Many managers favour an immediate cost benefit over building a lasting business relationship. This is short term thinking, constantly switching between low cost service providers is disruptive, and it will deprive your business of some essential long term benefits. When you build a strong relationship with your international freight forwarder, you can improve your entire supply chain. These business relationships can be included in your strategic planning; there are flow-on benefits because you can keep your customers happier in the long term. Let’s take a look at three benefits for your business if you build a lasting relationship with your freight forwarder.
1. A Deeper Understanding of Your Requirements
Every product sold has its unique attributes that may require a certain amount of care, handling, and special attention. If there is any ambiguity in how these products are handled, it can lead to an undesirable outcome and an associated delivery delay. When you use the same freight international services over an extended period of time, they will be able to understand your specific requirements. A lasting relationship will help the freight handler to align with your needs in relation to requirements, such as documentation, packaging, handling, scheduling, and delivery requirements. This will make the processes more efficient and help to keep your deliveries on track.
2. Better Support in a Critical Situation
Freight forwarding can be unpredictable at times, and any unexpected critical situation will require immediate attention to fix. Some of the possible complications could include a uniformed cargo inspection, a delay in customs clearance, port congestion and a sudden change in rules and regulations. Fixing these glitches in the supply chain could mean making an unexpected payment, completing additional documentation or even physically visiting the location to get the consignment cleared. Any delay in meeting these unexpected requirements will delay the shipment, and this will have an impact on your customers. When you have a great relationship with your freight forwarder, they can give you some much-needed support in these types of critical situations. They will work hard to find the best solution, they can help you to manage any penalty payments, and in some instances, they may even represent you to make sure the cargo is delivered quickly.
3. A Steadier Service Can Mitigate Price Swings
One of the foremost concerns for Australian freight forwarding is volatility in pricing. A freight forwarding service could include surface transport, sea freight, air freight, documentation fees, custom clearance services, and loading/unloading charges. All of these services can be affected by external factors, such as market demand, oil prices, changes in government policies and space availability issues. When you have a steady relationship with a prove freight forwarder they will help you to secure the best freight services at a minimal cost to your business. If you trust your freight company, they will have the confidence to apply an open book policy to work within negotiated margins.
If you need a professional international freight forwarder, contact AFI Logistics for expert help and advice.