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Knowledge base

Knowledge base

Practical guides on transport to the UK, customs clearance, exhibition logistics and warehousing.

We write about what actually holds a load at the border: documents, customs, returns and warehousing. No filler, just usable detail.

What is in the OTSL knowledge base?

The OTSL knowledge base is practical articles on international road freight: customs clearance and border procedures (SIVEP, GMR, PBN, ATA carnet), transport to the United Kingdom, Ireland and Switzerland, trade fair logistics, warehousing and returns. We cover the real risks and how to prevent them before they hit your cargo.

Not sure what an industry acronym means? Check the glossary. Glossary Convert pallets to loading metres or print a shipping checklist in our tools. Tools and calculator
Transport to Cyprus and Malta: how freight to the EU islands works Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Destinations and markets

Transport to Cyprus and Malta: how freight to the EU islands works

You cannot drive to Cyprus or Malta, you have to sail there. How island freight works: a road leg, a ro-ro sea leg, a…

Transport to Romania and Hungary: corridors, e-tolls and borders after Schengen Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Destinations and markets

Transport to Romania and Hungary: corridors, e-tolls and borders after Schengen

Romania and Hungary sit on the same corridor from Poland but differ in everything: toll systems, distance and market…

Transport to the Baltic states: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia via the Via Baltica Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Destinations and markets

Transport to the Baltic states: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia via the Via Baltica

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia sit along one road: the Via Baltica. It is a fast, groupage-friendly direction, provided…

Poland as a sourcing base: one transport instead of five shipments Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Destinations and markets

Poland as a sourcing base: one transport instead of five shipments

A foreign importer buys from several Polish suppliers and suddenly manages five dispatches at once. Here is how…

Transport to the Balkans: Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Greece from Poland Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Destinations and markets

Transport to the Balkans: Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Greece from Poland

The Balkans are one direction on the map but four different routes in practice. Which way trucks run to Croatia and…

Transport from Poland to Western Europe: what the forwarder does at origin Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Destinations and markets

Transport from Poland to Western Europe: what the forwarder does at origin

The receiver in Germany or the Netherlands only sees the truck at the ramp. The real work happens earlier: collection…

Kielce warehouse: transshipment, cross-dock and consolidation on the EU-UK route Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Warehousing and repacking

Kielce warehouse: transshipment, cross-dock and consolidation on the EU-UK route

A ramp, a crane, forklifts up to 5 tonnes and 24/7 access next to the Kielce fairground. How our transshipment base…

Transport to Scandinavia: ferry or road to Sweden, Denmark and Finland Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Destinations and markets

Transport to Scandinavia: ferry or road to Sweden, Denmark and Finland

Scandinavia is where road meets sea. Here is when cargo to Sweden sails from a Polish port, when the land route through…

Legnica on the EU-UK route: the last transshipment and picking before customs Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Warehousing and repacking

Legnica on the EU-UK route: the last transshipment and picking before customs

Gaps in a UK-bound shipment should surface at a ramp in Poland, not in the ferry queue. How the Legnica base closes UK…

Buffer warehouse for economic zone suppliers: how a production buffer works Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Warehousing and repacking

Buffer warehouse for economic zone suppliers: how a production buffer works

Stock a few kilometres from the production line instead of a few hundred. How the buffer at the Legnica base works and…

Messe Luzern Exhibition Logistics: Transport and Customs to Switzerland Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Exhibition logistics

Messe Luzern Exhibition Logistics: Transport and Customs to Switzerland

Learn how to manage stand fittings and exhibit deliveries to Messe Luzern in Switzerland, including Swiss customs rules…

Consolidating freight from Germany and Czechia in Legnica: one route instead of four Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Warehousing and repacking

Consolidating freight from Germany and Czechia in Legnica: one route instead of four

Several smaller batches from Germany and Czechia, one onward transport. How groupage collection works at the Legnica…

Cross-dock on the A4: why transship goods in Legnica Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Warehousing and repacking

Cross-dock on the A4: why transship goods in Legnica

Truck-to-truck transfer instead of storage. How cross-docking works and why the Legnica base, right on the A4 motorway…

Reservations on the CMR note at delivery: what to enter in field 24 before you sign Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Guides

Reservations on the CMR note at delivery: what to enter in field 24 before you sign

The view from the dock: a clean signature on the CMR raises the presumption that the goods arrived in good condition…

Insuring trade fair exhibits: the risks from hall to hall Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Guides

Insuring trade fair exhibits: the risks from hall to hall

An exhibit lives outside your company for the whole show cycle: transport, build-up, open days, breakdown, return…

The 8.33 SDR/kg carrier liability limit: why carrier insurance is not enough Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Guides

The 8.33 SDR/kg carrier liability limit: why carrier insurance is not enough

The CMR Convention calculates compensation from kilograms, not from the invoice. For light, expensive goods the result…

Damage in transit: how to report and document it step by step Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Guides

Damage in transit: how to report and document it step by step

Torn film, crushed cartons and a CMR note signed clean: the fastest way to lose your claim. Here is the order of…

Missed Amazon delivery window: what happens to your delivery now Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
UK and Brexit

Missed Amazon delivery window: what happens to your delivery now

A jam before the ferry, a slow customs entry, and the slot is gone. The truck is loaded and the site will not take it…

Trade Fair Logistics Messe Zürich: Stand and Exhibit Transport Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Exhibition logistics

Trade Fair Logistics Messe Zürich: Stand and Exhibit Transport

Organise deliveries of exhibition stands and display items to Messe Zürich in the Oerlikon district. Understand customs…

FBA or FBM from Poland: the logistics and costs of both models Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
UK and Brexit

FBA or FBM from Poland: the logistics and costs of both models

FBA means stock in Amazon fulfilment centres and bulk deliveries on appointments. FBM means your own warehouse and your…

Amazon pallet requirements in the UK: how to build a pallet that gets in Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
UK and Brexit

Amazon pallet requirements in the UK: how to build a pallet that gets in

Pallet standard, height limit, wrap, labels and load weight: the rules are stable, the numbers change in Seller…

Rejected Amazon FBA delivery: the usual causes and plan B Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
UK and Brexit

Rejected Amazon FBA delivery: the usual causes and plan B

FBA sites turn trucks away over missing appointments, bad labels and non-compliant pallets. Here is what happens to the…

Exhibition Logistics: Stand Delivery to Międzynarodowe Targi Łódzkie Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Exhibition logistics

Exhibition Logistics: Stand Delivery to Międzynarodowe Targi Łódzkie

Learn how to organise the transport of exhibition stand structures and exhibits to Międzynarodowe Targi Łódzkie in Łódź…

What a freight ferry booking includes and why the driver cannot buy a ticket at the gate Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Transport types

What a freight ferry booking includes and why the driver cannot buy a ticket at the gate

A ferry reservation for a truck is not a ticket like the one for a car. We take a freight booking apart: freight…

ADR transport documents: transport document, instructions in writing, certificates Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Transport types

ADR transport documents: transport document, instructions in writing, certificates

Who issues the ADR transport document, what the driver must carry in the cab and why a company needs a DGSA adviser. A…

Dover-Calais or the east coast ports: which corridor for which delivery Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Transport types

Dover-Calais or the east coast ports: which corridor for which delivery

The short strait via Dover is not the only way into Great Britain. Sailings from Rotterdam, Zeebrugge and Hoek van…

ADR classes in groupage: what an ordinary carrier will not take Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Transport types

ADR classes in groupage: what an ordinary carrier will not take

Nine classes of dangerous goods, mixed loading prohibitions and quantities that add up per truck. A practical review of…

Ferries to Scandinavia: routes from Polish ports Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Transport types

Ferries to Scandinavia: routes from Polish ports

Swinoujscie-Ystad, Swinoujscie-Trelleborg and Gdynia-Karlskrona: three classic crossings for trucks heading north from…

Limited quantities (LQ): when dangerous goods travel without full ADR Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Transport types

Limited quantities (LQ): when dangerous goods travel without full ADR

Aerosols, paints and cosmetics travel in the LQ regime every day. The mechanics of limited quantities, what the LQ…

Storm and a cancelled crossing: what happens to the cargo and the deadline Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Transport types

Storm and a cancelled crossing: what happens to the cargo and the deadline

Wind closes the port, the operator cancels sailings and the loaded truck sits in a queue. Here is what the forwarder…

Shipping lithium batteries: UN 3480 and UN 3481 in practice Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Transport types

Shipping lithium batteries: UN 3480 and UN 3481 in practice

Batteries on their own or batteries in equipment: every shipment starts with that question. The difference between UN…

Ferry or Eurotunnel: how we choose the crossing for a truck Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Transport types

Ferry or Eurotunnel: how we choose the crossing for a truck

The Dover-Calais ferry and the Eurotunnel shuttle between Folkestone and Coquelles serve the same corridor, yet they…

ADR transport to the UK after Brexit: documents on both sides of the border Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Transport types

ADR transport to the UK after Brexit: documents on both sides of the border

ADR did not disappear with Brexit; customs clearance was added on top. How dangerous goods travel from Poland to the UK…

Trade Fair Logistics MTP Poznań: Stand Fittings & Exhibits Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Exhibition logistics

Trade Fair Logistics MTP Poznań: Stand Fittings & Exhibits

Learn how to arrange the delivery of stand fittings and exhibits to the Poznań International Fair. Discover steps…

Deliveries to automotive plants in Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Germany: booking and unloading windows Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Transport types

Deliveries to automotive plants in Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Germany: booking and unloading windows

Plants accept trucks only in booked windows, reserved in the receiver's systems. How booking works, what a missed slot…

Load securing: who is liable, the carrier or the shipper Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Transport types

Load securing: who is liable, the carrier or the shipper

The goods shifted in the trailer and there is damage. Who pays? We explain what Article 17 of the CMR Convention says…

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