Shipping internationally should feel like progress, not pressure. At the end of the day, this is about expansion. But for many brands, shipping across borders brings a new set of headaches.
Higher costs and more paperwork slow down operations. Whether you’re sending dozens of parcels a day or managing high-value orders, cross-border complexity can drain both time and money.
That’s why Metapack has launched Consolidated Clearance. This new add-on to our shipping platform can make international shipping a simpler, headache-free process. Built for shippers with volume and ambition, it helps you reduce customs fees while also lowering your costs. Smooth out your shipping processes so you can deliver your packages where they need to go without the manual overhead.
You don’t need to manage master shipments. You don’t need extra software. And you don’t need to slow down to scale up. Metapack makes it simpler.
Cross-border shipping challenges are mounting—here’s what’s at stake
If you ship regularly to countries outside your own customs zone, you’ve likely noticed that cross-border logistics are getting more expensive and more complicated.
Customs regulations vary by region. Tariffs change depending on product categories and country codes. Documentation must be exact, and it’s often different for every carrier. Add in delays, manual allocation, and fees that stack up quickly, and it’s no wonder many businesses feel stuck.
Let’s say you’re shipping 100 orders a day from the UK into the EU. Each of those parcels is processed separately. That means 100 customs declarations, 100 brokerage fees, and 100 chances for delays.
Even if you’ve worked with carriers offering consolidation services, you’ve probably had to manually group your shipments into “parent” or “master” loads. That adds yet another task and more room for error.
You want to expand into new regions, not expand your operational headaches. That’s where Consolidated Clearance comes in.
What Is Consolidated Clearance?
Consolidated Clearance is a new Metapack shipping add-on that helps you group your international parcels into a single shipment for customs clearance. By doing so, you lower the number of moving parts. Fewer declarations reduce your fees and in the doing simplify the entire process.
This type of service is commonly known as consolidation or breakbulk. With Metapack, you don’t have to manage or define “master” shipments manually. You assign orders to Consolidated Clearance services just like you do with any other shipping option. The platform handles the grouping and logic behind the scenes.
It’s not a standalone tool, as it’s built directly into Metapack’s platform. If you’re already shipping with us, adding Consolidated Clearance doesn’t mean rethinking your tech stack or retraining your teams. You just ship smarter.
5 ways Consolidated Clearance helps you ship smarter
1. Reduce customs costs
Lower customs charges are the most immediate win. When parcels are cleared individually, their costs increase tenfold. You pay customs fees, brokerage fees, and handling charges for each item.
With Consolidated Clearance, you combine parcels into one clearance process. That cuts costs dramatically, especially in countries with high tariffs or additional entry fees.
For example, if you’re sending 60 parcels a day into a high-duty country, consolidating them into one or two clearance entries can lead to savings that compound every week.
If you’re looking for cheap shipping options that don’t compromise reliability, this is one of the most direct ways to get there.
2. Work more efficiently
Cross-border shipping typically involves layers of manual work: preparing invoices, checking carrier-specific rules, printing multiple labels, and adjusting warehouse flows for each shipment’s destination.
Consolidated Clearance eliminates that overhead. The system automates much of the process by grouping parcels and tying them to the right documents. Then it aligns with each carrier’s clearance methods.
You don’t need a separate tool to manage this. It’s built into the allocation and label generation flows you’re already using with Delivery Manager and Metapack Manager.
3. Simplify your process
Other platforms bog you down with complex workflows. Metapack eliminates the hassle.
With Metapack’s abstraction layer, you don’t see or touch the master shipments at all. The platform handles it automatically in the background. You ship as you always do.
There are no new tools to learn, no additional dashboards to manage. You focus on what matters: shipping orders and keeping customers happy.
4. Gain control and visibility
One of the most frustrating parts of international shipping is not knowing where your goods are or when they’ll get held up. Consolidated Clearance enhances your visibility by allowing you to track group shipments while maintaining clarity at the parcel level.
This means fewer surprises at customs. You’ll know when your parcels are grouped, when they clear, and when they’re handed over for final-mile delivery. You get more control without having to manage more systems.
5. Ship with confidence in high-tariff markets
Markets with high tariffs and strict customs rules can feel like a gamble. Fees stack up fast, and minor errors in documentation can lead to long delays. Consolidated Clearance removes some of that uncertainty.
By reducing the number of customs entries and automating the documentation process, you lower your risk exposure. That translates to faster shipping and a better customer experience. Plus, you’ll dodge costly penalties.
Is this right for your business?
Consolidated Clearance is made for shippers dealing with complexity at scale. If any of the following sound familiar, this add-on could be a strong fit for you:
- You ship 40 or more parcels per day to the same international destination.
- You sell high-value products and want to protect your margin from customs fees.
- You’ve tried carrier consolidation services before but ran into setup issues.
- You need cheap shipping options that won’t delay delivery.
- You ship into high-tariff markets and want more cost control.
- You want a single first and final mile solution instead of managing multiple touchpoints.
Industries like luxury, consumer tech, fashion, and wellness often meet these criteria, but any business scaling internationally can benefit from simplification.
Simplify shipping and amplify savings
Cross-border shipping doesn’t have to come with trade-offs. You don’t need to accept high customs fees and delayed deliveries. And your time is already precious, so you don’t want complicated manual processes as the cost of doing business internationally.
With Metapack’s Consolidated Clearance, you gain a smarter way to move goods across borders. You can reduce your total customs spend and automate time-consuming tasks. All of this helps you ship faster, without investing in new systems or adding complexity to your operations.
Whether you’re sending 50 parcels a day or several hundred, this solution gives you more control over how you manage customs clearance. It’s especially advantageous when you’re shipping to regions like the EU, the US, or Asia, where tariff structures can eat into your margins. Consolidated Clearance lets you approach those markets more competitively by streamlining the backend process and lowering the total cost per shipment.
Because it’s built into the Metapack platform you’re already using, it fits naturally into your existing operations. You won’t need to retrain your team or install extra tools — just turn it on and start shipping smarter.
Start shipping smarter today. Let’s take the complexity out of cross-border shipping, together.