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Alpes ZHGroothandel

Process

How It Works

Six steps from confirmed products to released documents. Each has an owner and a checkpoint, and the parts we do not control are named as such.
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Background: Bernt Rostad · Flickr · CC BY 2.0

Export process

From requirement to dispatch

What actually happens between your inquiry and a container leaving Rotterdam.

  1. 01

    Confirm products

    You send the brands, packaging formats and quantities — from the catalogue, a product page or the container builder. Anything not in the catalogue can be named as free text; we source lines that are not published.

    Buyer and sales desk

  2. 02

    Check availability

    We verify stock position, packaging specification, production origin and remaining shelf life against every line, and confirm territorial eligibility for your destination before a price is issued.

    Sales desk

  3. 03

    Confirm destination and terms

    Destination port, incoterm and shipment window are fixed in writing. This is where landed cost becomes comparable — two quotations on different terms are not comparable at all.

    Buyer and sales desk

  4. 04

    Consolidate cargo

    Consignments from several source markets arrive at a partner facility in the Netherlands, are checked against the packing plan and staged for loading.

    Logistics partners

  5. 05

    Prepare export documentation

    Commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and any excise documentation are prepared so the paperwork matches the goods exactly. A mismatch is a clearance problem at the destination, not a correction at origin.

    Documentation team

  6. 06

    Dispatch shipment

    The final loading plan is confirmed against real pallet dimensions and gross weight, the container is loaded and sealed, and it moves to the terminal for the nominated sailing. Documents are released in line with the agreed payment terms.

    Logistics partners

Import licensing, labeling, excise and alcohol regulations are destination-specific and must be confirmed before shipment.

Commercial structures

Four ways to buy

Different volumes need different structures. The right one depends on what your market can absorb, not on what looks impressive on an order.

1–5 pallets

Pallet Orders

The smallest sensible export unit. Enough to list a brand with one customer or trial a market before committing capital to a container.

Suits
Importers testing a brand or filling a gap in an existing range
Mixed brands
Yes — several brands can share a mixed pallet
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20' / 40' multi-brand

Mixed Container

Several brands from several source markets consolidated into one container, one invoice and one documentation set. The route most of our buyers use.

Suits
Distributors and retail groups building an assortment
Mixed brands
Yes — this is the core of it
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20' / 40' / 40' HC single brand

Full Container

The cheapest route per case where you have the demand to absorb it. Beer is dense cargo, so payload weight usually binds before the floor is full.

Suits
Established importers with proven volume
Mixed brands
No — single brand by definition
Request Quote

Recurring contract

Programme Supply

Agreed brands, agreed volumes, scheduled sailings. Stock is positioned ahead of your requirement rather than bought at the moment of order, which normally improves both price and lead time.

Suits
Buyers with predictable, repeating requirements
Mixed brands
Yes — the assortment is agreed up front
Request Quote

European consolidation

Why the Netherlands

Rotterdam is Europe's largest seaport and sits within a day's road freight of the Dutch, Belgian, German, French and Czech brewing industries. That geography is the whole reason multi-brand consolidation works from here: consignments from several source markets can be brought together, checked and built into one loading plan without adding transit weeks.

Consolidation covers inbound collection, receipt against the packing plan, pallet preparation, mixed-brand loading, customs and export clearance, and the documentation set that has to match the goods exactly.

What we operate and what we do not

Alpes ZH Groothandel is a trading and procurement company. Fulfilment and excise-controlled movements are handled through approved logistics and warehousing partners in the Netherlands. We do not claim to own warehouses, vehicles or vessels. What we own is commercial responsibility for the shipment.
Logistics detailIncoterms explained
Container terminal seen from above, with containers stacked in rows beside quayside cranes
Interior of a distribution warehouse with pallet racking and palletised cartons

Common buyer questions

What quantity do I need to order?
There is no published minimum. Volume is agreed per enquiry against the lines you want, the destination and how the shipment is loaded. A full pallet is the most efficient unit for a single line, and smaller case quantities are routinely supplied within a mixed pallet or mixed container alongside other brands.
Can different brands be mixed in one container?
Yes. Mixed-brand consolidation is the core service: eligible products from multiple brands are brought together at a partner facility in the Netherlands and loaded into a single container before dispatch.
How many pallets fit in a container?
A 20 ft container takes around 11 EUR pallets and a 40 ft around 25, but floor positions are rarely the binding constraint for beer. A container loaded with 355 ml glass reaches its payload weight limit while the floor still looks half empty. The container builder reports floor positions, payload weight and cubic volume together, and marks whichever one binds first.
Where is stock consolidated?
At approved partner facilities in the Netherlands, principally Rotterdam. We are a trading and procurement company and do not own warehousing; fulfilment and excise-controlled movements are handled through partners holding the relevant authorisations.
Why are prices not published?
A beer price is a function of quantity, SKU, destination, incoterm, stock position, excise status, freight and current procurement cost. A published figure would be wrong for almost every buyer who read it, so we quote against the actual requirement instead.
How long does a shipment take?
Sourcing and consolidation typically run in days rather than weeks for European stock, and longer where a line must come from origin. Ocean transit depends entirely on the lane and the sailing, and is confirmed by the appointed carrier at booking rather than estimated in advance.
Quotations and supply are subject to product availability, destination-country regulations, trademark rights, territorial sales restrictions, import eligibility, excise status and final commercial approval.

Still unsure which structure fits? Talk to the sales desk — we would rather tell you a route does not work than take you through a process that ends nowhere.