Freight Forwarding Services
Welcome to CTS Australia, the international freight forwarding experts. We know running a business can be hard work, especially if you’re trying to fulfill the delivery of goods on your own. International deliveries can be even more of a headache and an expense, what with ports, paperwork, and correspondence with customs officials to deal with. Trying to run your everyday money-making activities can become laborious; as well as a drain on your precious time and money. That’s why we’re here to help.
Shipping, especially in exports, can represent a daunting task. You need your products sent across the country and perhaps even around the world, but shipping abroad creates numerous headaches. National regulations and international agreements change all the time. Important trade partners hold goods and services hostage in disagreements.
Increasingly, you need specialists to make sure that your products get to their destination in a timely manner, which is why many now use freight forwarding services.
What is freight forwarding?
The term confuses many who may assume that a freight forwarder provides the same service as a traditional shipping company or package delivery service. Freight specialists provide a much more comprehensive set of services, including:
- Preparation of shipping and export documents
- Tracking inland transportation
- Warehousing
- Arranging space for cargo
- Insurance for cargo and filing of claims
- Many other services involved in exporting and shipping
How does freight forwarding work?
Freight companies in Australia or elsewhere that work in forwarding do almost everything involved in the transport of goods, except for moving the cargo itself. Freight transportation and forwarding companies instead make all of the arrangements with logistics companies, ensuring that goods make it to their destination safely.
Freight forwarding companies can work with large scale loads and smaller packages. Most companies involved in the business have strong relationships with both shipping and package delivery companies, helping you, their client, get the best possible deals and service.
Why use a freight company?
A freight company in Sydney or elsewhere that provides forwarding services takes care of your shipping concerns in a similar fashion to a travel agent arranging a vacation or business trip. Taking the time to work with an array of different companies, government agencies with their regulatory regimes, and other entities involved in shipping costs your company time and money.
Most of the time it makes financial sense to pay an established freight forwarder to handle the details of shipping. The deals they can sometimes negotiate will save money. Also, when your staff does not need to devote time to arranging shipping, they can focus more on what they do best, making your company productive and successful.
What is the process of freight forwarding?
First, the freight forwarding company arranges for haulage out of your facility. Depending on the load, it could involve tractor trailers, vans, or rail at first. Once the export haulage stage ends, freight forwarders will make sure that the cargo has travelled safely.
Before the freight can leave the country, the freight forwarding service works with customs brokers who can help get cargo efficiently and legally out of the country. They must also arrange for safe international transport using air or sea shipping services.
Even before the cargo arrives in the destination country, a good freight forwarding service has already contacted customs officials to commence the paperwork process. Knowing that this process can occur while the cargo is en route saves everyone time and money
Once the forwarding service arranges proper documentation and other legal requirements, they must arrange for the transfer of cargo into destination haulage. Destination haulage services include any logistics necessary for warehousing and transport to the delivery point.
What is the difference between freight forwarding and logistics?
Many package and freight delivery services offer some logistical support to their clients. This can include tracking services, distribution, finding transportation solutions, supply chain planning and design, and a range of other options.
Freight forwarding services can and do include use of shipping and package delivery companies that use full-scale logistics services, but offer so much more because they deal with all aspects of transport. Logistics companies do not take care of the full range of needed services, especially when it comes to dealing with different countries’ regulations. Freight forwarding companies can also customise your shipping plan in such a way as to take advantage of using the best transportation and logistics services at the best price.
Regardless of whether your company needs to ship thousands of tons of your products or a few hundred valuable pounds, trust an established and reliable freight forwarding service. Call us today to get freight quotes on forwarding services and discover the best possible service at a reasonable price.
