Tutorials

What is the difference between a Transit Platform and a Forwarding Platform? 🏭

When you use ColisExpat services, you encounter two types of platforms: transit platforms and forwarding platforms.

Understanding the difference between these two types is essential for optimizing your package shipping experience!

20 May 2024
• 7 min

We have two types of warehouses: those dedicated to forwarding and those for transit.

Forwarding Platforms

Forwarding platforms are warehouses where we receive your packages and then forward them directly to the address of your choice, anywhere in the world. At ColisExpat, we have 3 forwarding platforms: one in France, one in the United Kingdom, and one in the United States (New Jersey).

You can use these addresses for e-commerce sites located in the same country (for example: French merchant > use our address in France).

You will receive a notification by email to inform you that your package has been received.
To learn everything about package registration, we invite you to consult our dedicated article: “The procedure for registering packages in our warehouses“.

You will then have the option to immediately forward your package or to wait. Each warehouse has a storage area where your package is placed waiting for your forwarding request. Package storage is free for up to 30 days, and from the 31st to the 60th day, storage fees will apply.

Leaving your package in stock can be beneficial if you are expecting other packages. Indeed, you have the option to perform a “package consolidation” and thus pay the forwarding fees only once: one forwarding for two packages (or more)! This allows you to save money!

Transit Platforms

Transit platforms allow pre-receiving your package within 72 hours after its delivery.
We have 4 transit platforms: one in Spain, one in Germany, one in Italy, and one in the United States (Delaware).

You will receive a first notification when our team receives your package.

Unlike the previous ones, these transit warehouses do not allow direct forwarding of packages. In the following days, they will transit to the main platform in France or in the US. You will then receive a second notification. They will then be ready for forwarding.

Packages received at the Delaware warehouse are forwarded to the New Jersey warehouse. This address in Delaware allows you to buy tax-free on American e-commerce sites.

The delivery time from these transit platforms can vary from 2 business days to a week.

Package Consolidation

You have the possibility to consolidate packages coming from our different platforms, if the forwarding platform is the same. For example, you can consolidate packages from Italy and Germany once they have arrived in France.

Platform and Address Change: What You Need to Know

It is possible that we may change warehouses, as that was the case in March 2024 for the transit platform in Germany.

This change results from the constant growth in the number of packages we receive in Germany. Our new facility offers double the storage space, which allows us to maintain service quality and adapt to growing needs.

Additionally, the location of our new warehouse in Germany offers major logistical advantages. Orders from our customers on sites such as Amazon.de, Momox, or Peek & Cloppenburg can be more easily delivered to this address and thus processed.

In the future, if we need to change platforms again, we will inform you on your Customer Area and on our social networks. All this information is also communicated in our newsletter. We invite you to subscribe so you don’t miss any news from ColisExpat!

Note that our goal is to continue offering you a remarkable logistics experience and to meet your expectations. We are grateful and thank you for your trust over the years!

Forward Your Packages with ColisExpat!

At ColisExpat, our mission is to make the parcel shipping experience as smooth and transparent as possible. By understanding the differences between our transit and forwarding platforms, you can make informed decisions to meet your specific shipping needs!

The ColisExpat Team