Whatever you might be looking to ship, it’s important to go beyond simply searching ‘freight forwarders UK’ and actually thinking through what each company can offer you at what costs. Finding the best forwarder will ensure you the best fit for your requirements, but where do you start when it comes to searching?
Work out what you need.
Working out what you need from a company before you go searching will make your search a lot easier. Try and determine to the best of your ability what type of transport you will need, which service or delivery type you might need, and just how much you plan to ship. Working this all out, or forming the questions you need to ask before you contact a forwarder can save time and keep the whole process far more efficient – and often get you better deals!
What can they offer you?
Make sure to look at the services that a Freight Forwarder can offer. Some companies may only offer port to port shipping, where others will cover door-to-door. Most will offer a trucking option, but it’s important to make sure that this is the case, as opposed to simply assuming that they’ll cover the road freight too. It’s also worth checking to see if they have cargo insurance and shipment tracking available to purchase alongside their standard shipping. Some companies will also offer Next-day delivery, so it could be worth shopping around for the best services.
Experience
Make sure that your Freight Forwarder has experience. The shipping industry is not an easy sector to work in, and so choosing an experienced company will give you that extra peace of mind that the company is reliable, and that your shipments are in good hands. The more experience that a company has, the more likely it is that they have been through difficult situations from strikes to shutdowns and have learned how to deal with these effectively. Your forwarder’s experience could mean they can advise you on how to avoid customs, warehousing and other routing problems before they’ve even begun to ship out your cargo.
Customer Service
While customer service doesn’t necessarily mean that the drivers are necessarily bad, good customer service will make the entire experience far more pleasant and hopefully, run more smoothly. The sales person you speak with initially may not have all of the answers, but there is a difference between telling you they don’t know, and telling you that they will find out for you. If your Freight Forwarder is a good one, they will care about you and your shipments, from sales through to the drivers. Without that care, you can’t be sure that your cargo will arrive safely, on time, or in good condition.
Ask about their network of agents and partners
When it comes to shipping internationally, ensuring that you have a Freight Forwarder with good contacts in the country that you’re shipping to is vital to ensuring that your cargo arrives in good time and with minimal fuss. Having a company with good connections all over the world will give you a good impression as to how reliable and good of a company they are, but make sure to focus on the country that you find yourself in need of shipping to specifically. If they have experience shipping to Australia, this won’t help if your cargo needs to reach China.
