Before you start looking at forwarders, think about what you want in a partner. Find out what you want from the person who will be your forwarding partner. Think about your costs, how important it is for your shipping to be on time, how you want to communicate with your team, and what kind of resources your team might need. The ideal experience can help you find the right partner. If you know what that is, you can use that to find them.
A long-term relationship with your freight hauling and carrier service is what you want for yourself and your business. Before talking with freight carriers or the freight trucking companies in Dallas TX, you should know how they think about your shipment. It could take a lot of work up front to find the best partner. These five things should help you find a freight forwarder who can help you with your long-haul move.
It’s not easy to buy and ship goods from all over the world.
There are a lot of things that can go wrong when your freight moves through different countries, geographies, and government bodies.
People often make mistakes when they try to choose a freight hauling and carrier service because the industry is always changing. New technology and logistical issues come up all the time, so we often hear about them. We’ve even made some of these mistakes ourselves. To make sure you’re ready to start a partnership, you should do some research on your forwarder and do some self-reflection.
Cost vs. the value of your goods
Many people start a sales conversation with the price in mind. Choosing a freight forwarder based solely on price can be a big mistake. It’s important to know how much money you have and how much you can spend. “What aren’t we getting?”
Many freight forwarders add value to their clients by providing a wide range of services. This is because technology and the global economy have changed.
The freight headaches are over. To help you, we’ve put together a guide.
Reporting tools
People who work for freight forwarders who use transportation management software will be able to give you a simple way to keep track of your package.
Resources
Even if there are changes in industry regulations or questions about incoterms, you’ll want the company you choose to be a good source of information. Seeing what resources they have for their clients is part of this process. They should be able to show that they know what they’re talking about.
Way of contact
There’s nothing worse than being passed from person to person when you have a question or concern about your package.
Before agreeing to a partnership, take a look at what their team looks like when they ship things to each other. Who is to blame for what? Depending on the question, how long can you expect the answer to come back? It’s ideal if you choose a company that has a single person who can help you deal with any problems that come up.
Shipping and Freight Forwarding Skills
Often, service providers choose one of two ways to build an international business network.
To set up their own offices in another country, they might do that. When you work with a parent provider, you only deal with employees of the company. This could be good or bad. It is good if the service is good at every office. Many of those places have problems with service, so you can’t avoid them without firing your forwarder.
If, on the other hand, your provider works with third-party agencies in some places, these problems aren’t as big of a deal for you. If your freight forwarder is quick, they can make changes and improve the service that they offer. People who belong to international groups, like the Worldwide Independent Network, also go through a lot of checks before they join.
Another thing to think about is your partner’s employees. You’ll want to know how long your contacts at the company have worked for them. People who have been in this business for 20 or more years will be in charge of your shipments. People who work for a forwarding partner who are all new may face more problems than those who work for a company with a few veterans.
Set Clear Rules for Communication and Reporting
Communication is very important in freight forwarding relationships that work out well.
You should find out what kind of communication you can expect from a forwarder before you decide to work with them. To make sure the forwarder can meet your team’s needs, ask them what information they need from the forwarder to do their job.
Many companies will give you the minimum amount of information you need, like the day your goods shipped, when they’re due to arrive, and when they’ll arrive. As long as you don’t have to deal with complicated logistics and order fulfillment, that’s fine.
It’s important for your forwarding partner to give you a report on the status of your shipment, as well as what’s going on on the water and in the air. They’ll let you know what’s going to be shipped in the next month, what’s in the mail now, and what’s going to arrive in the next two weeks. They’ll also let you know if there are any strikes on your shipping route and other important industry news, like regulatory updates and policy changes that could have an impact on your import logistics.
Incoterms
People who do business across borders use rules called Incoterms to make sure things get done. It was in 1936 that they were made official. They have been the backbone of international exchange ever since. There are rules for how you can move goods by plane, train, ship or truck. Incoterms are the same, no matter how you move them. If they’re used in a contract, they say who pays for what while your package is in transit.
Before you get in touch with a freight forwarder, you should learn about your incoterms, or trade terms. For many businesses, this will be common knowledge. For businesses that sell goods that come from other countries, the incoterms might not be known. Knowing your incoterms will help you figure out what each party should do and who should do it.
KPIs
Ask about the freight trucking companies in Dallas TXwith key performance indicators (KPIs). When you work with a thorough forwarding partner, they will have up-to-date KPIs that will show you how well they have done in the past. If they keep track of KPIs, pay attention to the following:
- Documentation of the delivery time
- Accuracy
- Charges for Demurrage and Detainee Fees
