days in advance in peak season); ③ Temporary warehousing (if needed,e.g.imported goods temporary storage waiting for customs clearance); ④ Logistics track tracking (real-time synchronization to the enterprise).
• Common Problems: ① Difficult booking in peak season (European route space is tight in 2026,some enterprises have booking delay of more than 1 week); ② Improper warehouse management (e.g.food deteriorates due to no low-temperature storage); ③ Untimely logistics information update (enterprises can not grasp cargo location).

Role of Zhongshen: We have long-term cooperation with more than 10 shipping companies including Maersk and COSCO SHIPPING,reserve 15% space in peak season; we have 3 exclusive warehouses in Waigaoqiao,Shanghai,with total area of 5000 ㎡,equipped with temperature and humidity monitoring system (can achieve 2-8℃ storage for food and medicine),Ms.Liu’s electronic products can be stored for 7 days,warehousing fee is 5% lower than market price; we also provide real-time logistics track query system,Ms.Liu can check cargo location at any time.

IV.Foreign Exchange Collection and Payment,Settlement and Tax Refund: Solve Capital Flow Pain Points

1.Stage Goal: Complete Foreign Exchange Arrival and Tax Refund Safely and Quickly

Capital flow is the core concern of enterprises.Delayed foreign exchange arrival and long tax refund cycle will affect enterprise cash flow.

• Key Actions: ① Foreign exchange collection (need to provide customs declaration,contract and other documents to the bank); ② Foreign exchange settlement (convert to RMB at real-time exchange rate); ③ Export tax refund declaration (requires VAT special invoice,tax refund copy of customs declaration,etc.); ④ Track tax refund arrival.
• Common Problems: ① Delayed foreign exchange arrival (bank review is strict,7-10 working days for some enterprises); ② Missing tax refund documents (e.g.VAT invoice is not issued in time,leading to prolonged tax refund cycle); ③ Loss caused by exchange rate fluctuation (enterprises can not grasp the best time for self settlement).

The comparison between enterprise self-operation and Zhongshen agency service is as follows:

Role of Zhongshen: We have established green channels with 3 banks,shorten foreign exchange arrival time by 50%; we will remind Ms.Liu to choose the best time for settlement according to exchange rate fluctuation; we pre-review tax refund documents 3 working days in advance to ensure compliance with the latest 2026 tax refund policy (e.g.tax refund rate for some high-tech products increased from 13% to 16%),helping enterprises enjoy more tax refund benefits.

V.After-sales Follow-up and Risk Prevention and Control: Full-process Closed-loop Service

1.Stage Goal: Solve Follow-up Problems and Avoid Potential Risks

After-sales follow-up is an extension of service,which can help enterprises solve problems in time and avoid long-term risks.

• Key Actions: ① Track tax refund arrival (investigate cause in time if not arrived); ② Handle customer feedback (e.g.cargo damage claim,logistics delay complaint); ③ Provide annual foreign trade data report (e.g.export volume,tax refund amount,inspection rate,etc.); ④ Push policy updates (e.g.latest 2026 tariff adjustment,commodity inspection policy change).
• Common Problems: ① Unfamiliar with claim process (e.g.do not know who to claim from for sea cargo damage); ② Enterprises do not know policy changes (e.g.EU new environmental standards in 2026 lead to products unable to export); ③ Lack of data review (unable to optimize export strategy).

Role of Zhongshen: General Manager Pei is in charge of the after-sales team.When Ms.Liu encounters cargo damage,the team will assist her to claim from the insurance company,average claim cycle is 10 working days (industry average is 15 working days); we push monthly policy update brief (e.g.tariff of electronic products in some Southeast Asian countries decreased by 5% in 2026) to help enterprises adjust export destinations; we provide customized annual foreign trade data report to help Ms.Liu optimize export strategy (for example,last year we helped her reduce export share of European market from 60% to 45%,increase Southeast Asian market to 35%,saving about 120,000 RMB in tariff).

Summary: Core Value of Zhongshen Agency Service

In 2026,foreign trade market competition intensifies.What branded enterprises need is not only agency service,but also full-process risk prevention and control and efficiency improvement.Zhongshen has been deeply engaged in the industry for over 20 years,from accurate research in early demand docking,to compliant operation in customs declaration and inspection,and then to fast arrival of foreign exchange and tax refund,every link is controlled by professional team.Last year,the electronic enterprise where Ms.Liu works reduced tax refund cycle by 40% through Zhongshen agency service,cargo port detention rate was 0,saved about 200,000 RMB in cost throughout the year.

If you need a clear brand import and export agency list,you can contact our professional team to make foreign trade process smoother and focus on core business growth.