6 Mistakes To Avoid While Working With Freight Forwarders

You will work with a freight forwarder to make your business easy. Freight refers to goods or products. Freight forwarders are the ones who receive and ship items for someone else & transport it by various means, be it air, water, or land. Very few people think about how to get the maximum out of it without making any mistakes. 

As you are reading this, so you are one of them. Freight forwarders can help you grow tremendously by using various means, but at the same time, you must remember what mistakes to avoid committing while using any freight forwarding service. Below are the mistakes one should avoid while working with freight forwarders for the first time.

#1 Never let your freight forwarder know what your prime concerns are. 

Every business deal is based on trust and understanding, although these many businesses don't give importance to it or, in other words, need help understanding it. So one should give preference to one's needs and prioritize things without bothering about how the partnership will work. For example, you have done a deal with a freight forwarder to manage your business or shipping, and then you must make him understand exactly what you expect so that they can provide the best service and fulfill your needs.

First, you should be clear in your mind about what your priorities are. Is it the speed or the cost? Depending on your priority, you should select the mode of transport or shipping. If your priority is time, i.e., you want to ship items as early as possible, then an air medium would suit the best. If your priority is cost, i.e., if you want to save money and time is not much important, then a water medium would be the best choice. Road freight can also be a good choice when in the country for short distances. You may also have concerns related to the environment, which you can explain to your freight forwarder so he can work optimally.

One should make their freight forwarder understand the objectives and priorities, which can also include the scope of the new market you would be looking forward to moving into, which will help you to get maximum from their skills.

#2 Not checking what is there in the freight quote. 

One who is into business and looking forward to freight forwarders must know about freight quotation. It is just an official document containing details and information related to chargers or the money involved in shipping from one place to another. Understanding freight quotations are of prime importance as many individuals or companies have taken loss due to not checking the freight quotation, needing to understand it properly, or having the wrong data of freight quotation. 

As the shipping process is very complicated, so is the authority. The quotation you get from different freight forwarders would be different. So one must know what is included and what is not included in the quotation, and also one must have a thorough knowledge of it, making the other process very easy. Things like import and export documents, insurance, payment of taxes, chargers & customs duties, etc., should be very clear between customers and freight forwarders. It is better to have no reservations and clear all doubts about being silly with the freight forwarder to ensure a good return for whatever you will pay. 

#3 Not making full use of online ways of your freight forwarder. 

As this is the era of growing technology, online tools are also increasing. Nowadays, many freight forwarders give online tools to their customers to make tracking and managing shipping very easy. Still, at the same time, many customers do not choose them or need more knowledge about them. These online tools will save you a lot of time tracking shipments and communicating with the supply chain you would be having. 

Now here, the first and most important thing for you is to choose the online tool, be aware of the tool & use it. The second most important thing is to ensure that your freight forwarders properly train you and your team to use these online tools properly. Apart from tracking devices, some freight forwarders also provide online software that allows one to analyze and understand spending money and trends by visualizing the available data in chart formats like pie charts, bar graphs, etc. Analyzing charts is easy, so this is the best way to understand trends deeply. Such tools reduce administrative work.

Thus, it is very important to learn and use these online tools from the first day in the best manner for your advantage.

#4 Selecting a freight forwarder without suitable acknowledgment. 

As this industry is not regulated or, in other words, governed by anybody, anyone can become a freight forwarder. So, it is very necessary for you that you do your research before selecting a freight forwarder. You must ensure that your freight forwarder has the right knowledge and expertise in shipping. One of the best signals that your freight forwarder will give outstanding quality service is that they hold any industry accreditations. Some important aspects of the accreditation are proper service and quality standards, through which you can rest assured that you will get the service you are promised. Hence, it is of prime importance that your freight forwarder has accreditations.

#5 Ignoring extra services that may be useful to you. 

Sometimes we do not give importance to small & extra things and ignore them, which may add a lot of value to our work as small things bring a big difference. There are different types of freight forwarders. Some of them would offer you fundamental services, whereas others would provide you with a whole lot of additional services in addition to basic ones, which would be helpful to ensure a proper supply chain. On the other side, one must note that taking service from a single freight forwarder for multiple services would be better than taking multiple services from various freight forwarders as it will save money greatly and become easy to manage.

So, ask your service provider what additional services they provide, and then consider it. Also, check if it can add value or become useful to you in your shipping.

#6 Not having proper communication with your freight forwarder. 

Communication is very important in daily life and in whichever field we go to. Communication and trust are very important when it comes to the shipping business. It would be best if you remained open and could clearly communicate your ideas, plans, and expectation in front of your freight forwarder. Also, communicating your previous bad experience with your new freight forwarder can build a healthy relationship that will play a crucial role in the future. When communicating everything properly, working with your freight forwarder must not be difficult.

Conclusion

By avoiding these mistakes, you can have a healthy partnership between your company and the freight forward that you decide to go with. One of the USA's best freight forwarding service providers is Freight forwarders Miami. You can contact them for further details.