Tips on Freight Forwarding Company and Third Party Logistics Vendor Selection

Moving freight around the world can be a costly andBesides selecting a competent and competitively
labor-intensive process. Selecting a Freight Forwardingpriced firm, handling the shipment will rely on your
or Third Party Logistics company can be a challenge.making providing timely responses to the Freight
The company must have enough experience toForwarding company. For international shipments, the
handle payment between buyer and seller andFreight Forwarding company will require you to
understand the proper incoterms of trade so thatprovide several documents that are essential to
responsibility can be provider assigned to each party.clearing customs and to avoid any delays en route.
The most important issue when making yourYou should have prepared the Commercial Invoice,
selection is ensuring that the Freight Forwardingwhich shows the items and selling prices of the
company spends enough time check prices on thegoods in the shipment. A packing list which details the
various transportation providers (airlines, railways,weights and quantities of each carton and pallet
ocean liners, and ground haulers) in order to beshould also be included.
confident that the price they quote you will beFinally, the Shipper's Letter of Instruction or the
competitive. You can accomplish this yourself byShipper's Export Declaration is necessary to keep on
contacting 5 to 10 brokers and choosing the lowestfile for Customs and to specify the Incoterms of
price with the firm that you think has the capabilitiestrade. Be advised that these documents will be
to move your freight. Or, you can select a brokerrequired as soon as the shipment is booked, so it's
which handles this task for you by doing enoughbest to have these documents ready as to not
research in the marketplace.cause any delays in the shipment.