Split an order from China into two shipments It may be a more cost-effective decision than waiting for all suppliers to finish production, especially when part of the merchandise is already ready and the rest will be significantly delayed.
Many importers purchase products from various Chinese suppliers and ship all the merchandise to a consolidation warehouse in China. Under normal circumstances, waiting, consolidating, and making a single international shipment can reduce certain logistics costs.
However, consolidating everything isn't always the best decision.
If a supplier is several weeks late, keeping the rest of the merchandise waiting in China can result in storage costs, inventory shortages, business delays, and tied-up capital.
The correct question, therefore, is not simply:
“Is it cheaper to make a single shipment?”
The question should be:
“How much does it cost to wait versus how much does it cost to split the order?”
What does it mean to split an order from China into two shipments?
Splitting an order means shipping the items that are already in stock first and holding the remaining items for a second shipment.
For example, an importer buys products from five suppliers:
- Supplier A: Goods Ready
- Supplier B: Goods Ready
- Supplier C: Goods Ready
- Supplier D: Goods Ready
- Supplier E: 25-day delay
Instead of keeping products A, B, C, and D in the warehouse for an additional 25 days, the buyer can arrange to:
Shipment 1: products of A + B + C + D
Post 2: Products from Supplier E
The second shipment incurs additional logistics costs. However, those costs must be weighed against the financial consequences of delaying the entire order.
1. When one supplier is significantly behind schedule compared to the others
This is probably the most common situation.
When purchasing products from multiple suppliers in China, production lead times are rarely exactly the same.
One supplier may need 10 days, and another may need 15 days. That difference can usually be managed through consolidation.
But the situation changes when we come across something like:
- Supplier A: 8 days
- Supplier B: 10 days
- Supplier C: 12 days
- Supplier D: 35 days
Waiting an additional three days might be reasonable.
Waiting an additional three weeks requires a different analysis.
Finished products will remain in storage while we wait for the last supplier. In addition, all available inventory will reach the destination market later.
In this situation, it is advisable to ask the supplier and the warehouse for specific dates:
- Estimated Production Completion Date
- Inspection Date
- Date of defect correction, if rework is required
- Estimated date of arrival at the warehouse
- Deadline for booking international transportation
You shouldn't make a decision based solely on a promise like “it will be ready soon.”.
2. When waiting can lead to a stockout
The cost of transportation is only part of the total cost of an import.
Let's say you have a product that sells 20 units a day, and there are only 200 units left in your local warehouse.
That represents approximately 10 days' worth of inventory.
If the finished goods are already waiting in China, but you decide to delay them by three weeks to consolidate them with another supplier, you may run out of stock before you receive the new order.
A stockout can result in:
- Lost Sales
- Customers who buy from competitors
- Pending Orders
- Problems with distributors
- Marketplace Outages
- Need to use expedited shipping later
In this case, paying a little more for the first shipment may make financial sense.
Prioritize critical SKUs
Not all products are equally important.
Before making a decision, sort the SKUs by:
SKU A — High-turnover
SKU B — Average Turnover
SKU C — Low turnover
If fast-moving products are already in stock, it may be best to ship them first.
Less urgent items can wait until the second shipment.
3. When the merchandise is tied to a season or promotion
Some products have a limited sales window.
For example:
- Christmas
- Black Friday
- Back to School
- Mother's Day
- Halloween
- Promotional campaigns
- Product Launches
- Construction projects with a set date
In these cases, the business value of receiving the goods on time may outweigh the savings gained by waiting for a full consolidation.
Imagine you have $20,000 worth of products ready for a campaign.
A supplier with $2,000 worth of merchandise is facing a 25-day delay.
Waiting for those $2,000 could delay the remaining $20,000.
The analysis should take into account the commercial impact on all the goods, not just the cost of the second shipment.
4. When storage costs begin to rise
Consolidation requires warehouse space.
The first products may arrive while other suppliers continue to manufacture them.
The greater the difference between the delivery dates, the longer the storage time for the first batches.
That is why it is important to be familiar with the warehouse conditions:
- Free storage days
- Price after the free trial period
- Charges per CBM, pallet, box, or day
- Handling Costs
- Repackaging Costs
- Entry and Exit Costs
Warehousing should be considered a separate line item in logistics costs. When multiple suppliers deliver on widely varying dates, the resulting wait time can reduce or even eliminate some of the savings achieved through consolidation.
5. When part of the order already represents a volume that is cost-effective to ship
Splitting an order doesn't necessarily mean shipping a few boxes in an inefficient way.
Let's say you have 18 CBM ready and another 3 CBM still to be prepared.
Waiting for those 3 CBM may not be necessary if the 18 CBM can already be shipped using a reasonable logistics solution.
On the other hand, if you only have 1 CBM ready and 8 CBM will be ready in three days, it probably makes more sense to wait.
That's why you need to know the actual details of the merchandise:
- Number of boxes
- Gross weight
- Dimensions
- CBM
- Product Type
- Type of packaging
You can then request comparable quotes for LCL and FCL.
To better understand when an LCL shipment might be a suitable alternative to waiting for enough cargo to fill a full container, you can check out this DHL Global Forwarding's Guide on When to Use LCL Ocean Freight
There is no universal volume at which FCL is always better than LCL. The decision depends on the route, current rates, volume, weight, and charges at the origin and destination.
6. When the delay is due to quality issues
There is one situation that is particularly important:
Four suppliers pass the inspection, but the fifth supplier submits defective products.
Now the flow could be:
Inspection
↓
Defects Detected
↓
HOLD
↓
Rework / Repair / Replacement
↓
Re-inspection
↓
Approval
It is not always possible to know exactly how long this process will take.
If you hold up all the other products, a quality issue with just one supplier can delay the entire shipment.
One possible strategy is to release the approved merchandise first and keep only the defective batch in China.
This also prevents a very common mistake: accepting defective products simply to meet the consolidation deadline.
7. When delayed products can be sold separately
Before splitting the shipment, there's another question to ask:
Can the items from the first shipment be used or sold without the delayed items?
For example, you have:
- 5,000 finished lamps
- 5,000 terminated cables
- 5,000 delayed adapters
If each product is sold separately, splitting them up might work.
But imagine you sell kits that include:
Product A + Product B + Product C
If C is missing, A and B cannot produce a marketable product.
In that case, shipping A and B first may not solve the inventory problem.
That is why the decision must be made at the level of SKU and Sellable Product, not just at the supplier level.
8. Calculate the cost of waiting versus the cost of splitting
This is the most important part.
Don't just compare:
1 shipment vs. 2 shipments
You should compare two complete scenarios.
Option A — Wait for all the merchandise
Calculate:
Additional Storage Fees
Possible changes to the reservation
Cost of Capital for Fixed Assets
Potentially Lost Sales Margin
Risk of Stockout
Risk of missing a campaign or sales event
Option B — Split into two shipments
Calculate:
International Shipping for Shipment 1
International Shipping for Shipment 2
Additional processing
Additional Documentation
Additional office and relocation expenses, when applicable
Additional repackaging
Splitting the shipment may involve a second set of transportation, handling, and documentation costs. That is why the full incremental cost must be calculated, not just the ocean freight rate.
Practical example: Five suppliers, and one is running late
Imagine a Latin American importer who buys goods from five suppliers.
The situation is as follows:
| Supplier | Volume | Status |
|---|---|---|
| A | 4 CBM | Listo |
| B | 5 CBM | Listo |
| C | 3 CBM | Listo |
| D | 4 CBM | Listo |
| E | 2 CBM | 25-day delay |
They already exist 16 CBM available.
There are only 2 CBM.
Strategy A: Wait
The 16 CBM will remain in China until the remaining 2 CBM arrive.
Advantage:
Less logistical fragmentation and the ability to make a single shipment.
Disadvantages:
- An additional 25 days of waiting
- Possible storage
- Available Fixed Assets Inventory
- Risk of Stockout
- Delay in sales
Strategy B: Divide
Shipment 1: 16 CBM available
Post 2: 2 CBM delayed
The second option results in additional logistics costs.
However, it allows most of the inventory to be moved forward by approximately 25 days.
The decision should be based on the total cost and business urgency, not simply on the number of shipments.
9. When You Should NOT Split Your Order
Dividing shouldn't become the rule either.
It may be best to wait when:
- The difference between providers is only a few days
- The shipment is not urgent
- There is sufficient inventory at the destination
- The second shipment would have very high fixed costs
- The volume of the first batch is too small
- The products must be sold together
- The warehouse offers ample free storage space
- Waiting allows you to make better use of an FCL
- There is no critical business date
Consolidation remains an important tool because it can prevent duplicate charges for pickup, handling, documentation, and other expenses associated with multiple small shipments.
The key is not to turn consolidation into an obligation.
10. Set a deadline for consolidation
A professional way to manage multiple suppliers is to establish a consolidation deadline before placing your order.
For example:
Day 1
Confirm Orders
↓
Days 15–20
Suppliers Begin Deliveries
↓
Day 25
Target date for consolidation
↓
Day 28
Deadline
↓
Supplier Not Ready
↓
Evaluate shipment split
This prevents you from waiting indefinitely.
It also requires the purchasing team to monitor production before the delay becomes a logistical problem.
11. What to Check Before Authorizing a Partial Shipment
Before releasing the first portion of the goods, the buyer should confirm:
- Which suppliers have made deliveries.
- Which PO's are complete?.
- Which SKUs are available?.
- What amounts have been received?.
- Which products have passed inspection?.
- Which merchandise must remain on HOLD?.
- Number of boxes in the first shipment.
- Gross weight.
- Final dimensions.
- CBM final.
- Packing list for the first shipment.
- Exact quantity of merchandise still pending for the second shipment.
The warehouse must maintain a clear separation between:
SENT
y
PENDING
This is especially important when there are many similar SKUs.
12. A good consolidation warehouse makes this decision easier
A warehouse in China shouldn't just be used to store boxes.
In a transaction involving multiple suppliers, you should be able to record:
Supplier → PO → SKU → Quantity → Box Number → Status
When the merchandise arrives, the team can:
- Record each receipt
- Counting Boxes
- Verify quantities
- Check for visible damage
- Check SKU
- Conduct inspections as appropriate
- Identify outstanding merchandise
- Repack
- Pesar
- Medir
- Calculate the final CBM
With this data, it is much easier to compare different logistics scenarios.
13. Recommended Workflow for Orders from Multiple Suppliers
An organized process might work like this:
Orders from various suppliers in China
↓
Production Tracking
↓
Domestic Transportation
↓
Warehouse in China
↓
Search by Supplier / PO / SKU
↓
Quantity Control
↓
Quality Inspection
↓
Classify: APPROVED / HOLD
↓
Check pending due dates
↓
Consolidation Deadline
↓
Is it worth waiting?
↙ ↘
Sí No
↓ ↓
Wait Split the order
↓ ↓
Consolidate everything Shipment 1 + Shipment 2
↓
Repackaging
↓
Weight + Dimensions
↓
Final CBM
↓
Compare LCL and FCL
↓
International Shipping
Conclusion: Splitting an order should be based on total cost, not just shipping costs.
Waiting for all the merchandise can be an excellent strategy when production dates are similar and consolidation significantly reduces logistics costs.
But when a supplier is significantly delayed, the available products are urgent, or there is a risk of stockouts, splitting an order from China into two shipments may be more efficient than waiting for all the merchandise.
Before deciding, always compare:
Additional cost of splitting
vs.
Economic cost of waiting
Analyze the available volume, CBM, storage, inventory at destination, shipping dates, status of each SKU, product quality, and additional logistics costs.
Consolidation should help you reduce the total cost of importing.
It shouldn’t force you to keep finished goods in China for weeks just because a small percentage of the order is missing.
Monitor each supplier’s delivery dates. Set a consolidation deadline. Split the shipment when the cost of waiting is higher than the cost of shipping separately.
Continue reading: More practical guides on 1688
What to Check When Products Arrive at the Warehouse in China Before Consolidating Them
How to Organize Products from 10 Chinese Suppliers into a Single International Shipment
How to Calculate the Actual Cost of a 1688 Order Before Shipping It to Latin America
What to Do When Multiple 1688 Suppliers Deliver Your Orders on Different Dates
When It's NOT a Good Idea to Combine All Your Products Into a Single Shipment from China
What to Do If an Inspection Finds Defective Products Before Shipping from China
Why the lowest price on 1688 doesn't always mean the lowest purchase cost