Freight forwarders in the UK are intermediating between customers and numerous logistics and courier services. Your shipment will reach its destination as per the agreed date with them. This is their guarantee to you a.k.a. the customer.
Freight forwarding companies usually work with all type of carriers; from air cargo carriers to heavy haulage companies. They will negotiate the best prices on your behalf and advice the most cost-effective route to you. Stephen Wright from ZambeziFreight.com will highlight a few important points to take into consideration before you obtain freight rates from freight forwarding companies.
Consolidate Your Cargo –
If you are planning to export the same load every week, you can save money by increasing the load and decreasing the frequency of delivery. Consolidating your cargo this way would help to handover more cargo to the carrier. Shipping one big load would help to save money than shipping two small loads. You can definitely negotiate a good price for your goods from the carrier, this way.
Even though this operation may seem difficult at first with all the paper-work and logistics involved, it can help to save money and time in the long run.
Negotiate Discounts –
You must negotiate with the freight forwarding company for discounts. It doesn’t matter even if you are shipping only once, you should ask for a discount from the freight forwarder. Many shipping lines and airlines give attractive discounts to freight forwarders. They can definitely pass a little bit of it on to you; especially for LCL and LTL.
Even if you handover less than a full container load, the freight forwarder will consolidate it with loads from other customers to handover a full container load to the carrier. This will enable them to get attractive discounts from the carriers. Discounts can be further negotiated for frequent clients.
Pay for What You Need –
Pick the most suitable delivery option for your shipment from the various delivery methods and options that freight forwarders offer. This may depend on the type of goods you are sending and the timescale in which they are needed at the final destination. If your goods are not required urgently at the destination, then sea freight is the cheapest option for you than airfreight or road haulage.
Bulky items and car shipping should do best under sea freight terms. Of course, sea freight is slower than the other two modes, but your cargo is not that urgent and consider the saving in costs.
Use Less Space –
Freight forwarding companies usually charge their clients for the space they use. Hence you must pack your goods so that it doesn’t leave empty space in-between. Make the packages compact and utilize every inch of space. A tightly packed carton is more economical than several individual packages. Any bulky items that could be dismantled should be taken apart and packed in pieces.
Most of the freight forwarders have special packaging for any type of shipment. You can consult them for the supply of boxes or cartons for your cargo. Some of them will have even wooden pallets. Individual packages can be bonded together in order to prepare a single pallet, which will help to save more space for you. This will make things easier for the freight forwarder and the airline or shipping line to measure the volume of the pallet.
It would help to save money and space for you, too. If you are planning to ship the same goods on a regular basis, you can inquire from the freight forwarder how your shipment is stacked inside the container. This way, you can pack your goods to suit the container shape or contour, thereby being eligible to request for a discount from the carrier concerned.
Overnight delivery, in most places cost a lot. The premiums are much higher for overnight delivery than delivery at the other times of the day. Plan ahead so that you will not need to rush in order to deliver your cargo to the port or airport. You will have to pay more if you miss the cut-off time of delivery too. Plan ahead and stick to the schedule in order to avoid these extra charges.
If you are aware of all the details about your delivery, you must work closely with your freight forwarder, in order to avail yourself to a range of money saving options.
Citations:
- Have you considered a career in freight forwarding?
Amy Rice writes about sea freight, when not writing she enjoys going for bike rides and walks in the countryside.