How does freight forwarding work?

Published: Wednesday, 2 August 2023

Freight forward explained

If your business imports and/or exports goods through the supply chain, you can employ a freight forwarding company to handle cargo on your behalf. While they don’t carry out the shipping themselves, international freight forwarders work with shipping companies to determine the fastest and most efficient route for goods, ensuring they reach their destination on time. But how exactly do freight forwarding services work?

The role of a freight forwarding company

Freight forwarding companies act as an intermediary between the supplier and the recipient, ensuring goods are transported rapidly through the supply chain. Their aim is to deliver either as quickly as possible or on a specified day and at a specified time.

International freight forwarders use their network of trusted contacts to find the fastest, most cost-effective and reliable method of transport for the consignment. This may be an established commercial route such as air freight or road haulage with regular departures, or air charter services. The best global freight solution depends on each individual case.

At all stages of the journey, from pick-up at a warehouse or factory to delivery to a production line, retailer or warehouse, the goods are closely tracked and monitored. Location tracking enables the freight forwarding company to react quickly if an issue arises en route.

Customs

Freight forwarding companies, transport consignments from one place to another is one thing, but delays can occur at customs without the right procedures in place. Using a professional service provider such as Priority freight, these can be mitigated due to having their own in-house customs department to ensure declarations and documentations are dealt with efficiently.  

Suppliers, such as Priority Freight, are Authorised Economic Operators (AEO). This means the customs clearance process is simplified. Priority freight are of the few that can clear customs at their premises. Most have to attend the inland border facility.

How much is freight forwarding?

The cost of using a freight forwarding company depends on the requirements for your shipment. Freight forwarding firms negotiate the cheapest possible prices with carriers and will quote one price for transporting the consignment to its destination. This is typically itemised, enabling you to compare quotes. Bear in mind that it’s a full and bespoke door-to-door service with monitoring, customs clearance, and more, covered.

Benefits of freight forwarding

With logistics services, such as those from Priority Freight, customers can rely on:

• Prompt response, typically within 15 minutes of an enquiry
• 24/7 operations
• Experienced in-house team
• Fully secure, door-to-door shipping
• On board courier services for deliveries that require constant supervision
• Access to specialist haulage vehicles
• Multimodal solutions
• Full transparency with track and trace technology
• Multilingual logistics specialists for international delivery

View our online case studies to see how we have helped businesses to meet their delivery deadlines, or find out more about how our freight forwarding services work by speaking to a member of our logistics team today.