Opportunities to Work with Freight Forwarders in USA

Becoming a drop shipper may initially seem like a pretty simple idea. You advertise products online, people buy them, and then you get your supplier to send them their orders. Usually, drop shippers never physically see the items they are selling. They are somewhat of a middle man in the world of online sales.

However, the situation can get a little more complicated depending on where your products are being shipped to. Paying taxes to other states, following regulations of other countries, and the costs of shipping items overseas. It may discourage sellers from wanting to reach past local sales.

Fortunately, drop shippers can rejoice because there are many freight forwarders in the USA to turn to to help with these issues. Freight forwarding is a fantastic way to dip your toes in the water of international sales and shipping without having to take care of the logistics yourself.

It sounds too good to be true, but these companies are the perfect resource to take advantage of. They have experience with all types of delivery from local to international.

You probably have some questions about how this works and how it can help you. Let’s begin with the basics about freight forwarders.

What is a Freight Forwarder?

A freight forwarder, which can also be called a non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC), is a company that can make shipping arrangements for an individual’s business or for large corporations.

They organize a product’s travels from the manufacturer to wherever it needs to go, either a store or directly to the customer. In the case of drop shippers, a freight forwarder will arrange for products to go from your supplier directly to the customer.

Freight forwarding companies can also serve as consultants. They know a lot about costs and regulations, so they can give you advice on your shipping practices. Their goal is to get you the best possible price. You definitely want to have someone like that on your side.

What They Don’t Do

It is worth noting that freight forwarders do not move the products themselves. They simply search for all the possible shipping methods available and then make the proper arrangements to make it happen at the most convenient cost.

Time is also an important factor for you, freight forwarders, and the customer. Long delivery times can be harmful to your reputation, so you need to make sure that you get the fastest modes of transportation. Luckily, with a freight forwarder, they will do all the work on that end. They will find what works for you and your business.

What they can Bring to the Table

The business of freight forwarders is communication. They know the ins and outs of their trade, but most importantly, they have connections with people.

A great freight forwarding company will have relationships with all different kinds of transportation services. They have connections to trucking companies and freighters by air, rail, and ocean. Depending on where a product is going, they will know which service is the most advantageous to use for the best price.

Because they have relations like this, they are personally connected to people. Customer service is a huge priority and they should work with you to get the job done.

Not only this, but they can handle a lot of the paperwork! It can be really stressful for a drop shipper to deal with everything involved with insurance, payments, and documentation. In this regard, freight forwarders can be your advisers and they will take care of every detail if you need them to.

Other Benefits

Many freight forwarding companies offer multiple services for you to utilize. These can remove a lot of headaches and really get your business off the ground when it comes to international shipping. Here are just a few other things they can help you with.

Packaging Services

Freight forwarders can also give you consultations on your packaging. You may only be familiar with local deliveries where products don’t need as much to keep them safe from harm. If a package is going overseas and making multiple stops and transfers, then there are extra precautions to take.

Freight forwarders will concern themselves with the condition of your products and how they are packaged so that the quality isn’t compromised. The process and materials used in keeping them undamaged is more intensive for overseas transport.

Weight is also something to consider for international travel. Especially for air travel, packages that are heavy can get pretty expensive to transport. Freight forwarders can advise you on what materials to use to ensure that the packages are safe yet light so both you and your customer can get the best deal.

Shipping Details

In the same token, freight forwarders will also make sure that labels on packages are as accurate as possible. You wouldn’t want anything to be sent back. It is important that labels include where it’s from, where it’s going, the weight, and whether it contains anything hazardous. If it is going to a non-English-speaking country, then it also needs that same information in the resident language of where it’s going.

Documents

No one really enjoys doing paperwork, so it’s great that you can have someone else do it! Freight forwarders are familiar with everything involved with shipping documentation.

There are many general documents that need attentions such as invoices, licenses, and certificates. There are also some that are specific to shipping. An example is the bill of lading (BOL), which is a contract between suppliers and carriers. It mostly serves as a receipt or invoice for the details of what is being shipped.

Some documents are specific to international export, and some are only for local transport. It’s a lot to keep track of, so if you want to take the easy route then you can have a freight forwarding company take care of it for you.

Do You Need a Freight Forwarder?

If you are unsure of shipping practices, especially when it comes to overseas transport, then you could do well to have a freight forwarder. You may be considering getting into international trade without knowing where to begin. Starting by asking a freight forwarder for advice can be really helpful to break into this new area of sales.

It can be very confusing to decide what is the best mode of transportation when there are so many to choose from. How can you know whether to use air, sea, railroad, or some combination? That’s why freight forwarders specialize in this field. They can get you the best prices without the pain of having to figure it all out yourself.

Freight forwarders will not only arrange shipments, but they can do every bit of paperwork involved, as well. It takes a lot of time and effort to have every document straightened out. Lifting that burden from yourself can be a relief.

Even if you don’t want help filling out the paperwork, freight forwarders can still be a great contact for general advise on shipping methods. They have connections that you may not know about that can help you get the best service.

If you don’t want to dive head first into international deliveries, you can still talk to freight forwarders to see if their services are the best for you.

Learn more about selling products online.