Key Factors for Choosing a Freight Forwarder

If you are looking for a company to manage logistics for your business, there are important factors that have to be considered. Whether you are looking for freight services for deliveries to closer locations or international freight forwarding, there are some core values that are common to all reliable companies.

When you choose a freight agent, you are not just picking one service but a number of them. The forwarders will determine how your shipment will be taken to the port of origin, the carrier which will transport it via air, sea or land, and the service that will receive the goods and take it to your buyer. Hence, the decision as to which forwarding company must be chosen is an important one and must not be taken lightly. Hence, here are some important signs and factors that you must look for in an ideal freight forwarding service before making any hiring decisions:

• What are your requirements?
  Before even starting to look for an ideal freight forwarder, you need to make sure what your current requirements are. A deep understanding of the kind of services that you are going to need is crucial in finding the most reliable and efficient forwarding service. You must also think about the exact types of logistics services that you will require before hiring.
• Transparency about their network:
  Once you start looking at different forwarding companies, make sure that you inquire about a few important details. A crucial factor to be considered before hiring is whether the forwarder provides detailed information about their network nationally as well as in other countries. 20Cube is a 3PL provider with a vast network of warehouses, transportation and carrier survive globally.
• Customer service:
  This is a highly crucial factor that most businesses overlook when hiring 3PL in logistics. However, the time taken by the company to answer your queries or get back to you about estimate rate requests is an indication of how the service treats its customers. You must also pay attention to factors such as whether the service vague or rude answers to detailed queries if they give a satisfactory walkthrough of how the shipment will be transported and if they concentrate on your unique needs during discussions.
• Client references:
  If everything seems to be in order and you made your decision to hire a particular 3P logistics or freight forwarder, get a list of references. Good references are a clear indication of a trustworthy forwarding service. You can contact a few past clients and confirm how reliable the forwarding partner is.

Some Important Questions to Ask:

• What are the types of services you offer and which is the best one for my requirements?
• Do I need to hire separate packing and loading services or do you offer these as well?
• How will my cargo be shipped and do I need intermodal services?

20Cube Logistics is an end to end logistics service provider and provides superior services according to specific industry requirements.
Make sure that the low cost of logistics is not the major factor that attracts you towards any particular 3PL business. There are several companies that advertise low rates that are almost too good to be true. However, they are either lacking in experience and expertise or simply waiting until later to reveal hidden costs. Consider the factors mentioned above to make the right hiring decision and ensure the safe and timely delivery of a shipment.