Freight forwarding is a vital link in the global supply chain. Without freight forwarders, businesses would struggle to move their goods around the world. However, many people are still unaware of what freight forwarding is and how it works. This blog will explain everything you need to know about freight forwarding, from the basics of freight forwarding to the different services that freight forwarders offer.
Let’s dive in.
What Is Freight Forwarding?
A freight forwarder is a company that loads and verifies shipments for individuals or businesses to transport goods from the manufacturer or producer to a market, customer or final point of distribution. A freight forwarder does not move the goods but acts as an expert in the logistics of moving goods by land, sea or air.
Different Types of Freight Forwarding:
- Air Freight Forwarding: The process of shipping goods via aircraft.
- Ocean Freight Forwarding: The process of shipping cargo via ship.
- Ground Freight Forwarding: The process of shipping goods via truck or other ground transportation.
Some logistics companies also offer Packing and Moving services as well, where they will help you make your move from one place to another seamless.
What Are the Duties of a Freight Forwarder?
A freight forwarder is a company that organizes the shipment of goods on behalf of its clients. Freight forwarders typically offer a range of services such as:
- Arranging for the transport of goods by sea, air, rail, or road
- Negotiating with shipping companies and other service providers on behalf of their clients
- Handling customs clearance and other paperwork required for the shipment of goods
- Providing storage and warehousing services
- Tracking shipments and updating clients on their status
- Providing insurance for shipments
- Providing customer support
Key Advantages of Hiring a Freight Forwarding Company
Partnering with a top-notch freight forwarding company can offer a number of advantages including:
- Increased Efficiency
A freight forwarder will have established relationships with a number of different carriers, which they can leverage to find the most efficient shipping option for your goods. This can save you time and money.
- Lower Costs
A freight forwarder will often be able to negotiate lower shipping rates due to the volume of business they do with carriers. This savings can be passed on to you, the customer.
- Flexibility
A freight forwarder can often offer more flexible shipping options than you might be able to find on your own. This can be important if you need to ship goods on a tight timeline or to an unconventional destination.
- Peace of Mind
Shipping goods can be a complex and stressful process. Working with a freight forwarder can take some of the burdens off of your shoulders from documentation to shipping goods and give you peace of mind that your goods will arrive safely and on time. This also lets you focus on core business activities.
Six Stages of Freight Forwarding
The process of freight forwarding is comprised of 6 steps. They are:
- Export Haulage
The goods are transferred from their source to the warehouse of the freight forwarders.
The container gets filled at the shipper’s facility itself.
- Export Customs Clearance
The consignment receives the green signal to leave its source.
- Origin Handling
The goods get loaded onto a vessel or flight, and they’re inspected and validated by checking their documents. Then, the goods are transported to the destination port.
- Import Customs Clearance
Here, all the paperwork is verified by the concerned authorities.
- Destination Handling
Here, the cargo gets unloaded and cleared by the agents at the port. After that, they are transferred to the warehouse.
- Import Haulage
Finally, the goods are transported from the warehouse to the destination address.
Documents Processed By Freight Forwarding Companies
Freight forwarding is not easy as it sounds. It involves a lot of paperwork but fortunately, freight forwarding companies take care of it all. Typically, these are the documents involved in freight forwarding:
- Commercial Invoice
- Bill of Lading
- Certificate of Origin
- Inspection Certificate
- Export License
- Export Packing List
- Shippers Export Declaration Document
- Export Shipping Bill
- Insurance Certificate
- Letter of Credit – if applicable
- Declaration of Hazardous Goods – if applicable
In a Nutshell
We hope that now your horizon about freight forwarding has broadened. As said earlier, getting your goods to your destined place is the primary goal of freight forwarding companies. Furthermore, they can help in cutting down the cost and making cargo transportation much easier for you. Ultimately, they could make you less worried about forwarding your goods from one place to another.
However, the trick is to find a reputed company. Are you looking for a freight forwarding company in Dubai? You are looking for us! Freighbrid is a full-fledged customer-centric logistics company and one of the widely chosen freight forwarders in Dubai. Though we are well-versed in freight forwarding, we also provide complete logistics management for businesses like yours and give them peace of mind. So, you can count on us even if you want us to take care of your overall logistics. Feel free to give us a call to learn more about how we can help your business.