Wednesday 20 July 2016

The Vital Tips On Freight Forwarder

By Donald Phillips


This forwarder is at times called forwarding agent or non vessel operating common carrier abbreviated as NVOCC. This is person or entity whose main role is to organize shipments for corporations or individuals to receive or get goods from manufacturers or some producers to a customer, market or even final point of distribution. Freight forwarder liaises with a carrier or several carriers to transport or move the goods.

As a forwarder, you are not responsible for movement of goods from one place to another but rather your work is on logistics network. They act as expert in logistics network. The carriers can use variety of shipping alternatives or modes such as ships, airplanes, railroads and trucks and sometimes multiple modes basically for single shipment.

Forwarders will arrange and monitor how your goods or your cargo is transported from producer by a truck to airport and track the cargo as it is flown to the client country and receives it once it reaches destination and later transports it to wherever the client premises is. There are domestic and international forwarders.

International agents will engage themselves with international shipments. International agents are equipped with a lot of expertise or knowledge on how to go about the customs logistics and also preparing all the relevant documents. Some of information that agents needs to work successfully are commercial invoices, export declaration bill, bill of lading among other documents.

Some forwarding agents will store and ship the cargo or good anywhere the customer may want within the country or abroad. The role of freight forwarding agents cannot be underestimated since its crucial for supply chain management. The forwarding company will guarantee a customer timely delivery of their cargo or shipment at very affordable cost.

Inquire on how fast they can get the cargo to your premises. Hire agents who promise speedy delivery. Cost is also of essence. Every business wants to cut down on their operating cost and it is for this reason that only agents with quality services which are affordable should be hired or contracted. Industry expertise is also very vital.

Do not make a decision by just looking at the cost but take your time and go through the entire document carefully. If there is any term or condition that you feel uncomfortable with then drop that freight company. Choosing an agent whose terms you are not comfortable with is like committing suicide and this should be avoided at all cost.

But on the other hand if the terms and conditions are all good with you then you can go ahead and sign the agreement or contract. The second factor to evaluate is the delivery time of the agent. A competent forwarding agent will always assure its customers about the appropriate pickup time and delivery of goods. It is good to ask the company or agent you are thinking of hiring to ensure your cargo is delivered on time to the correct destination. Another important factor is cost. Since there are many forwarding agents competing for the same customers, you are at a better place to get an agent with quality services at pocket friendly price.




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