Submitting goods to a bonded warehouse involves following specific customs and compliance rules before your shipment can be accepted. A bonded warehouse is a secured storage area where imported goods are kept without immediate payment of duties or taxes. Because of this special status, all inbound shipments must meet strict requirements, including packaging standards, documentation, and labeling, to ensure smooth entry and processing.
As of December 2025, Portless will be inbounding all goods into our Non-bonded warehouse prior to inbounding goods to Bonded in order to ensure all paperwork & inventory data matches export requirements for Bonded.
Things to keep in mind
All wooden pallets entering the bonded zone must be IPPC certified.
Addresses
International Inbound
深圳市前海深港合作区南山街道临海大道53号招商保税前海仓五号仓库5101
English name: Warehouse 5 Section 5101, Shenzhen Qianhai Comprehensive Bonded Zone No.53 Linhai Ave., Shenzhen-Hongkong Co-operation Management Bureau, Qianhai, Shenzhen
Domestic Inbound
深圳市南山区临海大道53号深圳前海综合保税区7栋二楼723仓72318/72320
English name: 53 Linhai Avenue, Shenzhen Comprehensive Bonded Zone District 7, Building 2, Warehouse 723, Section 72318/72320, Nanshan District, Shenzhen
Process
Shipping to our non-bonded warehouse first
Please ensure that your Products have been added to Portless by Adding New Products to Portless
1. Merchant SKU Selection
Fill out the Warehouse Declaration Form specifying the SKUs you intend to send to the bonded warehouse alongside the following documents:
2. Form Submission and Approval
Submit it to your Account Manager (AM). The AM will send it to [email protected]. We review the submission and send it to the bonded warehouse for approval. The warehouse typically completes approval within a few hours of receiving the documents. After inventory arrives, it reflects on your Portal within 24 to 48 hours.
If the product contains a significant battery, we may request an MSDS for the product.
Delivery Scheduling (Upon Approval)
Once approved, reach out to Rachel Li ([email protected]) to schedule a delivery window for the goods. This should ideally be 2-3 business days before the intended delivery date.
Rachel sends the approved stock inbound labels required to be attached to the boxes that are being sent to the bonded facility.
4. Serviceability Confirmation
Rachel confirms the country of origin and shipping type to ensure the bonded warehouse can handle the shipment.
5. Shipping Channel Setup (if Serviceable)
If the shipment falls within the bonded warehouse's service parameters, Rachel establishes the shipping channels for your store.
6. Inventory Arrival and Processing
Upon delivery, the goods are received by the bonded warehouse.
The inventory is scanned and recorded on our Warehouse Management System (WMS).
Following syncing with Shopify, the inventory becomes available for fulfillment processing.
3. Inventory Replenishment (Previously Registered SKUs)
1. Submit the following information for SKUs to [email protected]:
SKUs
Packing list
Commercial Invoice
2. After receiving the information, Sam creates an inbound request.
3. After approval, you receive the inbound stock labels to attach to the cartons.
4. Register your truck for inbound according to the bonded inbound trucking guidelines, OR we can arrange trucking with your factory to be shipped to our bonded facility if your factory is located in Shenzhen.
❗️IMPORTANT: All order changes must be submitted before 1:00 PM, as Rachel pushes all orders through once daily at that time. This applies to traditional merchant requests for customer shipping information changes.
Key Points:
Utilize the attached forms for clear SKU communication.
Maintain a 2-3 business day buffer between scheduling and delivery.
Aeri acts as the intermediary for communication with both you and the bonded warehouse.
Bonded warehouse serviceability depends on the country of origin and shipping type.
Additional Notes:
Consider including a section for special instructions or notes on the SKU form.
Portless has developed a communication plan to keep you updated on the approval and scheduling process.
Benefits:
Streamlined communication between merchants, bonded warehouses, and internal teams.
Timely inventory management in the bonded warehouse.
Improved planning and fulfillment efficiency.
Shipping Directly to Bonded Warehouse
Please confirm if you are approved to Ship Directly to Bonded, as our current process requires all merchants (unless otherwise notified) to ship to Nonbonded first.
Please ensure that your Products have been added to Portless by Adding New Products to Portless.
1. Fill out the Bonded Inbound Registration Form and send the following supporting documents to [email protected]:
The above-listed documents can be obtained from your factory.
2. Additional Clarification (if needed)
We may request additional details about the products (e.g., wired vs. wireless for a computer mouse).
If the product contains a significant battery, we may request an MSDS for the product.
3. We'll notify you once your product registration is approved.
4. We send PDF carton labels for the factory to affix to the cartons.
5. Send the pictures of the labeled cartons for confirmation to Portless
6. Inbound Arrangement
Please follow the Bonded inbound SOP below. Once everything is filled out and submitted for trucking, your supplier can proceed to inbound the inventory to our bonded facility.
If your supplier is located in Shenzhen, we will arrange an inbound time and date. Please provide your factory address and contact information, and we will arrange a free trade zone-approved trucking partner to pick inventory from the factory.
Shipping overseas to bonded warehouse
1. Send the contact information of your approved (to handle bonded facility shipments) freight forwarder to Portless. Let your freight forwarder know that you will be inbounding to the Shenzhen Qianhai Comprehensive Free Trade Zone.
❗️Important: Make sure that your freight forwarder knows the process of submitting inbound goods to a bonded facility. Use the same supporting documents as a bonded inbound: Commercial Invoice (CI), packing list, and sales contract, but include a Bill of Lading instead of an export document.
2. Fill out the Bonded Inbound Registration Form. Send it to [email protected] along with the following supporting documents:
CI
Packing list
Sales contract (if available)
Bill of Lading
Bill of Lading: Please use Ina Ma as the Consignee and her Email or telephone as the contact information, and the overseas address as:
深圳市前海深港合作区南山街道临海大道53号招商保税前海仓五号仓库5101
English name: Warehouse 5 Section 5101, Shenzhen Qianhai Comprehensive Bonded Zone No.53 Linhai Ave., Shenzhen-Hongkong Co-operation Management Bureau, Qianhai, Shenzhen
Consignee Information
Name: Ina Ma
Email address: [email protected]
Phone number: 0755 26698630
Bill of Lading, Place of delivery, and Port of discharge:
Place of delivery: Shenzhen, China
Port of discharge: Shekou port. (If it must be another port, please let us know, and we will let our bonded warehouse partners know. Shekou Port is ideal since it has a partnership with our bonded warehouse
3. Additional Clarification (if needed):
We may request additional details about the products (e.g., wired vs. wireless for a computer mouse).
If the product contains a significant battery, we may request an MSDS for the product.
4. Portless will inform you of the product registration approval.
5. Portless sends the PDF carton labels for the factory to affix to the cartons.
6. Next, you have to send pictures of the labeled cartons to Portless for confirmation.
7. We will reach out to your freight forwarder and will coordinate the shipment’s time of arrival, at which pier, and how the shipment will be forwarded to the bonded warehouse.
Bonded truck domestic inbound SOP
1. Once the date and the time of the shipment have been confirmed, please fill out the truck information that will be shipping to the bonded facility:
2. Once filled out, forward this sheet over to [email protected] to be submitted. He then forwards an inbound ticket. The delivery driver needs a paper copy of the said ticket on hand when arriving at the bonded facility.
3. When arriving at the main entrance of the bonded zone, the delivery driver can go past the gates since the licence plate is registered in our system. Allow the driver to make his way to the warehouse address.
4. Once arrived, the driver will contact the bonded receiver 张肖荣 (Zhang Xiao Rong) - (contact number): 13534894134 to inform of arrival.
5. The delivery driver should give the inbound ticket to the bonded warehouse receiver. He will instruct your trucker where to park for the goods to be unloaded.
❗️IMPORTANT: The Truck must meet the following requirements:
Freight trucks/vans should be SEPARATED from the driver’s compartment
For shipments that are palletized, the truck must have a ramp
For merchants whose suppliers are within Shenzhen, we can provide pick up from your factory, provided that we have the following information:
Factory Address
Date and Time of pick up
Point of contact at factory - Name and Phone number
Send the above-mentioned information via email to [email protected], and we will organize the rest.
For additional information, check A Guide to Shipping Directly to Our Bonded Warehouse.