5 Ways Freight Forwarders Can Benefit Your Business

In any kind of commercial setting, logistics remain one of the most integral parts of business success. From raw materials acquisition to the distribution and retail of finished products, businesses are inevitably tied with goods transportation. 

A variety of shipping service providers can do such work, but freight forwarding companies would be the optimal choice in this regard. Learn about freight forwarders and why opting for them can benefit your business in the following sections.

What is a freight forwarder?

Freight forwarding firms, or simply freight forwarders, are categorized as shipping service providers. They specialize in coordinating your goods from one place to another. Note that the word coordinate is used—they are not responsible for physically bringing your products to their destination. 

But, what do they do? Freight forwarders, in the simplest sense, act as middlemen or intermediaries between you and the logistics companies and carriers that you need to work with for your cargo delivery. While you may think that hiring a middleman is unnecessary, you might be surprised at the various benefits that you can get by working with one. 

5 ways freight forwarders can benefit your business

The best assets of a freight forwarder include its network and experience in the shipping industry. For instance, reliable freight forwarders from China to the UK have extensive connections needed for faster shipping processes. With that established, the following advantages of partnering with a freight forwarding company also come about. 

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1. Hassle-free shipments

When having your products transported, many processes like documentation, booking, inland transportation, and others need to be completed. These parts are just prior to the main transit of your cargo. A whole load of tasks also needs to be accomplished after it arrives at its destination, including tax settlements and more. 

There’s no need to stress yourself with them by working with an experienced forwarder. They have the expertise to navigate all of these processes, aside from having various connections in the industry. 

2. Saving on shipping costs

As mentioned, freight forwarders are intermediaries—they can negotiate with the carriers on your behalf. As they deal with large shipment loads, they can help you get lower freight rates and secure valuable shipping deals. Based on their network alone, you can expect that their rates are lower than the offers of carriers. 

The services of a freight forwarder do not stop at just the transportation aspect of your shipment. Instead, they may also offer other services like warehousing, packaging services, and many others. While you may think that these would stack on your original shipping costs, you can also enjoy benefits like faster shipments and fulfillment, among many more. 

3. More secure deliveries

A lot of problems can actually happen when shipping your goods, particularly in the case of international freight. Some issues that may incur financial losses include improper handling of your cargo, theft, misrouting incidents, and other unwanted scenarios. Your products may not only be damaged but you may also lose customers on the spillover. 

On the other hand, freight forwarding firms have dedicated personnel responsible for monitoring the loading and unloading of your cargo. They also have superb connections to easily trace the root cause of such issues, as well as the power to resolve them quickly. Freight forwarders may also offer third-party freight insurance coverages.

4. Versatile services

Most forwarding companies adopt a client-centric approach in offering their services. While they may inform you of the general information concerning their solutions, every quote provided to you would be based on your needs in shipping. Literally, you can control your logistics options with them.

They’re also very versatile when it comes to responding to sudden shipping incidents, such as lost cargo and wrong shipping destinations. They are quick on their feet when it comes to providing timely resolutions to such problems.

5. Efficient inventory management

Numerous freight forwarding firms also provide inventory management, involving warehousing, packaging, delivery, and related processes. Not only can you access their storage warehouses but you also get to leverage their fast fulfillment chains. Some of them even employ automated tracking systems and similar technology to boost their inventory management services. 

Conclusion

Commerce and goods transportation are intricately linked, with businesses looking for excellent shipping services for their products. While various providers can offer shipping solutions, the best one to opt for is a freight forwarder. Regardless of cost savings, shipping security, and versatility, a seasoned freight forwarding company would be the optimal partner.