As discussed in the previous posts, freight forwarding company works in the name of their clients, whether they are importers or exporters. Therefore, the company must have good skills in coordinating things, from shipment, insurance, documentation, to negotiation. Since every country may have different regulations on freight forwarding business, the freight forwarder needs to be aware of the regulations in effect in different countries. For instance, if the company handles good shipment from Indonesia to Korea, they must know the regulations on freight forwarding in both countries.

What Freight Forwarding Company Does

In addition, freight forwarders deal with different transport modes. Shipping by sea, air, land, and rail certainly has different requirements. The freight forwarding company also needs to master them, including the risks associated with every transportation mode. They must be fluent in calculating the risk and recommending the safest options to the clients. The following are details on what a freight forwarding company does:

• Choosing the shipment mode and route. They recommend the best route with minimum transits to make sure that the goods arrive at the destination on time. They also recommended shipment mode depending upon the volume of goods to deliver. The choice of transport mode may determine the transport costs;
• Receiving the goods. The freight forwarding company receives the goods and do sorting and packaging. After ensuring safe packaging, they weigh the goods, measure the dimension, and delivering the packaged goods to the warehouse;
• Documentation. The staffs of a freight forwarder need to master all the documentation related to shipment. It may include Letter of Credit, shipping insurance policy, insurance claim, and many more.

Besides those main tasks, a freight forwarding company still has many other things to do, including:

• Handling insurance claim in case of loss or damage of goods during the shipment process;
• Calculating air way bill, bill of loading, and bill of transporting the goods;
• Paying handing and freight costs;
• Delivering the goods to the final customer;
• Receiving imported goods from shipping company;
• Transporting the goods from the harbor, airport, or terminal to the warehouse for temporary storage.

How Freight Forwarding Company Handles Its Tasks

As mentioned above, a freight forwarding company has so many things to do. To be successful in navigating the industry, they need to meet a number of requirements, including:

• Having knowledge about the regulations related to freight forwarding business in both the source and the target countries. These are crucial in ensuring smooth and successful shipment and delivery of the goods;
• Having the right team. This is another crucial point in freight forwarding business. A freight forwarder needs fully committed team that prioritize excellence and customer satisfaction. The support of capable team is necessary to ensure that the goods arrive at the destination in a timely and efficient way;
• Relevant technology. In the digital era, making use of sophisticated technology is an important differentiating point. Use of appropriate technology allows the company to identify potential problems earlier and take the necessary steps to minimize the risks and potential damages.

More importantly, the freight forwarding company needs to have negotiating skills. They deal with complex tasks, which require them to be able to negotiate the costs, shipment route, transport mode, and documentation process. This way, they can recommend the most efficient options for the client.