Freight forwarders are very good at moving shipments around the globe in the most compliant manner possible, but did you know that their capabilities and competencies actually stretch much further? Here are five things your freight forwarder can do to help you run your business more efficiently and profitably:
- Monitoring vendor performance: Using a dashboard application that tracks all imports and exports, orders, shipping times, and other critical metrics, cutting-edge logistics providers like Transmodal Corporation provide next-generation visibility that puts all your shipment data in one place in a user-friendly interface.
- Managing import and export compliance. Your freight forwarder works in the trenches day-in and day-out, and is well equipped to help you navigate the new laws, and ensure that your company and its shipments comply with all of the rules.
- Providing “Pay As You Go” insurance. Your freight forwarder can provide marine or air cargo insurance on a pay as you go basis. This can help fill the gaps left by another policy, or by your self-insurance strategy, and give you peace of mind with little extra effort.
- Assisting with duty refunds. When your shipment arrives in the U.S. soaking wet and damaged beyond repair, you not only lose the original product costs, sales value, export duties, and freight fees, but you also lose the import duties that you paid out to get it into the country. Your freight forwarder can help with the latter by filing for a duty refund and helping you recover your costs.
- Ensuring social responsibility among business partners. Issues like child labor, forced labor, health and safety, and discrimination aren’t easy to manage from across the miles. Your freight forwarder can help by validating transparency, consistency, and integrity across your operations and ensuring that none of your partners are violating your firm’s own commitment to social responsibility.