A Complete Guide to Choose an Amazon Freight Forwarder

As a seller, your reputation is everything, something to which your customers will testify. You have a great product, your customer service is impeccable – so don’t let your hard work be ruined by your chosen freight forwarder.

Your freight forwarding company should be able to take care of the entire logistical process of shipping for you, leaving you to concentrate on supplying your great product and service.

The internet is host to a baffling range of freight forwarders and courier companies and, here, we help you to sort through those which will help your business fly and those who will leave you up in the air.

Part One: The Benefits of a Good Freight Forwarder
Part Two: Things You Should Know Before Choosing a Freight Company
Part Three: How to Choose a Freight Forwarder?
Conclusion

The Benefits of a Good Freight Forwarder

Most complaints about goods bought online refer to goods arriving late or not at all and goods arriving damaged, complaints which will often result in goods being returned and refunds demanded.

Using a reliable and professional freight forwarding company will save you time, money, and stress.

A good freight forwarder will fulfill its contract with you and deliver the goods – a great freight forwarder will go the extra mile and become an extension of your business.

As your business grows, you will depend more and more on your Amazon freight forwarding company and, your contact there will probably be the person you speak to most during your working day.

The benefit of a great freight forwarder is, of course, reliability – when you hand over your package, you need to know that it will reach its destination on time and in one piece.

In addition, a freight forwarder will have experience in the many complex areas of international shipping including correct classification, filing of government and customs paperwork, and bonds – all of which can delay delivery for up to several weeks if implemented incorrectly.

Your freight forwarding company will also be able to advise you on the different regulations for different countries to make sure that your goods are not seized by customs.

Although your Amazon freight forwarding company can help you to navigate the complexities of export and shipping, ultimately it is the exporter or importer of the goods who is held responsible for any Licenses, Certificates or Authorizations required for the cargo so it’s a good idea to know your way around this complicated industry.

Depending on the country being shipped to / from, penalties can be tough so don’t fall victim to rookie errors which could spell disaster for you and your business.

Before contacting freight forwarding companies, put together a checklist of what you need – this should include time frames, speed of delivery, special packaging requirements, valuable goods insurance, terms of sale and volume of goods being shipped.

Freight forwarding is an increasingly competitive market and some unscrupulous companies will try to ‘blind you with science’ on the assumption that you are less than knowledgeable about the industry.

Stick to your checklist – if a company can’t or won’t answer a question to your satisfaction, it’s time to move on to the next.

Things You Should Know Before Choosing a Freight Forwarder

Before choosing a freight forwarder, here are a few things that worth your attention:

Air or sea

Most freight forwarding companies will offer the option of sending your goods by air or by sea.

Although usually more cost-effective, deliveries by sea can take much much longer so you would need to make customers aware of a longer wait for their goods.

Also, at present, the paperwork required for ocean freight is a lot more time consuming (and, at times, baffling) than that needed for air freight.

Cheap at the price

Many freight forwarders will try to reel in new customers with special offers, sign up gifts, and limited-time discounts.

Although this may sound great, it may be that these fabulous incentives are hiding inflated regular pricing structures that will come into play once your initial discount runs out, so make sure you know the real cost before signing up.

Added costs

Often, sellers will choose a forwarder based on a great price on their website’s homepage; only to discover that, once they begin a transaction, there are a number of extra costs to be factored in such as taxes, weight levies and customs charges.

These added costs can add considerably to the price – sometimes even doubling it – that the seller is expecting so always make sure that you read all the fine print before booking your delivery.

Company Verification Check

To work with a company, the first step is to verify if the company that you consider working with is a legally registered entity. It would be easy to Google any info online but you may not find all that you want.

By getting a completed verification report to cover all of the background info of a company, you can use a company checkup tool like Guru Eagle to ensure the company you are dealing with is legally registered.

How to Choose a Freight Forwarder?

Now that you know what to look for, you’re ready to choose your Amazon freight forwarding company and will, no doubt, have a shortlist of potential companies ready.

Take a look at each company’s website or give them a call to check for the following:

Do they deliver to all of the destinations I need?

Although the company may advertise itself as International this doesn’t necessarily mean that they cover every single country.

A good freight forwarder will include information on their website as to where they collect from and deliver to.

Also, find out if they run a full delivery service – i.e. door to door rather than just port to port; if it’s port to port only then you will incur extra costs when booking road transport to finalise the delivery.

What insurance options are available?

In many cases, a freight forwarding company will offer standard insurance to cover basic loss and damage costs.

Ask if there are other options available – particularly if your goods are valuable or the delivery time-sensitive.

Expensive machinery, solar panels, antiques, items containing glass, and other fragile items should be professionally packed for export.

Some items may be excluded from your freight forwarder’s general liability insurance, so best always to check.

Are they a member of any trade associations or freight forwarding networks?

Being a member of a network or a trade association is a kind of seal of approval for a freight forwarding company, indicating that they have passed a number of checks in order to be eligible as a member.

Reputable freight forwarding associations such as WCA require a company to demonstrate financial strength, operational efficiency, integrity, and many other requirements before allowing them to become a member.

It then follows that a freight forwarding company that is a member of a reputable association, is much more likely to handle your shipment with care, professionalism, and diligence.

It also shows they are financially stable, providing stability for you and your goods.

Ask if they have a network of agents in your destination country

This can be vital for any DDU, DAP, DDP shipments and also if your customer overseas has any unforeseen issues such as a port strike, customs issue or other delays.

Their destination agent can help smooth out many of these issues.

Ask about communication

In order to forge a successful partnership with your freight forwarding company, you need to know that you can get hold of somebody when you need to.

Look for a company whose telephone lines are directed to an actual person rather than an automated service and offer an actual, personalized email address rather than an online contact form which may or may not be regularly manned.

Tracking

Although you should be able to speak to somebody whenever you need to, it’s also convenient to be able to track your package yourself; especially out of office hours.

Ask what kind of tracking software is available and whether or not it’s updated in real-time.

A professional tracking system will provide purchase order (PO) management, exception notification, customized reports, and dashboards as well as digital copies of your paperwork and proof of delivery both online and as hard copy.

Transport

Find out if the company has its own fleet of transport. Whilst some providers have their own fleet of aircraft and road vehicles, others use established industrial and commercial lines – the latter meaning that your deliveries may be subject to third-party staff strikes, national issues, and bankruptcy.

Client base

Ask if the company already has customers with similar businesses to yours. Problems can arise if the company has never handled your particular genre of products before and, therefore, does not have experience with the particular issues and pitfalls related to the shipping of your goods.

Packaging

Ask if the company will provide you with branded packaging for your products and, if so, if there will be a charge for this packaging.

Most freight forwarding companies will supply plastic sealable bags for smaller products and labels for larger boxes.

Forewarned is Forearmed

Ask if the company is aware of any impending international issues such as strikes, extended holidays or trade issues.

Not only will this help you with planning your forthcoming deliveries but it will also give you an idea of how informed and knowledgeable the staff at the freight forwarding company are.

Speak the language

Like any business – including your own, freight forwarding comes with its own set of language and codes.

Here are a few of the most common abbreviations which you’ll need to know as you enter the world of international shipping.

FMC – Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is the governing body in charge for all vessel and non-vessel carriers, freight forwarders, and operators and, as such, are responsible for issuing and maintaining guidelines.

Freight Forwarder – A Freight forwarder, freight forwarding company or forwarding agent is an organization responsible for the shipment or carriage of goods to either a port or individual address.

OTI – Ocean Transportation Intermediary (OTI) is an FMC licensed company engaged to transport goods by sea.

NVOCC – This stands for Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC) and is basically a freight forwarding company which does not own its own fleet of vehicles or vessels and, instead, enlists the services of a commercial or industrial transport company. These are similar to freight forwarding companies but tend to have more competitive ocean freight rates and are authorized to issue bills of lading.

Note the main difference between a freight forwarder and NVOCC is that a freight forwarding company acts as a broker or agent whereas the NVOCC physically transports the goods.

IAC – Indirect Air Carrier (IAC). The services of an IAC are used by organizations within the USA that do not hold an FAA air carrier operating certificate. The IAC will use a commercial fleet and must meet the TSA security requirements for handling goods and cargo.

IATA / CNS – International Air Transport Association (IATA) / Cargo Network Services (CNS). This is the airline industry’s main trade association which is responsible for setting guidelines and monitoring laws for the secure transportation of air cargo.

Independent Freight Forwarder – As the name suggests, an IFF is an independent freight forwarding company which is not part of the Global 25 Freight Forwarders. Instead of keeping offices or headquarters in numerous locations, they use different agents in each country or location who are best placed to know the lay of the land and the different regulations involved.

Conclusion

You may find that you end up with a list of two or three providers who all offer the service and price that you’re looking for, in which case it’s worth joining an Amazon Seller Facebook group or forum where you can gain from other people’s experiences with different freight forwarders.

Join a few different groups to gain as wide a perspective as possible. A simple online search will generally highlight companies which offer a substandard service so that you can quickly cross these off your list.

FBA Forward is a full-service logistics company specializing in deliveries for Amazon sellers.

Operating in over 70 countries worldwide, FBA Forward is the expert when it comes to making sure that all deliveries are made within seven days of being collected, wherever in the world, they may be going.