Easy way to understand the differences between port-to-port, port-to-door, door-to-port and door-to-door shipments

Today, I would like to explain some of the basic shipping terms, that define the starting and ending points of the transportation, known as port-to-port, port-to-door, door-to-port and door-to-door shipments, which you may encounter on your daily work routine very frequently as a shipper or consignee.

Let me start my explanations with port to port shipments.

Port to Port Shipment

“Port to Port Shipment” defines a type of shipment, which commences at the Port of Loading and ends at the Port of Discharge.

Port to Port shipment or Port to Port delivery is the basic form of sea freight transportation, which is used by carriers for hundreds of years.

Bill of lading is the generic name of the transport document, commonly used in Port to Port shipments. It is also known as port to port bill of lading, marine bill of lading or ocean bill of lading.

Port to Port Shipment Graphic

Thanks to the technological improvements in logistics sector and standardization achieved by containerization, now carriers, actual or contractual, can offer more flexible transport options to their clients.

What are the differences between a multimodal bill of lading and a bill of lading?

Bill of lading and multimodal bill of lading are two important transport documents. They are frequently used in international trade.

Exporters and importers should be expecting to receive one of these transport documents from carriers, especially when they choose to use sea transportation.

Sometimes, it is not easy to distinguish a bill of lading from a multimodal bill of lading, even for experienced shippers.

Today, I will show you how to seperate a bill of lading from a multimodal bill of lading. But first of all, you need to understand the importance of the shipment coverage, such as port-to-port shipments and door-to-door shipments.

Let me start with the definition of a port-to-port shipment.

What is a Port-to-Port Shipment?

Port to port shipment can be defined as a single mode sea freight transportation, which is started at the port of loading and ended at the port of discharge.

Bill of lading is the transport document which is exclusively used in port to port shipments. It is sometimes called as ocean bill of lading or marine bill of lading.

What are the differences between clean bill of lading and claused/dirty bill of lading?

Clean bill of lading is a type of transport document, which indicates no clause or notation expressly declaring a defective condition of the goods or their packaging.

Claused bill of lading, sometimes referred as unclean bill of lading or dirty bill of lading, on the other hand, indicates that the goods that loaded on board of the carrying vessel, have some apparent defects.

Today, I would like to mention the differences between clean bill of lading and unclean/dirty/claused bill of lading.

But 1st of all I need to address couple of important topics in regard to this subject. 

Clean Bill of Lading | Dirty Bill of Lading Differences
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Import Purchase Order Samples in Excel: For Ex Works, FCA and FOB Delivery Terms

A purchase order is a kind of commercial document, which is issued by an importer in order to authorize an import deal.

An importer can create a purchase order with ease, especially after an ongoing business relationship has been established between the exporter and importer. That is because of the fact that it takes little while for the importer to learn the structure of the transaction, including shipment, packaging details etc.

First time orders are most likely to be confirmed with a proforma invoice, which is issued by the exporter.

Today, I would like to share with you purchase order samples, which can be used in foreign trade businesses.

Since purchase orders need to be issued by importers, I mentioned the templates as "Import Purchase Order Samples" in the title of this article.

purchase order sample picture

Purchase order samples, that you can download from this page, are prepared according to Ex works (EXW), Free Carrier (FCA) and Free on Board (FOB) Incoterms.

What are the differences between proforma invoice and purchase order?

Both proforma invoice and purchase order are commercial documents, which are used in international trade transactions.

In my previous articles, I have explained these two important documents in detail. If you want to learn more about them, please just click the links below.

  • What is a proforma invoice? How does it work?: In international trade, a proforma invoice can be defined as a type of commercial document, which is issued by the exporter in order to submit the terms and conditions of the sale in a written format to the importer's approval at the beginning of the transaction.


purchase order and proforma invoice differences in export and import business

Today, I would like to outline the differences between the proforma invoice and purchase order.