Logistics and trust should always walk side by side. There is no better reassurance than working with a cargo partner who you really trust. Especially when it comes to handling international logistics operations, which usually require compromise and clear communication from both parts in order to be successful.

Dealing with an unreliable cargo partner can bring many unpleasant consequences to your business, such as lack of assistance, communication issues, cargo delays, poor follow-up or even financial harms. On this post, we have explained, in further detail, each of the problems you could face by working with an untrustworthy freight forwarder, as well as how to avoid doing so. Check it out!

How can an unreliable cargo partner affect your business?

1) Lack of assistance

One of the fundamentals of successfully shipping cargo overseas is to have customized assistance throughout the entire operation. Most freight forwarders don’t have an infrastructure that comprises both the cargo’s origin and destination. This is where the need for an international partner arises. They will be the ones to instruct you about the foreign trade regulations in a certain area and ensure everything happens as planned.

Dealing with an unreliable freight forwarder, however, means that your partner might not have the experience or knowledge you need them to. Therefore, the assistance provided can be erroneous and end up compromising the overall operation.

2) Communication issues

Establishing effective communication with your partners is key when coordinating a logistics operation from another country. Since you can’t be there yourself to receive or ship a cargo, you need the company in charge of these activities to keep you informed along each step of the way. Only by doing so you will know if the operation is happening within the schedule or if any measures must be taken in order to ensure that it has the best possible outcome.

Working with a cargo partner that isn’t able to communicate as quickly and clearly as you need can cause you many problems. Therefore, seek for a freight forwarder with a team available to answer your inquiries and give you support 24/7.

3) Cargo delays

Cargo delays are the worst nightmare of any freight forwarder. If you work in logistics, you must know that it is extremely hard to follow deadlines. After all, you aren’t relying only on your service, there is also a number of factors you can’t control, such as the carrier’s agility and the customs processes.

But choosing the right partner is something you can (and must) make sure to do. Otherwise, if a delay occurs due to an external factor, they won’t know how to deal with it in a way that causes minimal damage to the operation.

4) Financial harm

This is a crucial topic, as choosing the wrong partner may result in a huge financial loss for your business. Any foreign trade activity requires trusting your partners, simply because you will most likely need to conduct many international transactions with them throughout the operation.

An unreliable partner can expose your business to several risks and even leave you in financial debt. And you can imagine how complicated it is to take legal action and sue someone from a different country, where different laws apply. So you really don’t want to go there. Before closing a partnership, it is always a good idea to check if that forwarder is listed on FDRS (Forwarder Debt Recovery Service).

5) Poor follow-up

Unlike some freight forwarders think, a logistics operation isn’t concluded as soon as the cargo reaches its final destination. The follow-up stage is just as important. Counting on a partner who doesn’t take interest in checking if the cargo has been delivered safely and with no damage, for example, can result in customer dissatisfaction and loss of credibility.

It is important to remember that your partners’ work reflect directly on the quality of what you are delivering to your customers. And if something goes wrong on their end, you are still the one to blame for picking the wrong partner overseas. Therefore, working with the right freight forwarders is key to achieve a successful performance in the international logistics market.

How to avoid working with an unreliable cargo partner?

One of the most effective ways to avoid working with unreliable partners is to join a good logistics network, which is a closed group that gathers high-quality freight forwarders worldwide.

Twig Logistics Network is the strongest freight forwarder’s group in Latin America and among the best ones in the world. Through a strict selection process and constant quality control, we ensure that only reliable companies are accepted into our community. The result couldn’t be different: we provide our members with a safe environment to find partners wherever they need and exchange business opportunities.

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