Freight Forwarding – How Your Business Can Benefit in 2024
As your business expands, you likely have grown your supply chain to ensure your shelves are stocked, and your inventory can meet demand. The question is how you can navigate the shipping and transportation of your goods throughout the supply chain so they end up at your location on time. With that in mind, let’s talk about freight forwarding and how it can benefit your business.
What is Freight Forwarding?
Freight forwarding is simply the use of a company that serves as an intermediary between transportation companies that import and export goods and your business. Freight forwarders manage every aspect of the transportation process, from storing goods before shipment to ensuring they make it through customs. Essentially, they are planning each step of every shipment on your behalf. A freight forwarding company works with transportation companies that ship products by road, rail, water, and air.
Here are just a few of the things that your freight forwarder can do for your business:
- Prepare shipment of your merchandise by making arrangements with storage, transportation, and other logistics companies.
- Provide an affordable and reliable way to send and receive goods domestically and internationally.
- Prepare all documents necessary for importing and exporting goods.
- Selecting transportation providers to move goods to their destination.
- Negotiating freight charges on your behalf.
- Consolidating freight for fewer shipments.
- Managing inventory during the storage and transportation processes.
- Filing insurance claims when necessary.
Working with a freight forwarding company can assist in getting your goods from the manufacturer to your business quickly and within budget. Additionally, if you work with a freight forwarding company, you can shift your focus from managing transportation and storage to growing your business.
Key Stages of Freight Forwarding
Freight forwarding involves six key steps. The first is export haulage, where your goods are transported from the manufacturer to the freight forwarding company’s warehouse for storage. Next, export customs clearance is required. Customs agents in the country of origin must approve the departure of the goods, checking paperwork to make sure it correlates with the goods. They also validate the safety and legality of the product before allowing it to leave the country. While some freight forwarding companies hire customs brokers, we can handle this in-house.
Once items are unloaded at the warehouse, the receiving team inspects the products to confirm they are not damaged and confirm they match the order. The freight forwarding team also ensures that the target location will accept the shipment when it arrives.
Import customs clearance is handled once the shipment reaches its destination. Authorities will check the paperwork, ensuring the product meets the legal requirements, and the paperwork matches the product. There may also be fees that must be paid to the country, and the freight forwarder handles that but bills your business later.
Destination arrival and handling involves preparing the shipment for transport to your business. The last step is when the product arrives at the final destination, meaning you receive your products a few hours after they leave the warehouse or a few days later.
Benefits of Freight Forwarding
Freight forwarding simplifies the process of receiving goods from manufacturers, mainly if your supply chain includes goods from overseas. It makes the process easier for companies to manage by providing a single invoice for all services combined. Today, many industries use freight forwarders, including manufacturers, medical, ecommerce, construction, and pharmaceuticals. Using a freight forwarder means you can focus on growing your business instead of navigating customs and transportation companies. Contact us today to learn more about how our team can assist your business.
Atlanta Customs Brokers is one of the oldest and most trusted customs brokerage and shipping firms in Atlanta. Established in 1985, our company has been a fixture in and around the Atlanta airport and Savannah port for more than 31 years. We enjoy working with our international partners and enjoy what we do. If you are a first-time importer or exporter, or a large corporation, we can handle your needs.