Planning of an airfreight shipment In our last blog we have discussed the elements of the freight quote. Today we will move forward. Assume the quote is accepted and load is tendered to the shipping agent. What happens next? I would split air shipping in three main stages: 1. Before arrival at origin airport2. Between origin and…
Hidden Dangerous Goods Nowadays goods become more and more complex many of them containing substances which can harm health and environment. These commodities often represent hidden dangerous goods. Examples vary from batteries contained in the equipment to goods containing magnetized material – like speakers. Transportation of such goods is a challenge for even the most prepared…
Freight quote – the elements Very often on the phone or via e-mail I receives requests like “How much it will cost me to move a load from USA or China to Bulgaria”. Literally ! Well, I would gladly quote them but I can’t. Neither is able any other forwarder. For the simple reason that…
Freight Forwarder is a Designer In nowadays international transportation of goods is a complex activity where many players participate in what the customer sees as one service. This is where the freight forwarder steps in in the role of an architect of the transportation chain by coordinating, monitoring and managing the set of activities, responsibilities…
Do forwarders understand their customers? Below is provided a table which represents the reason for discontinuing a contract between the customer and the freight forwarder. In the first row we see that for the shipper the main reason for discontinuing 3PL contract is the Cost creep, where for the forwarders this is of less importance…
Courier or freight forwarder? What is the difference between freight forwarder and a courier? I have been often asked that question. Well, from operational point of view the difference is tremendous but from customers point of view the difference is none. Why? The customer perception is that both couriers and forwarders offer the same service…