Freight Forwarding

An Introduction to Freight Forwarding

Freight forwarding entails the logistical arrangement of intermodal transport of commodities across international borders, on behalf of shippers. Duties include freight rate negotiating, container tracking, strategizing, and much more.

What is Freight Forwarding?

In a globalized market, freight forwarding entails the logistical arrangement, organization and monitoring of transported goods from a supplier and/or manufacturer to intended recipients, internationally. This includes:

Tracking Shipments
Filing Documents for Customs Clearance
Warehousing
Negotiating Freight Rates
Scheduling Cargo Space
Consolidating Freight
Supplying Cargo Insurance

What Do Freight Forwarders Do?

Forwarders perform all duties necessary for the intermodal transport of commodities across international borders, on behalf of shippers.
Shippers often outsource supply chain coordination to freight forwarders.

In short, freight forwarders arrange the importing and exporting of goods, but do not actually move the goods themselves.

Freight Forwarders are…

Architects of transport

The freight forwarding industry is represented by the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA), a non-governmental organization serving approximately 40,000 freight forwarding and logistics firms that collectively employ 8 to 10 million people within 150 countries. FIATA endearingly (and accurately) refers to its member forwarding and logistics firms as “architects of transport.”

Customs brokerage experts

Seamless importing and exporting of goods across international borders requires refined industry know-how. International forwarders possess the necessary expertise to prepare and process customs documents. Forwarders typically are tasked with reviewing the following:

Commercial Invoices
Shipper’s Export Declarations
Bills of Lading
All Other Documents Required by the Carrier or Exporting/Importing Countries.

Agile planners

International trade almost always mandates more than one mode of transportation to move a given parcel from its originating country to its final destination. This may comprise a combination of road, rail, sea, and/or air, all within a single supply chain. Forwarders book cargo space for shipments through each stretch of the journey, and coordinate all intermodal requirements on behalf of the shipper.

Tactful negotiators

Forwarders know the value of a good carrier, and work hard to nurture mutually beneficial relationships with preferred steamship lines. With or without healthy working carrier relationships, savvy forwarders will still open their business to bids from various carriers, to ensure competitive freight rates for their shipments.

Freight Forwarder

Roles & Responsibilities

Require
notification of any production or travel delays
Research
any labor issues at ports involved with transportation
Plan
for extreme weather that could result in delays
Prepare
insurance coverage
Provide
warehousing, at home and abroad
Consolidate
shipments from multiple suppliers
Communicate
any changes in delivery requirements
Ensure
damaged equipment is inspected at the point of loading
Calculate
estimated delivery times at each stage of intermodal transport
Monitor
steamship line notices for disruptions
Track
holidays and government actions in origin country
Share
pertinent information regarding hazardous materials