In our growingly complex, technological world, hospitals have become significant consumers and providers of sophisticated medical equipment. In today’s time, healthcare and equipment delivery is also accepted. However, many clinics, officers and other facilities lack appropriate loading docks and personnel to handle receiving bulky, high-tech shipments.
So, to make your shipping easier and more efficient, it is necessary to go through safe shipping practices for medical equipment.
Equipment Preparation
Just like most things, medical equipment packaging and shipping is also mainly about its preparation. Preparing medical equipment to ensure its safety and avoid potential accidents and mishaps is paramount.
Understanding The Shipping Route
Shipping and packaging for medical equipment for local shipping are different when you deliver equipment overseas. To safely pack and ship your items, you need to know everything from preparation to shipping.
In case the products will go through harsh weather conditions, then you need to add extra padding and wrapping materials. If a 3PL is set to handle your equipment, it is necessary to ensure your products are in safe hands, and so it is important to increase your container’s sturdiness. It is better to understand the route to protect your medical equipment.
Using The Right Packaging Materials
Depending on what you plan on shipping, your packing materials can differ widely. For sizeable medical machinery, you will probably use cardboard packing for protection from moisture and abrasion, and then wrap them with dense padding and wrapping. For smaller tools, you may need to obtain plastic containers to ensure that no moisture touches them and that they are easy to transport. Meanwhile, when it comes to cold chain pharmaceuticals, controlled conditions are a must. All in all, there is a lot to consider, so we suggest that you research carefully.
Commonly used materials used for packaging medical equipment are as follows-
Medical grade paper – This is packing paper coated in polymer, therefore preventing contamination.
Aluminium – Used as light, oxygen, and moisture barrier.
Plastic containers – The most common types are LLDPE, PET, and PP.
Cardboard Boxes- Top-quality.
Standard padding – wrapping materials.
Mostly, the best way to pack your items is to combine and mix and match the above-mentioned packaging materials while considering the route and mode of transportation. But to find the best way, one needs to understand the roles of different packaging materials and how it is best to combine them.
Safety Standards
Most countries understand the fragility of medical equipment and how important it is. So, when it comes to international shipping of medical equipment there are a few safety standards that you need to follow before shipping the product.
You might also have to use biodegradable packaging in some situations, which involves its own set of preparation and research. Apart from proper packing, these standards will include adequate loading and unloading procedures and safety regulations when it comes to vehicles. So, before you ship, ensure that your items will be taken care of in all the essential ways.
Labeling
People often forget how important labeling is when it comes to avoiding confusion and mishaps. The easiest way to properly label your products is to assume that the people handling them will not know what is inside. Hence, it is paramount to label with the necessary information so that the package is handled with care.
Make sure to first write what is inside, and then to label for:
- Heavy items.
- Fragile items.
- Item orientation (which side should be up).
Such information can be the deciding factor between your items remaining safe and being rendered unusable.
Shipping Of Medical Equipment
It is integral to understand the shipping procedure while planning to ship medical equipment. Here are some of the aspects that you need to get familiar with before going ahead-
Get Familiar With The Legal Procedures
Depending on where and what you plan on shipping, there will be different legal procedures to go through and paperwork to fill out. So, do yourself a favor and research the legal aspect of shipping medical equipment in advance. Certain permits can require weeks to obtain, and if you are shipping to a different country, there might be additional legal requirements along with a language barrier to overcome. So, the sooner you start researching, the better.
Pick The Right Shipping Company
It is necessary to find the right shipping company for shipping your medical equipment. While most companies can deal with shipping standard items, it is far too complicated to ship medical equipment. So, when looking for a shipping partner, make sure you find the ideal match who can take care of your fragile items.
Shiprocket Cargo is a B2B shipping and logistics aggregator in India and makes cargo shipping effortlessly easy for their customers. Shiprocket Cargo is affordable and streamlines Cargo and B2B logistics with its vast network of carriers. You can now track all your orders and keep customers informed about the courier movement.
Why Shiprocket Cargo?
- Affordable Rates – Shiprocket Cargo provides the best rates for all shipments, whether you need B2B shipping or cargo shipping.
- Multiple Carriers– Streamline cargo and B2B logistics with our wide network of carriers. Track all your orders and keep your customers informed about the courier movement in real-time.
- Get Accurate Recommendations– Our AI tool offers the best carrier recommendations for every shipment based on your shipping needs, delivery dates, and budget.
- Dedicated Support- The dedicated team at Shiprocket Cargo will always help you and guide you through the way whether you need assistance with pickups, tracking shipments, or clearing any disputes with carriers.
- Support for Multiple Modes- Send your eCommerce and cargo shipments through surface.
- Wider Reach– We serve 28,000+ pin codes within India and continuously expand more every day.
- Zero Platform Fees– Simple and easy-to-understand pricing for our customers and no hidden charges.
