Long-distance and international moves: how to plan them
A move to another city or country is valuable, but mistakes cost more: a truck stuck 500 km from base is not replaced in an hour. Here is what to plan in advance.
1. Work out the real route and timing
Start from the route with real distances, not a rough guess. Count the driving and rest times your country's rules require, traffic, tolls and ferries. Long routes often take more than one day, so plan where the driver and crew will sleep.
2. Pricing for distance
A long-distance quote includes lines that a city move does not.
- Mileage, fuel and tolls
- Working days for driver and crew, travel and overnight costs
- The return trip, empty or with another load
- Temporary storage if move-out and move-in dates differ
- Insurance suited to the value and the distance
3. Shared loads and return trips
A truck that comes back empty halves your margin. If several customers are going the same way, consider a shared load with several drop-off points, or look for a job for the return trip. Label precisely by customer, so no box comes off at the wrong address.
4. Documents for international moves
For an international move, prepare an inventory of the goods and check early which documents the destination country and transit countries require. Customs rules differ a lot between countries inside and outside the European Union, so check them with the authorities or a freight forwarder before confirming the date with the customer.
5. Keep the customer informed
On a multi-day move, the customer wants to know where their belongings are. Agree the delivery window in advance and update them at each important stage.
In MovesFlow you look up addresses, add several drop-off points and see the route with its distance on the map, assign crews and vehicles day by day, the crew talks in the job chat and the customer follows the job from their customer portal.