It’s no surprise if you’re in the market for a freight forwarding partner. There are a lot of complexities to the process, and most businesses don’t have the resources to do things themselves.
That’s why there are so many freight forwarding companies out there. Believe it or not, more than 101,000 companies in the United States offer the service.
That means that it will take some work on your part to find the top freight forwarders. Read the short guide below to find the best freight forwarder for your needs.
Consider Your Needs
There are many ways to forward freight these days, and not all of them will work for your needs. That makes figuring out all your requirements the first and most important step you should take before you start searching for freight forwarders.
Consider the products you’re shipping, where you’re shipping to, laws you need to comply with at shipping destinations, and anything else that will impact your freight forwarding partner. You can then filter your choices to the providers that can meet all your needs when you have this information.
Look for Additional Services
Sometimes a forwarding service can offer more than your current needs. Many freight forwarders offer add-ons to their services that provide even more value to customers.
Look through all the services a freight forwarder offers. Even if you may not be able to take advantage of something today, it may be helpful in the future. Compare the services of all the companies in your list to pick out which ones appeal the most to you.
Compare Pricing
Once you know what services you need today and might need in the future, it’s time to start looking at pricing. Don’t get mesmerized by one company’s offering and ignore all your other choices. You need quotes from as many freight forward companies as possible.
Ideally, that number should be at least three. Once you get an idea of what pricing you can expect, you can better compare costs and find the forwarder that offers the most value for the money.
Find a Scalable Solution
Finding a freight forwarder today that can meet your needs is all well and good. What happens if your company starts growing and you need more resources from your provider?
If your freight forwarder can’t grow with you, your business will get stuck at your current level. Check into the scalability of your freight forwarder to ensure it can meet your needs in the future.
Read Customer Experiences
One of the final steps of vetting a freight forwarder is to learn more about the experiences of past customers. Even if a company sounds good on paper, that doesn’t mean you’ll have success with a company when you give it your business.
You can learn more details of an operation by reading company reviews. A reputable company like Sobel Network Shipping will have many positive reviews to back up its service.
The Top Freight Forwarders Take Work to Find
There are a lot of freight forwarding companies in the world, and not all of them have the knowledge to handle your needs. You need to put in some work to find the top freight forwarders out there. When you do enough research, you’ll be able to narrow down your choices to find the right one.
Are you interested in learning more tips that will help you find more partners to help grow your company? Head back to the blog to check out the latest business articles to learn more.
