A WRONG CHOICE OF FORWARDER CAN BE DANGEROUS FOR YOUR FREIGHT

A WRONG CHOICE OF FORWARDER CAN BE DANGEROUS FOR YOUR FREIGHT

With great responsibility there comes great risk. And managing risk is one of the most crucial parts of any business. The responsibility and risk are even bigger when it comes to an international business, where one needs to be very cautious from pin to plane especially when you are in the process of shipping your freight across the global boundaries. With increasing import-export and trading between the countries, spectacular growth can be seen where demand and supply have completely revolutionized the freight forwarding companies.

Meanwhile, logistics have become more of a complex part of trading, which involves various risks and challenges that you might face while handling your valuables to a freight forwarder. A freight forwarder acts as a linking vein, whose main agenda is to “forward your freight” to its final destination. When you hire a freight person, you not only handle your valuables but also your trust and faith, which holds them liable for his duty, and a good freight forwarder will understand his responsibility well in maintaining your trust and dignity.

A freight forwarder procure bundles of solutions to his client like 

Booking your Cargoes

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Negotiation of Charges Planning the most appropriate route Consolidation Cargo Insurance Warehousing Tracking Shipment Contacting Customs Apart from this, a freight forwarder also holds the responsibility of all kinds of paper works like

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Proforma Invoice Commercial Invoice Packing List Certificates of Origin Bills of Lading Inspection Certificate Export License Shippers Export Declaration Document, etc.

With the transport of freight from one location to another comes the risk of damage and loss, custom contravention, the threat associated with unanticipated events, delivery delays, etc. To avoid these risks you need to be very careful while appointing a freight forwarder.

Given below are some of the ways that can help you to manage your risk while hiring a freight forwarder:

1. Hiring an Experienced Freight Person It is often said that “Wisdom comes from experience”, if you are into a process of international shipping then you should be wise enough to appoint an experienced freight person. Most of the time, a business has to transport goods on an urgent basis within a short span of time, in this case, there is a great chance that the client may skip the need of examining a clear background and work experience of a freight forwarder. This minor mistake can lead to major losses. This is because when goods are shipped by ocean or air freight, they are loaded and unloaded multiple times which can possibly lead to loss, theft and even damage(in case of fragile goods). Hiring an experienced agent for your freight forwarding services can be wise in managing with these risks as they have good contact with sound transportation agencies around the world, and they hold the responsibility to transport the consignment to the final location in a safe and protected manner.

2. Custom Clearance In the world of logistics, every port around the world puts your shipment through a custom clearance procedure and dealing with these custom legislation might be a very confusing and hectic job for you. There are a lot of paper works and documentation required for various custom

processes like payment of duties, taxes and also refunds. It requires timely submission of documents related to the commercial invoice, Bill of lading, Import/Export license, Letter of credit, Bill of entry, Insurance certificate, Order of purchase, etc to facilitate import or export smoothly. It is of the uttermost importance that you hire an expert freight forwarder who is well equipped in custom laws and regulations.

Many of the time's freight shipping containers for sale when go through custom clearance are kept in a warehouse that adds up extra fees. Non-Compliance with custom regulations can even add more extra cost that you may have to end up paying if your paperwork is not well cleared. A freight forwarder holds all the expertise knowledge in custom field but to manage with this risk, you can also appoint a personal broker (if required) who can help you with a good customized solution.

3. Risk of Financial Loss Whenever there is an involvement of buying and selling of goods, there exists a risk known as “Risk of Finance�. Goods once when handed over to agent can go through any of the unforeseen activities like wars, accidents, terrorist attacks, natural calamities, etc that may lead to severe financial loss a business may have to incur. In such cases, an experienced freight forwarder can help you reduce and overcome this risk by claiming your insurance that you might have filed at the time of booking. Some of the freight forwarders also have their own personal risk management processes to execute at the time of contingency. To avoid this risk you should hire a freight forwarder who is well versed and know well to deal with these losses that can safeguard both, customer and himself.

4. Fraud Forwarders With increasing cut-throat competition in the market of the freight forwarder, it has also given a way to dishonest and fraudulent freight forwarding companies. You never know, that the freight forwarder you are contacting comes out to be a fraud person. In such cases, forwarders collect the advance payment, order goods from its client and make no account settlements to the counterparty for further processing and after some time they just close the operation. These types of scams are very common these nowadays. Thus, to deal with this risk it is very important to superficially verify the company you are contacting before you entrust them with your transport.

5. Managing Unanticipated Events Since freight forwarding is all about transporting your goods from one location to another.

During shipment, there are chances that your goods are at risk because it’s the transportation agency that holds the responsibility of your consignment to deliver it to the final destination. Any disruption in transportation can delay your shipment and slow down your business entirely.

These unforeseen cases are not predictable and can be caused due to any such activities like terrorist attacks, natural calamities, wars, bad climatic conditions or accidents that are not even in

the control of shippers. To protect yourself from this risk you should look for freight forwarder companies that have their own risk management process to alleviate such events, and who provide their customer with a better contingency plan.

Thus, it’s very important, that you make the right choice while hiring a freight forwarder. A good freight forwarding company can help your business run with ease confronting every difficulty but a wrong selection of forwarder can bring your business down and you might end up bearing losses.