Arranging for international shipping is no
simple task. It involves a lot of crucial factors – from the different types of
transportation methods to the potential storage and delay caused by customs
processing and others – which all entail knowledge, expertise, and experience.
Although freight forwarders aren’t the
actual people who move the parcels from point A to point B, they play a vital
role in the success of the process. They
act as the intermediary between transportation service providers and shippers,
who are, in most cases, businesses selling goods overseas.
Moreover, since freight forwarding companies in the United Kingdom
take logistics tasks off of your hands, selecting the right partner is a vital
task for your company’s success. After all, customers expect the fast and
efficient delivery of goods if they are to consider it to be worth their time
and money.
To help you satisfy customer expectations,
below are six of the most crucial considerations you need to think about before
signing a contract with any freight forwarding company:
1.
Your Business Needs
Not all businesses have the same needs. Although
most companies sell goods for a living, the products they sell don’t always
have the same handling and shipping requirements.
For instance, businesses selling
makeup online need to have their products shipped with utmost care
to prevent damage to their goods, while e-commerce websites that sell
perishable food require speedy delivery.
Because of this, it is important that you
understand your shipment requirements for you to determine the ideal kind of
freight service for you. This will also help you tick off irrelevant forwarding
companies from the long list of prospects you need to consider.
Aside from the type of shipment, other things you must factor in during the
selection process are seasonal shipments
and the suitable mode of transport.
You must also think about the volume of
the cargo to be delivered and the mode
of payment to be used (e.g., cash on delivery).
2.
Logistics Experience
In almost any skilled trade, experience is
equivalent to reliability. Years of experience in performing the same task
repeatedly provides a freight forwarder with detailed knowledge and ample
understanding of the industry. This means that they would know where and when to ship a load to achieve the promised arrival
time without any hiccups along the way.
Logistics experience also means that they know the necessary paperwork and can follow the rules that apply to different
countries, both of which are crucial for successful shipping. They also
have enough experience to come up with countermeasures for potential problems
like the rerouting of cargo, hassles in customs processing, port shutdowns,
problems with warehousing, and labor strikes.
3.
Cost Efficiency
Because of neck-to-neck competition in the
industry, you should be able to find a freight forwarder that offers quality
service at an agreeable price.
Since cost is an important factor in
choosing any type of service-oriented vendor, you must always check whether the
forwarding company can accommodate your
shipping requirements while staying within the budget you have set.
4.
Customer Service and Support
Customer
service is a crucial factor that can affect your
success in client satisfaction. Since they handle the shipping of products to
your clientele, the freight forwarding service provider you hire must have
reliable customer support that not only offers to track parcels but also
assists customers until they get the shipment at the destination.
5.
Insurance
Insurance, in every sense of the word,
helps a business stay safe from any mishaps during shipping. This is why
choosing a freight forwarder which offers this extra service can ensure the
protection of your business and your customers in case any parcel gets lost, damaged, or stolen while in transit.
6.
Documentation
Because shipping work entails plenty of paperwork, you should also have
copies of your own to make sure that the freight forwarding company does
everything by the book.
Some of the documents you should have on
hand include the following:
- Commercial invoice
- Copy of the bill of lading contract
- Certificate of origin statement
- Inspection certificates
- Export license and packing list
- Shippers’ export declaration
Pick the Right Freight Forwarding Partner
Freight forwarding companies handle most of
the logistics work in the shipment of goods overseas. For this reason, the
services they offer are considered crucial to solidifying your company’s
reputation and customer relations.
Make sure you pick the right partner who
will do the job well and help drive your business to success by considering
these six important factors.
AUTHOR
BIO
Toby Edwards is the CEO of Shipa Freight
and is based in Dubai. Shipa Freight is a new online platform powered by
Agility that makes it easy to get air and ocean freight quotes, book, pay and
track shipments online. Shipa Freight empowers small and medium-size
businesses, taking the complexity out of International Freight Forwarding,
making it easy to manage legal, regulatory and compliance issues, and offering
convenient ways to pay to move their goods.
