A transportation expedition is an activity that implies services offered to the cargo sender and recipient. Such services are usually provided by special expediting organizations. Some people who send and accept cargo regularly deal with freight forwarders. But those who send goods from time to time don’t understand whether it is beneficial or not. Anyway, the use of expeditor services has advantages and disadvantages.
Let’s start with the disadvantages.
- A cargo owner may have no time to find a freight forwarder who will solve all problems and meet all requirements. We should add that clients also need to have time to find a cargo carrier, a warehouse and make other decisions. Maybe, it makes sense to look for a freight forwarder.
- The freight forwarder doesn’t know where the cargo is and what is happening with it now. Of course, it might be so. But specialists recommend the clients to inform the freight forwarders about their wishes. The client can say that he/she wants to get information about cargo at 5, 6, or 7 o’clock. Be sure your freight forwarder will inform you. Anyway, if you don’t communicate with a driver, and the driver can’t communicate with you during the run, you will get the information later.
- A freight forwarder is more expensive than a cargo carrier. Every job must be paid; in other ways, it doesn’t make sense. The freight forwarder is responsible for meeting all client’s requirements. Moreover, he/she becomes a focal point for both a client and the executives.
As we see there are not so many disadvantages. Moreover, they can be easily transformed into positive moments.
Advantages
- A large freight forwarder has a wide network of interactions with cargo carriers, agents, or smaller expeditors all over the world. It means that a freight forwarder can help with any task that concerns cargo transportation.
- As a freight forwarder is client-oriented and communicates with the clients he/she wants to know more about the client’s wishes. It is especially true about wishes about deadlines and the cost of door to door transportation services to satisfy all client’s needs.
- After a freight forwarder gets a task to transport cargo, he/she understands whether he/she can perform transportation on his/her own, or it is required to cooperate with some partners.
- Freight forwarders are responsible for the whole cycle of transportation, but not only for some stages of goods replacement.
- A client communicates and solves all the problems with one specialist during the whole chain of transportation.
- A client signs the contract with a freight forwarder, and the cost of service is formed only with a freight forwarder.