What Is Freight Forwarder? | How to Get a Reliable One?

What Is Freight Forwarder? | How to Get a Reliable One?

In international trade, freight forwarders are essential. When you want to ship your goods to your country, finding a reliable freight forwarder to help you arrange shipment is a must. This is because international shipping is a complex process. The following article will help you understand forwarders better.

• Freight forwarder meaning and types
• What does a freight forwarder do?
• Differences between forwarders and brokers, NVOCC, carrier and 3PL
• How to Find a Freight Forwarder?
• What Makes a Reliable Freight Forwarder?
• Conclusion

Freight forwarder meaning and types

Freight forwarder description

Freight forwarders are also known as forwarding agents. They are the middlemen of buyers and sellers, responsible for delivering your goods from the seller to you.

In fact, freight forwarders work with shipping companies, airlines, and other transportation companies to become their agents. Then, they book space from these companies, collect your goods and provide you with a series of transportation services, such as customs clearance and arranging shipment. This can greatly improve the overall efficiency of cargo transportation.

You may have such doubts. Since freight forwarders are middlemen, can I bypass them and book directly with shipping companies and airlines?

It is impractical. Take sea freight as an example, if you want to book directly with shipping companies, firstly, your cargo volume should be especially huge, such as dozens or even hundreds of containers of cargo per month. If your cargo volume is small, the shipping company will not accept your order at all. Secondly, the shipping company only provides vessels. You still need a forwarder to help you deal with other complicated things.

Therefore, no matter whether your cargo is large or small, you can save time and effort by entrusting a freight forwarder. Moreover, there is a partnership between freight forwarders and shipping companies, so they can get discounts from these companies. And the price will be lower than if you contact them yourself.

Freight forwarders types

Based on the type of services they provide, this article has divided forwarders into two types: all-inclusive forwarders and dedicated forwarders. An all-inclusive forwarder can deal with all procedures for you from the seller to your destination. These forwarders can provide a variety of transportation methods by land, sea, and air. Also, they can provide you with the best transportation plan according to the quantity and properties of your goods. It can help you save a lot of trouble.

Compared with all-inclusive forwarders, dedicated forwarders have their advantages when shipping to certain countries. They work with forwarders or brokers who have strong customs clearance capabilities in the destination country. This makes the whole shipping process smoother and shortens the shipping time.

What does a freight forwarder do?

Stage 1 Make the booking and pick up cargo from your supplier

Your forwarder knows in advance the weight, volume, and shipping plan, and then books the space with a shipping company. If you need your forwarder to pick up cargo from the factory, they will negotiate with the supplier about the pick-up time, and then arrange trucks to the appointed place to load the cargo into the container. Before loading, the forwarder will check the quantity and packaging to make sure that the goods are in good condition before shipping. Then, the containers will be sent to the dock and wait for loading on the ship.

Stage 2 Go through export customs declaration and load on the vessel

At this stage, your forwarder should prepare detailed information and all supporting documents about the cargo, then fill in the declaration form and go through the export customs declaration. For ISF filing, which is a must for all ocean cargo entering the USA, your import freight forwarder can do it in a correct and timely way, if you need help.

After having done these, they will receive a release pass. Once the cargo is approved by customs, containers will be loaded onto the ship and placed in the designated space, waiting for the vessel to set sail. After the ship sails, your forwarder should help you track the cargo transportation and inform you of the logistics information in time.

Within a few days of the ship’s departure, your forwarder will issue the bill of lading to your supplier. The supplier will give you it after receiving your order payment for subsequent pickup. In addition, they can also help you deal with cargo insurance if you need it.

Stage 3 Deal with import customs clearance

When the ship arrives at the designated port in the USA, your forwarder may not directly finish the cargo import procedures for you. They will find their cooperative U.S. customs companies or local U.S. forwarders to help you. Because the locals will be more familiar with customs procedures and requirements. This approach can greatly improve efficiency.

Stage 4 Deliver to your destination

The forwarder can also help you send goods to your place after clearance. For example, if you are a US Amazon FBA seller, your forwarder can help you contact truck companies, express companies, or their local cooperative forwarder companies to transport your goods from the US port to the Amazon FBA warehouse.

Differences between forwarders and brokers, NVOCC, carrier and 3PL

When searching for the term “freight forwarder” on Google, you may find that “broker”, “NVOCC”, “carrier”, “3PL” and other terms appear in the related search pages. The following will briefly explain the differences between these terms.

Freight forwarder vs customs broker

Both freight forwarders and customs brokers play an important role in international trade. The difference is that the freight forwarder is responsible for shipping goods to their destination within a specified period of time. The international transportation of goods involves several links, such as booking, cargo handling, import and export customs clearance, cargo transportation, etc. These works can be done by forwarders.

While the customs broker is only responsible for customs clearance when the goods arrive in the country of import.

Freight forwarder vs NVOCC

NVOCCs (Non-Vessel Operating Common Carriers) are agents of shipping companies. They provide only ocean freight services. You can consider them as ocean forwarders.

Freight forwarder vs carrier

A carrier is a shipping company, airline, railway company, etc. They actually help you ship cargo by their ship, airplane, and vehicle. Freight forwarders are agents of carriers. They provide shipping services for buyers or sellers. In real business, you deal more with a forwarder, rather than a carrier.

Freight forwarder vs 3PL

3PLs, also known as third-party logistics, can provide more services than forwarders. They have warehouses to help you store, package, and deliver to your end consumers. Not all forwarders can do these for you. Some large freight forwarders rent warehouses in destination countries and can provide these services.

How to Find a Freight Forwarder?

How to Find a Freight Forwarder?

Your suppliers will often have their own long-term forwarders. You can ask your suppliers if they can recommend one to you. This is much easier than sifting through millions of forwarders on your own. Don’t worry too much about the supplier making money from it. After all, they also want to do business with you in the long run, so they won’t want to lose your order.

From Google or Social Media

You can also find forwarders through common search engines and social media platforms like Linkedin and Facebook. Many forwarders now market themselves on these platforms. However, be careful about the way you search. For example, if you want to find a dedicated freight forwarder to Brazil, you can enter the text “shipping from China to Brazil” or “freight forwarder Brazil” in the search bar.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that the higher the ranking, the more reliable the forwarder, because some professional forwarders may not be good at marketing.

From the Online Freight Marketplace

Platforms such as Alibaba and Freightos can provide you with many freight forwarder options. By filling in information about your cargo such as origin, destination, weight, dimensions, and value, these platforms can help you calculate the shipping costs of many forwarder companies. You can easily compare prices and choose the best forwarder. Also, you can place orders on these platforms, which greatly improves the experience and efficiency.

Tips from your Acquaintances

It’s great when your acquaintances are willing to introduce you to reliable freight forwarders. You can take advantage of their experience to find the best one for your business. However, it’s important to note that you need to make sure that these freight forwarders meet your requirements if you need to transport sensitive cargo. Don’t hesitate to ask if they can handle it.

What Makes a Reliable Freight Forwarder?

The above tips can help you find freight forwarders, but it’s important to communicate with them and exercise good judgment to determine their reliability. Below are four common features of good forwarders to keep in mind:

Transparent Pricing

When you find out that the price you need to pay is higher than the negotiated price, you will definitely feel cheated. Price transparency can avoid all hidden costs and give you more peace of mind when doing business with your trading partners.

Expertise

A professional freight forwarder should be very familiar with international freight knowledge and processes, skilled in import clearance policies of the routes taken, and able to provide professional advice on your questions.

Communication

Qualified forwarders can reply to all your questions quickly and accurately. They can provide you with real-time logistics information to make you more comfortable. When a problem arises, they can actively think and offer solutions.

Licenses and Certifications

Forwarders can prove their professionalism through certificates such as WCA and IATA. Checking these certificates can help you choose a suitable freight forwarder.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you should have a clear understanding of the term “freight forwarder”. If you have any questions, please let us know in the comments below.

We are Onestopimport, a leading sourcing company in China. We are committed to sourcing and customizing a wide range of products from China and arranging the best transportation options. We have reliable supplier resources and long-term cooperation with freight forwarders. We can provide the best solution for any problem sourcing from China. Just CONTACT US.