Freight forwarders are crucial to the success of international businesses. The business industry is as competitive as it can be nowadays. Many businesses are now expanding their services to overseas customers and going global.
Providing services or products to customers in different countries or cities within your country requires a lot of planning. You have to ensure that the customers receive their products on time and without compromising quality. And this is something that you can only ensure by hiring a good freight forwarder.
Freight forwarding companies act like third parties to transfer your products to their final destination. Building a long-term and trustworthy relationship with your customers is essential to keep your business profitable, and freight forwarding companies ensure that.
Here are some reasons why the best freight forwarders are crucial for the success of your business.
1. Economical Rates
As a business owner, your goal is to carry out business operations in the most cost-efficient ways while also not compromising on product quality.
The same is the case with shipment and logistics. You want the customers to get their product on time, but you also want the whole procedure not to be expensive. Luckily, freight forwarders provide their services at economical costs.
They do not charge you heavily as they ship many things at a time, not just your products. Especially in the case of large international shipments, freight forwarders provide discounted rates to make businesses their regular customers.
Also, there are different types of freight forwarding, like air, land, and ocean forwarding, and all these will cost you extra. A good freight forwarder company offers all these options, so you can choose the least costly method for your shipment.
For example, ocean shipping costs are usually less than air forwarding costs. Ocean transportation is the cheapest international shipping method and the least carbon-emitting one.
2. Experts in Logistics
When you ship products internationally, the products have to go through customs, etc., to eventually reach the vendors or the buyers. And different complications can occur, forcing your products not to pass customs and delaying their delivery.
Moreover, several setbacks like fines and delays will hinder the shipment of your products. In such scenarios, you need some expert in these things who will guide you through. And this is where the freight forwarders come in.
Freight forwarders are experts in and have extensive knowledge of logistics. They will ensure your shipment passes through all the customs, and you do not bear any fine or loss.
Likewise, they will keep you aware of all the new and ever-changing international shipment laws to avoid any complications later. Their expertise allows you to avoid penalties and ensure timely product delivery that elevates customer satisfaction, making the business profitable.
They also ensure that all the paperwork and documentation are according to laws. In case of inaccurate documentation, the banks can put a hold on your transaction money, which expert freight forwarders won’t let happen.
3. Security
Even if your products reach the customers in time, it is useless if they reach them damaged. And this is rightfully one of business owners’ biggest concerns, that their products must reach the buyers in the perfect condition in which they were shipped. And by hiring a freight forwarder, you can say goodbye to this fear.
Freight forwarders have experience transporting everything from big to small and fragile to frozen etc. Freight forwarders have specific tools and equipment to load and unload all kinds of packages. They have a separate compartment for breakable and fragile things that must be transported.
So even if you are transporting something expensive or fragile, you can be at peace knowing the freight forwarder is shipping your items with utmost care. They provide foolproof packaging for delicate things so that they keep intact.
If your items get damaged or broken during shipping and reach the customers in bad condition, not only will you have to deal with enraged customers, but also you will have to replace the broken items with new ones or offer a refund, etc., all of which is bad for a business’s reputation and success.
4. Shipment Tracking
For any business to succeed, it must have positive customer reviews, which is why nowadays, every business’s main focus is on building customer loyalty. But this is a difficult goal to achieve.
Customers demand you to provide them with the best quality and experience from when they order things from you to when they receive and open their package. A good freight forwarding agency can help you greatly in this context. By leveraging modern tech and software, freight forwarders provide accurate shipment tracking.
That way, you and the customers know when they will receive their package, and the freight forwarders provide real-time live tracking of the package so that you know exactly where your product is right now and how long it will take to reach the final destination.
By relying on a trusty freight forwarder, you can focus on other essential business operations instead of worrying about the shipment.
5. Inventory Management and Warehousing Facilities
You may be shipping such products that can’t be wrapped and labelled before reaching their final destination. And in such a case, you will need services from someone for packaging, wrapping, labelling, etc. Not only is all this time-consuming and full of a hassle, but this is also much more expensive.
But if you hire a freight forwarder, all this will be taken care of. Freight forwarders provide you with agile inventory management, where they take care of the packaging, labelling, and delivery of the goods you ship. Thus, they have a team of trusted professionals to do the tasks in one go, for which you would have hired different people.
Moreover, there can be instances when due to some unforeseen factor, your goods cannot be delivered to the customer at that moment, even after the package has reached the final destination. In those times, a freight forwarder with warehousing services will save you from a lot of trouble.
Good freight forwarders have warehousing services so that your shipped items will be in a safe place before they get delivered. All this will save you from losses by keeping your stuff safe and building customers’ confidence.
Conclusion
As a business owner, you can ensure the quality of goods you produce, but you cannot deliver your goods yourself to every customer globally. That is why you must hire the best freight forwarder you can trust.
The best freight forwarders will prevent you from bearing losses by ensuring the law is on your side, your products are safe, and they reach the customer in perfect condition.
I am Adeyemi Adetilewa, a media consultant, entrepreneur, husband, and father. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Ideas Plus Business Magazine, online business resources for entrepreneurs. I help brands share unique and impactful stories through the use of public relations, advertising, and online marketing. My work has been featured on the Huffington Post, Thrive Global, Addicted2Success, Hackernoon, The Good Men Project, and other publications.
