Freight Forwarding Services
List of contents
This article is about your shipment on how to handle it correctly and about available freight forwarding services for your specific cargo. We hope you will find it valuable and consider working with us as your freight forwarding Service provider.
Although it is not common to manage international shipping without professional guidance, you would probably like to be involved in the shipping of your goods process and to be able to ask your freight broker the right questions along the way.
This article is more about commercial B2B freight and not about AMAZON or any other online e-commerce parcels. E-commerce freight service is different in this aspect since usually parcels are small with low value, and their handling process been dealt with in big quantities and shipped together
Your commercial shipping method depends on how fast the shipment needs to arrive at its destination, your budget, nature of goods, and what are means of transport available and better to your needs.
Tips for freight forwarding - our shipment check List
- Provide your freight forwarder with many details and background about your shipments. Although it is” just a shipment “, it should be dealt with correctly.
Professional freight experts will appreciate this info and will know how to deal correctly with your shipment.
- Try to figure out if you wish for International Air, sea or land transport?
- Does your cargo is commercial or private?
- Are you looking for Express Door to door service or just to port?
- Air vs Sea, Import vs Export
- Come up with as many concrete dimensions and weight of the boxes/pallets/crates.
- Packaging and labeling – Very important to secure the shipment properly and to put the right marks and signs.
- Provide exact and full addresses including zip codes both at origin and at destination
- Set incoterms with your counter side, seller vs buyer, who is taking responsibility for the shipping and insurance throughout the journey of the shipment.
- For high-value content, important to have consignment to be insured during the shipping time.
- Know the value of the goods for Insurance purposes
- HS Code (Manufacturer should have this info)
- Will you need intermediate storage?
- Do you need some special lifting equipment or porters?
- Import restrictions on the product?
- What are the Customs taxes & vat
- time frames and deadlines.
- Origin declarations and certificates
- Export & Import licenses and certifications
- Port and terminal charges (Storage, scanning, physical exams)
- Dangerous goods, temperature control?
Packaging
Are there any specific packing requirements?
Does a wooden box is needed to protect your cargo during its international journey?
The package will ensure certain temperatures? Or maybe certified packaging for Dangerous goods?
Does shipment need to be shipped in certain fixed temperatures? Temperature control?
- Customs Regulations – HS Code
- Incoterms and Documentation
Freight forwarding - Intermediary Services:
Freight forwarding brokers act as an intermediary and coordinators between shipper to the sea, air & land carriers. Forwarding companies provide Coordination services for cargo transportation. They deal with Shipping Lines, Air Lines, truckers, and terminals, port authorities, customs authorities. To have the entire process work smoothly
Documentation:
- A freight forwarder’s wide knowledge of shipping documentation, transportation costs, and international trade regulations, will ease the exporting process.
- Your freight forwarder will handle all paperwork required for exporting and for customs clearance at the destination port.
- Customs documentation and clearance is not as easy as finding the quickest route for your cargo. It can be tricky and complicated.
- Bills of lading, insurance certificates, packing lists, certificates of origin, and commercial invoices are all necessary to clear customs.
- Any customs documentation errors result in charges related to the storage of the goods until the problem is resolved. This causes delays in delivering the products to the customers. Your freight forwarder can help you get through this process with zero troubles caused.
The overseas agents are also freight forwarding and custom brokerage companies and they handle the import customs clearance and delivery of goods in their country up to the final destination (Normally to consignee premises).
If you want to learn about different aspects of freight forwarding, bellow few tips you might want to remember.
services provided by Freight Forwarding Companies
Nowadays, Multinational freight forwarding conglomerates are aiming to provide, one-stop-shop, supply chain services. Other smaller to medium companies are focusing mainly on niche services within the freight and logistics Industry or on specific routes and destinations.
Bellow a list of common freight forwarding services and solutions in the logistics global industry. The division we made is between general, common freight forwarding services to tailored niche services and supply chain services.
General services for freight forwarding Import and Export
Ocean Freight – Full containers and LCL – Consolidations ( Groupage)
Air Freight
Customs clearance
Rail Freight service
International express and Time Critical services
Inland Haulage for FCL/LCL
Local Transport
Freight forwarding tailored services
Temporary shipments for exhibitions and Demonstrations
Fine ART
Time Critical
Temperature Control
Relocation
Definitive commercial general Cargo
Project cargo shipment
DG cargo
Break bulk. OOG, RORO
Supply Chain Solutions services (SCS)
Warehousing and storage
Packaging & Labeling
Pick and pack
Inventory management
Distribution
Production Lines
Returns and customer service
Marine Insurance.
