What is a freight forwarder?
A freight forwarder is a service that most importers and exporters use to arrange shipments. Freight forwarders are licensed experts who understand how the end-to-end shipping process works and can do it on your behalf. Think of them as travel agencies for freight - just like travel agencies, they come in many shapes and sizes.
Some are freight companies or freight brokers in nature and are not involved in international shipping. Some specialize as ocean or air freight forwarders. Smaller freight forwarders often limit their reach to a few popular countries where they have working relationships with local logistics providers. At the other end of the scale, the larger freight forwarders offer global shipping services.
Choose the right freight forwarder
Choosing the right international freight forwarder can be a make-or-break choice for importers as international business is unpredictable. Poorly selected freight forwarders can result in government penalties, lost or damaged shipments, incorrect invoices, and inconsistent pricing.
The Importance of Hiring an International Freight Forwarder
International freight forwarders are an important part of the world economy and play a key role in every country as they are the only suppliers of goods and services to end consumers. Here are the dimensions in which they play an important role:
The internet
Freight forwarders help build and maintain friendly relationships between shippers, officials, carriers, and other freight forwarders, while facilitating fast shipments. Additionally, they limit friction between supply chain stages and add bottom-line value to it.
Negotiation
Some effective freight forwarders can easily find the balance between appeasing all trusted relationships and practicing all savvy trade deals, even if it needs to keep the business open to receive bids from other carriers.
Inventory management
It includes the most important parts of the supply chain, including the arrangement, maintenance and storage of inventory. It also includes business support in other areas, including procurement and production.
Schedule
The task of all freight forwarders is to book cargo hold in more than one mode of transport, which requires the coordination of all entities within the supply chain, including suppliers, manufacturers, carriers, etc.
