Each year, around 11.1 billion tons of goods are shipped internationally with dry cargo being the bulk of those orders. With all of these goods, there are bound to be mistakes in the shipping process.
However, a freight forwarder counteracts most of the mistakes and makes customers and businesses happy.
What do freight forwarding services do exactly? Can your business benefit from hiring them? Keep reading to find out.
Freight Forwarding Services
Freight forwarders are companies that serve as an intermediary between businesses and transportation companies. Transportation companies will import and export goods and the freight forwarders manage the process.
A freight forwarder doesn’t handle moving the goods themselves, but they create relationships with companies that do. They will then plan the steps of the shipment including storing goods and ensuring they make it through customs.
An international freight forwarder service will handle goods shipped by rail, air, water, and road.
What Does a Freight Forwarder Do?
So, what does a freight forwarder do exactly? Freight forwarding companies provide the following services to businesses:
- Prepare documents to import and export goods
- Select transportation providers to move goods
- Negotiate freight charged for their customers
- Consolidate freight for fewer shipments
- Manage inventory during the transportation and storage process
- File insurance claims if needed
For clients, hiring freight forwarding services is an affordable way to send and receive goods. Without the help of these services, you’ll be handling shipping logistics on your own.
Who Should Use Freight Forwarders?
The top freight forwarders are used by many industries. Any business involved in international shipping and distribution should use these services. These are the industries that might benefit most:
- Pharmaceuticals
- Manufacturing
- Construction
- Ecommerce
- Medical
The process of shipping bulk orders from the business to different destinations is not easy. However, one of the main benefits of using freight forwarding services is that they simplify this process so you don’t have to.
You can find a reputable freight forwarder at sobelnet.com.
When you hire a freight forwarder to work with your business, they will offer warehousing and storage solutions, communicate with clients, and obtain the correct documentation and insurance.
Key Stages of Freight Forwarding
If you are still on the fence about whether or not you should hire these services, consider the stages of freight forwarding. If these are tasks you don’t want to complete on your own, outsourcing them is best.
The five key stages are:
- Export haulage
- Export customs clearance
- Items checkpoint
- Import customs clearance
- Destination arrival and handling
Choosing a transportation company is essential to the process, but they don’t handle much of the logistics. They are concerned about getting the goods from one place to another, not having the clearances and documentation necessary.
Does Your Business Need a Freight Forwarder?
A business that ships goods internationally is going to benefit most from hiring freight forwarding services. If you can’t handle the steps of the process on your own, outsource these tasks to the pros.
Working with a freight forwarder is an affordable option for businesses of any size. You receive one bill to complete all the necessary roles and responsibilities.
Wondering what other services your business can benefit from? Check out our other posts for more tips.
