As your business grows and your supply chain becomes more complex, you will face an important decision: how do you deal with logistics?
You could try to handle complex shipping procedures yourself, bring on an in-house team of logistics professionals, or partner with a freight forwarder like LILLY. You can weigh the pros and cons of each option, including the impacts on your budget and customer satisfaction, but one thing remains clear: outsourcing your logistics needs to an expert freight forwarder will open the door to a sea of knowledge, training, and connections that will get people thinking your company is run by geniuses.
To back up that statement, here are 11 great benefits to using a freight forwarder:
1. Talk like an expert
With a freight forwarding advisor whispering in your ear, you’ll be able to speak eloquently with your customers about port charges, fees, documentation, and insurance – without having to go through any training yourself.
2. Develop a reputation as a document whiz kid
By partnering with a freight forwarder, all your documentation, including the bill of lading and bank payments, will be taken care of for you. While other shippers are shuffling through piles of paperwork, you’ll be ahead of the curve and have a leg up on the competition.
3. Stay cool, calm, and collected in the face of customs
Dealing with complex customs regulations in other countries can be overwhelming, especially when every nation has its own rules and demands about how goods can be shipped and what products are forbidden. Luckily, freight forwarders are expertly trained in the finer points of customs procedures and will gladly zip your products through different regions all over the world, while you take all the credit.
4. Look like the rain man (or woman) of market fluctuations
Unfortunately, people who are locked in to carrier contracts can’t usually take advantage of inevitable ebbs and flows in the marketplace. But by partnering with a freight forwarder, you’ll have an insider advantage as you reassess your business in light of daily rate changes.
5. Gain unprecedented control over your prices
Working with a freight forwarder offers you flexibility like you’ve never experienced before. You can change carrier preferences whenever the need arises and put together transportation packages based on customers who need goods right away or as cheaply as possible. They’ll wonder how you do it, but your secret is safe with us!
6. Break free of contracts
In the current business market, anyone who manages to work without a contract really does look like a genius. Freight forwarders allow you the creative control to offer better service, lower cargo rates, and increased company accountability.
7. Guarantee secure door-to-door service
Many shippers forget that it’s actually the last mile of the trip that is the most technical. Carriers will cover your products from port-to-port, but often leave you high and dry beyond that point. Freight forwarders like LILLY + Associates offer the door-to-door service you need to win over more customers and develop a reputation for safe, secure travel.
8. Tap into a wealth of extra credit
No, we’re not talking about getting bonus points on your math test. But while other logistics managers are struggling to pay the freight costs of dealing with international suppliers and international transportation carriers, you’ll be able to brag about your great credit. Why? Because freight forwarders offer you the credit terms to buy up extra inventory, free up cash flow, and ultimately grow your business.
9. Secure your business with the value-added services that will make others swoon
From purchase order tracking to on demand reporting, freight forwarders like LILLY + Associates can offer you an unbeatable selection of services. Impress your customers with the ability to know any time, day or night, exactly where your shipments are and where they’re headed.
10. Reduce overhead in a way that others didn’t even know was possible
You always have the option of hiring an in-staff logistics team, but let’s face it – they’re a hot commodity on the job market and can completely demolish your hiring budget. By outsourcing your logistics department to a freight forwarder, you’ll look like some sort of genius magician who suddenly made more money appear in the budget.
11. Finally, live your life headache free
You’ll look like some kind of savant when you explain to other shippers that you’re not worried, you’re not stressed, and you feel completely organized.
Freight forwarders take on all the hassle for you, letting you avoid dealing with the pain of vetting carriers, negotiating with brokers, or wading through lengthy insurance plans. Plus, you’ll have a single point of contact so that when issues do arise, you don’t have to spend all day on the phone tracking down the problem.
What’s the biggest benefit your business has seen from working with a freight forwarder? Let us know in the comments!
4 Comments on “11 Reasons Using a Freight Forwarder Makes you Look Like a Logistics Mastermind”
It’s really neat that when you hire a freight forwarder, you won’t need an in-house logistics specialist, which will make it so you have more in your budget for other things! I have been thinking about starting up a small at-home business to sell my artwork, and I think that I would need a freight forwarder so that I could get everything shipped on time and in the best ways possible. I wouldn’t have enough of a budget to get a logistics specialist, so this would be a much better option.
Hello Malia – Thank you for reading us!
Great post highlighting the importance of a freight forwarder. Its great to know that a freight forwarder can take of so many things and make things much easier. Thanks for sharing this!
Hello Oran – We are glad you enjoyed our article. Thank you for reading us!