At a Canton Fair booth, you try a cordless drill and ask for a first batch with spare battery packs. The salesperson quotes air delivery to your warehouse. Your buyer likes the drill; your forwarder has seen neither the battery specification nor the packing proposal. Before paying a production deposit, give the forwarder's dangerous-goods specialist enough information to assess the shipment you intend to buy. A delivery price alone leaves that assessment open.
The drill, shipment and buying decisions below are fictional illustrations, not customer transactions. This article is general information, not dangerous-goods training, engineering, legal, tax or investment advice. Qualified specialists must determine the applicable transport requirements. A document review or provisional route does not guarantee carrier acceptance or delivery.
Identify the batteries while you are at the booth
Photograph the battery's label and ask for the manufacturer, model and chemistry. Obtain the rated capacity and Watt-hour information for the rechargeable pack, along with the supplier's technical documentation. Your specialist needs the proposed production battery, including any spare packs, rather than the battery in a display tool that the seller plans to replace.
Describe how the batteries will travel: installed in the drills, packed alongside them, or in separate packages. IATA's 2026 battery guidance distinguishes lithium-ion batteries contained in equipment, packed with equipment and batteries shipped on their own.2 Your specialist should establish the classification and requirements for each part of this order. Calling the whole consignment "tools" would omit information needed for that work.
For the fictional drills, purchasing can record the battery model proposed for each tool and the number of extra packs. If the seller offers another pack to shorten production, reopen the transport review before accepting it. A replacement can change the evidence and packing requirements even if the drill housing stays the same.
Request the test summary for the identified battery
Ask the supplier to make the relevant UN 38.3 test summary available and explain its connection to the battery you are ordering. IATA's guidance lists information including the manufacturer, testing laboratory, report identifier and date, battery description and model numbers, and test results.2 Give the complete summary to the specialist with the specification. A document for another battery model leaves a question to resolve with the supplier.
The supplier may provide a website address rather than attach a paper copy. IATA describes making the summary available through a URL or QR code as an option.2 Open it, preserve the retrieved document and record the retrieval date. A colleague should be able to review the same evidence after the fair.
A salesperson may send an SDS and say that it covers shipping. IATA's FAQ G.01 states that an SDS is not a transport document and that its battery transport rules do not require one.2 Let the specialist explain what evidence this shipment needs and address any additional request from the transport provider. An SDS should not replace the missing battery test summary.
Product-sale requirements also need attention. The product-evidence guide covers checking the actual configuration against destination requirements. Your product reviewer and transport specialist answer different questions; involve both before approval.
Submit the packed order for a route assessment
Your logistics colleague should send the forwarder the collection and delivery points, planned quantities, battery information and proposed package arrangement. Include carton counts, dimensions and weights, identifying estimates as estimates. Ask who will act as shipper and prepare the required dangerous-goods documentation. The specialist should identify the applicable packing, marking and other conditions under the current rules.
IATA labels its 2026 document as guidance and warns against relying on it as a source of regulatory compliance.2 Use it to prepare informed questions. Your team should obtain the specialist's assessment for the real consignment and confirm the proposed service with the responsible transport provider.
A short assessment record for the drills could contain:
| Purchase detail | Answer to obtain before committing |
|---|---|
| Batteries | Production models, technical information and matching test-summary references |
| Configuration | Installed packs, packs alongside tools and separate spare-battery packages |
| Preparation | Responsible shipper and specialist; required packing and documentation |
| Proposed service | Route and provider, with stated acceptance conditions and outstanding questions |
| Cost and timing | Quote based on that configuration, validity and assumptions |
| Changes | Person who must review a battery, packing, quantity or service change |
This is an editorial buying record, not a shipping instruction. Do not use it to assign a UN number, packing instruction or charge limit yourself.
Price a workable alternative before choosing it
Suppose the forwarder can assess the drills but needs more evidence for the separate spare packs. Your buyer could postpone the order while the seller supplies it, or request a revised purchase without those packs. Removing them changes what you can offer customers, so purchasing must approve that choice.
You might also ask for another transport mode. Have the responsible specialist assess that mode under its applicable rules rather than assuming a sea shipment removes the battery question. Obtain the revised packed quote and delivery estimate before comparing alternatives. Use the landed-budget guide to include the confirmed handling and destination charges.
Give finance the approved purchase
The first-deposit guide covers the order and beneficiary checks. Add the route assessment and its conditions to the purchasing approval. If necessary evidence remains missing, leave the new order unplaced instead of paying to discover whether it can travel. Existing commitments require contractual review and an agreed amendment.
Use pay an invoice to ask A2vanta about a proposed supplier payment before funding. Your seller and transport specialists arrange the cargo. Payment handling does not classify batteries, approve their packaging or secure airline acceptance.