Organize a Collection Node
From collection to delivery, considerable effort is required to organized the large shipments of books, journal articles and cases to any one of the 39 countries. Shipments would not be possible without the dedicated work of organizers and volunteers at each collection node. If you are interested in organizing a collection node at your school or institution please contact the International Business Institute at Ivey Business School at Western University.
Learn more about starting a collection node here.
Preparing a Shipment
The shipping process itself is a large undertaking. Below are the multiple steps involved in both preparing the shipping container, then clearing the container through customs.
Preparing for and Effecting an Overseas Container Shipment
As part of the 39 Country Initiative at Ivey, a container of educational materials—including books, journals, cases, and course packs—was shipped to the business school at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, on July 25, 2013. This note summarizes the practical learning accumulated about preparing for and effecting an overseas container shipment. Without proper planning, the shipment of a container will take a lot more time, energy, and money than it should. To address each activity in the process, the discussion is organized in four parts as follows.
Read more about the steps involved in this endeavor here.
Preparation and Customs Clearance of the Shipment
The School of Commerce at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, received a container-full of mostly business books and journals on January 27, 2014. The receipt marked successful completion of the first large-scale shipment of hard-copy education content by the 39 Country Initiative (39CI). It took six months for the shipment to arrive at its final destination, three more months than expected. The shipment arrived at Djibouti port, 772 km from Addis Ababa, within the expected timeframe (i.e., in roughly two months); however the second leg, requiring customs clearance and in-land transportation to Addis Ababa, took three more months than expected. The School of Commerce faced a number of challenges and incurred unnecessary costs as a result. This note briefly discusses these challenges and the practical lessons from the experience. The discussion is organized around two core parts, namely preliminary preparation and the customs clearance process.
Read about the process required to clear the shipment through customs here.