Mercury is a logistics company that offers a complete range of shipping solutions for medical devices, diagnostic kits and life science research companies.
When shipping medical devices for a new sale, demonstration or trade show, you need a partner you can trust. With more than 20 years of experience shipping medical devices worldwide, you can rely on our expert team.
Customs documentation, carnets, International Commercial Terms (Incoterms) and insurance can be complicated, so our expert team provides guidance to keep you up to date with best shipping practices.
Many medical device companies ship consumable products together with larger medical devices. Mercury provides a comprehensive solution for all your needs so you can have a single partner for all your shipping, instead of having one vendor for your device and another for consumables.
Our expert team works with clients to ensure devices and consumables arrive together if this is desired. This includes temperature-controlled reagents shipped through our speciality cold chain service.
Comprehensive shipping solutions free of extra charges
Mercury provides solutions for all your company’s shipping, so you can have one point of contact for all your shipping and logistics needs.
If you choose us for your shipping, we will go through a short and simple onboarding process where our team joins with yours, and any technical needs such as application programming interface (API) integration can begin. Once this is done, we will be your partner and treat each of your shipments as our own.
Mercury charges no fees other than the shipping costs themselves, with all our advice and guidance given for free.
Dispatching and tracking solutions for medical device shipments
With Mercury, you will never need to worry about building an internal shipping department. We are your single point of contact for all your shipping needs, providing you with an experienced team of professionals.
Our team consistently provides guidance and expertise to help you ensure a smooth and timely delivery, whether it is a local move from your contract manufacturer to your nearest client or a shipment for an important international demonstration.
We offer several shipping solutions to help you find the option that works best for your needs. Our experts will help you navigate international paperwork and track each shipment until it reaches its destination.
Custom shipping for consumables and reagents
Many medical device companies ship larger devices and consumables in one package so that they all arrive together at their client’s site. In other cases, consumables are shipped on a regular basis once the device is in place as ordered. Mercury’s medical device clients prefer working with a single company for both heavier devices and smaller packages.
Consumables are often highly time or temperature-sensitive and are typically sent as overnight shipments. Many clients often switch to second-day shipping to reduce costs and gain efficiencies as they build out buffer stocks at their customer sites. Mercury works with you to develop both short-term shipping plans and long-term solutions as part of its proven process.
Early-stage clients and those launching products look to Mercury to understand the details of rates, shipping workflows and delivery expectations.
Because each company is different, Mercury offers customised solutions for creating labels, scheduling pickups, providing tracking visibility, and coordinating the flow of information to fit your business. This ranges from more technical solutions such as API integration to more simple solutions, including login credentials for our MyShipNow portal.
Regulatory consulting for international medical device shipping
Mercury also specialises in providing guidance and support with Incoterms, insurance, and duties and taxes (D&T).
For medical devices sold to a company overseas, the first question is that of who pays the D&T. The advantage of having the recipient pay this is that the exporting company doesn’t have to pay large upfront charges, with the buyer instead taking on these costs.
The challenge with this is that if the recipient is not already on file with customs, a lack of communication can lead to unwanted customs delays. Customs will not release a shipment until they have confirmed that the recipient’s billing information is on file.
Insuring shipments can be complex and often depends on whether the equipment shipped is new or used. Mercury offers a comprehensive insurance plan for both and helps our clients understand how to adjust Incoterms to account for insurance. D&T is ultimately calculated based on the value on the commercial invoice.
For medical devices sold to companies overseas, the commercial value is based on the device’s sale price. For units shipped for demo purposes, the value often reflects the cost to manufacture, resulting in lower D&T costs.
Another option for demo shipments is to use a carnet, which will reduce duties and taxes. However, there are expiration dates when shipping on a carnet, and these need to be carefully managed.
Small mistakes on Incoterms, insurance, commercial invoices and customs paperwork can lead to overpaying duties and taxes, or critical time delays. During the ‘exploration’ phase of our proven process, Mercury’s experts provide guidance and knowledge to help you make the right decisions.
About Mercury
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, US, Mercury serves clients worldwide. Many of our clients ship internationally to and from contract manufacturers or other partners, and we specialise in the customs paperwork and documentation needed for international shipping.
The Mercury team prides itself on its response times to client queries. Just as we quickly respond and follow up about shipping issues, we will reply promptly to any questions about our service.
If you’re looking to learn more or are interested in using our services, please visit our website or use the form above to connect with our team.