EXPERTISE
We continue to enhance and expand our trade-sensitive expertise through strategic expansions within current markets and into new ones. Learn more about the growth of our organization in our quest to offer unrivalled support for our customers on our Heritage page.
Produce
Is there a supply chain more time-sensitive than that of the fruits and vegetables industry?
With proficiency in handling fresh produce—including citrus, stone fruits, herbs, tropical fruits, berries, asparagus and more—we support importers and shippers in navigating the complex, temperature-controlled, time-sensitive supply chains associated with this sector.
With more than 30 years of produce-specific industry experience, we have the comprehensive regulatory knowledge to engage regulatory authorities where necessary, and to ensure your compliance with mandates and stipulations, keeping clearances on track and maintaining the value of your products.
Rely on us for:
- Customs optimization
- Superior compliance alignment
- Alignment with USDA/APHIS Fumigation Requirements, Country of Origin requirements
- Administrative support for agriculture and customs exams
- Representative during FDA sample collections
- Assistance with management of temperature-controlled transportation and storage
- 24/7 support and direct access to experienced professionals and customs brokerage services
- Knowledge of the critical importance of speed and transparency with produce, and more
With proven performance, we stand ready to unlock efficiencies and deliver reliability for your most challenging perishable imports and exports.
Apparel and footwear
Seasonal fashion products can lose value each week they’re still in transit or storage. International freight forwarding for fashion brands like yours cannot be held up as a result of an incorrect classification or suspected Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act violation. Trust your apparel and footwear supply chain management to a reliable apparel and footwear shipping company – an organization with a history of supporting the fashion and textile industry for more than 75 years. We support you with decades of apparel logistics services experience, in-house trade consultants, and access to the same AI-powered supply chain risk assessment platform used by CBP. You can benefit from:
- Forced labor risk assessment and mitigation to protect your brand and your cashflow
- Advanced tariff forensics
- PO management and order fulfillment
- Real-time inventory visibility and supply chain management
- Direct-to-consumer distribution strategies that leverage Section 301
- Specialized landed cost reports for clear financial oversight
You can reduce your overall landed cost by leveraging or in-house trade compliance guidance, avoid duties with in-bond transfers to Mexico-based fulfillment centers, and command a higher cost with in-season availability. Spend less on your supply chain and earn more for your products. Let’s chat.
Health, wellness and cosmetics
Your products bring out the best in all of us: radiant skin, bright eyes, flowing hair. But all that comes at the cost of intense scrutiny by CBP and US regulatory authorities. Your products need a specialized freight service specifically for health, wellness, and cosmetic industry products. You need shipping solutions bolstered by in-house trade compliance expertise – you should not be trusting your product supply chain management to a partner based on cost alone.
We’re here to guide you through the regulatory maze with customized health, wellness and cosmetics industry supply chain solutions.
Alba has decades of experience in handling the complex logistics of products consumed, used on, or applied to the human body, navigating through the intricate maze of CBP and governmental regulations. Our expert team manages complex supply chains for a full range of industry products, from medicines to nutritional products and cosmetics, offering services such as:
- FDA Pre-classification and problem resolution
- Harmonized tariff classification
- Thorough admissibility review
- PO Management and Order Fulfillment review to ensure an optimized solution
Continue to bring out the best in all of us by partnering with Alba and ensuring your health, wellness, and cosmetic products meet compliance standards and reach your customers safely.
Food and Beverage
Your consumers demand the year-round availability of your products, so your sourcing scours the globe and whether it be proteins and wines from Australia and New Zealand, fruits and juices from South America, seafood and beers from the Mediterranean, or herbs, spices, and waters from anywhere around the world, you need your 3PL partner to provide consistent food and beverage supply chain solutions and a reliable pathway through US regulatory import procedures.
Beyond our 120 years of logistics experience for perishable food items and our involvement with US food and beverage associations, we’re consumers too. We ensure FDA logistics compliance so your products reach the stores, and we can buy them for ourselves. Our logistics expertise includes:
- Long-term relationships with FDA
- FMSA proficiency
- Beverage demand planning for states subject to bailment regulations
- Board and committee membership to US food and beverage associations
With on-site representation at all of the major chilled and frozen ocean freight ports and remote filing capabilities at all others, you can simplify your food and beverage supply chain. Trust Alba to navigate the complexities of food and beverage imports, maintaining the utmost in safety and compliance, and helping to put your foods and beverages on all of our tables.
Semiconductors
The name KSI was synonymous with the provision of advanced logistics for semiconductor manufacturing, and customized shipping solutions for electronic components. The San Francisco-based company was the leader in high-tech supply chain solutions for decades. KSI joined the Alba community in November 2022 where we empowered the team with corporate support, technology enhancements, and the free reign to continue building on what they’d established thus far.
If you partner with Alba for your semiconductor and electronics logistics management program, you’ll be working with the team who crafted and secured approval for what eventually became the creation of HTS heading 8486, the section and chapter legal notes, and most notably, the associated Explanatory Notes that were adopted by the WCO as amendments to the 2007 Harmonized Tariff Schedule covering this product group.
Through this team, we offer:
- Binding ruling requests
- PSC and protest submission
- Legislative advocacy
- Customized supply chain program design
EPA regulated goods and chemicals
Americans’ focus on public health and safety means chemical importers like you are experiencing additional scrutiny and regulatory burden. So how do we provide specialized logistics for EPA-regulated goods? We vetted and certified partners who go beyond typical expectations. For instance, our network of ISO tank haulers operates throughout the United States and Canada. Collecting tanks from ports and rail yards, your product is delivered to your customer. Tanks are then thoroughly cleaned and returned to origins within prearranged timelines and very cost-effectively.
- Hazardous material transport expertise with vetted and certified partners with detailed carrier performance analytics
- Early adopter of the EPA Notice of Arrival (NOA) pilot
- Paperless status in all EPA regions
- Full point-to-point supply chain visibility
Medical devices and PPE
Whether it be clinical diagnostic equipment or home care resources, physicians, and the rest of us need to know we will have what we need, when we need it. Whether you’re evaluating logistics services for critical healthcare products or PPE distribution services, you must partner with a service provider who monitors FDA enforcement policy and FDA emergency use authorizations to guide you accurately. We can do that:
- Overseas manufacturer and FDA liaison
- Experienced in the multi- agency importation of face shields, face masks, surgical masks, n85 respirators, NIOSH approved n95 respirators, personal wipes, surface wipes, hand sanitizers, and nitrile gloves
- Optimized e-commerce fulfillment management
Industrial Products
The industrial products description encompasses a wide range of commodities from raw materials and individual components to complex machinery and full factory installations. Industrial logistics solutions, whether to fulfill just-in-time urgency or leverage offshore or nearshore inventory positioning, can benefit extensively from US import regulation expertise. Here’s how we can support you:
- Accurate identification and proper HTS classification for all your components
- Advice on country of origin and trade remedy duties
- Navigation of valuation issues under trade agreements
Your industrial products will be in our capable hands, ensuring they meet both regulatory requirements and delivery schedules seamlessly.
Consumer and recreational goods
The materials you’re enhancing your consumer and recreational goods with amplify their usefulness and the enjoyment your customers experience. They can also be regulated by federal agencies and necessitate additional levels of compliance. We offer end-to-end logistics solutions for consumer and recreational goods and can guide you on leveraging Section 321 opportunities for duty relief and direct-to-consumer fulfillment. Our services are designed to help you traverse the regulatory landscapes and efficiently manage your global inventories:
- Pre-entry classification review and risk analysis
- Participating Government Agency (PGA) trade services should your goods be detained or denied entry
- Type 86 / Section 321 validation and entry filing
Whether navigating EPA regulations for a two-cycle tailgating blender or CPSC flammability standards for 4-person tents, we’re here to help.
Trade sensitive imports
If you’re struggling to find a logistics partner to support you with your trade-sensitive product’s transportation requirements, we want to speak with you. Our expertise in handling trade-sensitive product logistics is how we’ve made a name for ourselves.
Ethical and compliant sourcing and transportation is of course top of mind for you, but you must be able to demonstrate your strategy as you approach US borders. We can help:
- UFLPA Risk assessments on upstream providers, components and raw materials from sensitive environments
- Antidumping / countervailing / trade remedy duties
- Multiagency admissibility approval management
- Bilateral trade agreement and country of origin product valuation guidance
Partner with us early when possible, but even if you have an established supply line, we can assess your environment, guide you should there be risks, and provide you with a comprehensive logistics and customs solution for your trade-sensitive goods should you need it.
E-Commerce and Section 321
Did you know: for shipments under $800 that are sold to an individual, customs regulations allow the entry of these goods duty-free under most conditions? What could that mean for you? Lower landed cost, sure. But more competitive pricing and higher profits too.
Take those advantages further by moving your product in-bond to Mexico and leveraging an established e-fulfillment company to compile your product reveal experience and complete your DTC shipping.
We specialize in e-commerce supply chain optimization, facilitating rapid and duty-free entry of shipments under Section 321. Our integrated services are designed to support growing and large-scale operations. We offer:
- Custom Section 321/Type 86 duty-free shipping solutions
- End-to-end management of transportation, customs, and fulfillment
- In-bond transportation management from west coast ports to your Mexico-based fulfillment partner
- Fulfillment partner recommendations
With seamless integration into POS systems and e-commerce platforms, we empower you and your online retailers to enhance operational efficiency and significantly reduce costs through innovative logistics solutions.
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