Shipping to Global Data Centers and Colocations

Designing, building, and maintaining a technical infrastructure globally is time consuming and difficult for multinational companies. Before hardware can even be shipped to a data center, teams need to figure out what hardware to buy, who to buy it from, where it needs to go, and by when. After you figure all of that out, you still need to figure out how to get the infrastructure to its intended site, which is where FGX comes in.

Why is shipping IT hardware to data centers and colocations internationally so difficult?

It’s common for new clients to tell us that they have tried—for good reason—to build their processes for shipping IT equipment purchased in the USA to their global sites. But shipping IT hardware globally is difficult without a specialist like FGX. We’ve seen companies struggle when shipping to both “easy” countries, like Australia and Spain, and “difficult” countries, like Brazil and India. Common issues we see are: missing logistical paperwork or product certificates, not having an entity with the proper import authorizations, improper valuation of products, not being able to resolve customs inquiries, not understanding data center requirements, etc.

Why do these issues come about? Because IT commodities like servers, switches, routers, are high value, electronic, and highly regulated. These attributes make shipping IT infrastructure globally complicated. Very few companies have full stack logistics teams, let alone IT commodity specialists that have a strong understanding of what drives compliance and logistical requirements globally. This reduces your self sovereignty and flexibility, as you won’t be able to use and commercialize your assets in the way you want.

In order to seamlessly move infrastructure between international borders—in compliance—one needs to have an expert understanding of: how the channel operates, commercialization, compliance, international trade regulations, import tax, logistics, and much more – which is what FGX specializes in.

Challenges when shipping to data centers and colocations

When shipping to international data centers and colocations, there are a few important considerations that aren’t immediately obvious. For example, we often find that when teams ship on their own, they’ll list the data center or colocation as the Importer of Record, which is a huge mistake! The data center almost never consents to acting as the IOR, but teams will mistakenly have them listed as such. This not only causes issues for the data center—which can and will be tied back to the shipper—but also causes issues for the shipper down the line. For example, if you want to decommission your devices and ship them somewhere else, you now have to get the data center’s permission, which will be a massive headache. There are also other potential consequences, such as limiting your accounting and finance team’s ability to depreciate the imported assets.

In many countries, the Importer of Record is tied to many other logistical and supply-chain rules and regulations. For example, in Brazil, in order for many of the largest colocations in the country to accept a shipment, they require that a “nota fiscal” is issued in the IORs name.

Data centers and colocations are also often located in Special Economic Zones, which adds another layer of complexity for inexperienced shippers and non-specialized logistics providers. Now, although it’s complex for most shippers, as long as you understand how to navigate SEZs like FGX does, it’s actually an opportunity to reduce costs. As a part of FGX's shipping process, we’ll identify these opportunities during the request phase so that we can reduce your costs and ensure you’re abiding by all relevant rules and protocols.

Another consideration that non-specialized logistics providers and teams don’t figure out until it’s too late is the data center’s storage capacity. Oftentimes, data centers—especially colocation data centers—are not set up to store a large amount of devices. For example, we managed a shipment for a high frequency trading client that was standing up infrastructure in a new exchange data center. Their build consisted of over 15 pallets, but the exchange data center only had room to accept one pallet a day! As specialists, we knew this was a potential concern, and so we made sure to plan ahead by arranging discussions with the data center to create the optimal logistical rollout plan.

When multinational enterprises work with FGX, they gain access to a best-in-class, seamless, global IT shipping experience for their IT hardware. Please reach out if you’re interested in learning more.