With the growth of wholesale and manufacturing enterprises, the shipments demanded by domestic and foreign customers are increasing day by day. Some of the larger freight forwarders have opted to keep up by expanding their own in-house shipping capabilities, but often this requires significant logistical investments to bring in human and other resources.
For some companies, this type of investment is not possible or desirable. Smaller companies often cannot afford the resources to manage more international and other complex shipping requirements. Other companies may prefer to focus on what they do best, building and selling quality products, and moving those products to destination jobs for companies that focus on these important business functions.
What do small and medium manufacturers do when they need to move products to countries that lack the contacts and knowledge to manage logistical processes? Companies have several options for handling this situation: the most popular are freight forwarders.
What is export freight forwarding? A freight forwarder is a business arrangement in which a third-party company arranges the storage and transportation of goods on behalf of a customer. If you read our article on 3PLs, you might think about the difference between freight and 3PLs. If so, you’ll get the idea.
These types of companies offer very similar services, but the differences between the two often revolve around the breadth of services they offer and the costs involved. Freight forwarders specialize in reducing costs and facilitating transportation logistics. 3PLs offer a wider range of services and may provide these services at a higher cost than freight forwarders.
What services do freight companies provide? Some of these services include: Track inland shipments: Freight forwarders arrange and track shipments by truck or rail, and sometimes by air. Preparing shipping and export documents: This is the basic job of a freight forwarding company. Because they ship large quantities of goods internationally, they have expertise in the required documents. Warehousing: Freight forwarders can operate their own warehouses in multiple locations, or they can rent space where they cannot repair themselves.
The best time to use a forwarder is when you have a shipment that needs to go to a location where there are no resources to manage the process efficiently. However, if your shipment is going to a customer who has no idea of when and how the shipment will arrive, you may want to consider other options; either manage the entire process, or partner with another company that provides management, such as Basenton Freight Forward.