5 Steps to getting an Ideal Freight Forwarder for your Company
Sometimes you might have been caught in the dilemma of whom and how to choose a freight forwarder because it is something which is not very well known to everybody but is an essential part when it comes to importing and exporting on an international level and for that, you need an International freight forwarder.
So, here we are going to give you a fair idea about who a freight forwarder is, the Importance of a freight forwarder and tips to choose the best freight forwarder.
Table of Contents
Who is a Freight Forwarder?
In general, a freight forwarder does not seem to carry the goods but is capable of handling the goods and making it reach the customer or final destination. An ideal freight forwarder acts as a bridge between the exporter or importer and the final point of contact. When we talk about moving the goods, we give utmost importance to the way it is being delivered and the care with which our goods will be delivered.
SAR Transport is the best freight forwarder in the country and across the world. SAR Transport not only emphasizes on the care for your goods but also on building a lifetime relationship with its customers as it understands the feelings of the customers, attached with the cargo.
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Importance of Freight Forwarding?
For organizing the transportation of goods effortlessly companies hire freight forwarders or freight forwarding companies which assures them to manage and track shipments of goods. As they act as an intermediate between the two i.e exporter/importer and shipper which negotiates the best prices and the best possible route to send the cargo quickly to the destination.
The 5 Steps which are involved in getting an Ideal Freight Forwarder for your Company can be seen below:
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Experienced Freight Forwarder:
Experience is the primary thing that builds trust between the freight forwarder and the customer. At the initial, starting a freight forwarding company is quite easy but working in the shipping business and that too on an international level is not everyone’s cup of tea. For that a person must have an in-depth knowledge of everything involved in this field and the knowledge can be gained only by working in this industry for a long span of time.
Years of experience gets counted while choosing a freight forwarder because every customer wants a smooth process so that he/she won’t need to take any kind of stress once the cargo goes in the process of shipping. Experience also helps in cultivating good terms with the transporting companies which are a part of the shipping process.
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2. Strong Network of the Freight Forwarder:
The second important step in choosing the freight forwarder for your company is knowing whether they have good network channels all around the world or not. It is very important to understand the connections in the countries from where or to where the cargo will be delivered. The import and export becomes very easy if the freight forwarder has a huge network and can ship our cargo from every nook and corner of the world. Hence SAR Transport Systems is a key name which can ship your goods from almost anywhere in the world.
3. Services offered by Freight Forwarders:
The services which are offered from a freight forwarder play a vital role in choosing the best handler of our cargo. The freight forwarder should be able to ship the goods not only by air or ocean but also by rail and road. If we list down few services it will be – air freight services, sea freight services, trucking, customs broking, ISO Tank, 4PL logistics, Door to door service, Purchase order management, Cargo consolidation, Project consolidation, Breakbulk, container trading, consultancy and more. This simply comes to the conclusion that the freight forwarder should be able to offer a wide variety of services under one roof. It is only a part of the service. There are many services that are involved while choosing the correct and the best freight forwarder. The freight forwarder must have the whole knowledge of the rules of the excise duty and customs duty, the bodies which regulate these laws and the changes which are seen every year in these laws. Even you can ask for the accreditations before finalizing the freight forwarder.
Yes, accreditations confirm the seriousness and professionalism of a company. IATA and FIATA certificate, customs broking license, FMC, MTO license and more. These are some accreditations a professional and established company holds.
4. Refer to the References:
While going for the best freight forwarder, make sure that you consult with people in order to find the references get the green signal for that particular freight forwarder. You can find some of the references from the social media network and we hope that it will not disappoint you. Reference helps you to find the best freight forwarder easily and in less time.
Well, you can search on Google and check out some social networking sites to visit the freight forwarding companies profiles and thus you can connect with the few to get the details and freight quotes.
Recommended Read: 5 Traits of the Best Freight Forwarder
5. Customer Relationship Management (CRM):
A Freight forwarding company should good at maintaining relationships with the customers and transportation companies both. Customer relation is one part which gives a freight forwarder mouth publicity. The company should be able to take care of the personalized needs of the customers, thus more it will be able to attract potential customers.
Hence handling the customers professionally as well as maintaining a long term relationship with them is the need of the hour in which SAR Transport is doing a great job.
These are only the basic requirements that a customer looks for while choosing the best freight forwarder. For more information, you can click on the link.
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