In the logistics market, freight forwarding companies are constantly in need of finding reliable partners to do business and work with on specific projects. Some agents find it hard to choose partners, due to a number of options available in the market and not knowing what factors to consider in order to select the best and most reliable ones.
Today’s post intends to inform you about some of the most common mistakes made by freight forwarding companies when choosing a business partner. By knowing some of these, you will be able to avoid them and do a more accurate selection of partners. Check it out!
Common mistakes when choosing freight forwarding companies as your partners
1. Analyzing them just by their website
The internet has revolutionized the logistics business and made it easier for freight forwarding companies from all over the world to easily connect with each other. However, you can’t always trust the information you find there. Websites are a good place to get an overview about a company and its services, but remember some people publish inaccurate information about their business and attract more clients by disseminating a different image than what they really are.
Therefore, to avoid having problems and making partnerships with unreliable agents, do not use their website as the only source to evaluate the quality of the company. Check the online information, but also look for other references, such as clients feedbacks, their financial background, and documents that prove they have a good reputation in the market.
2. Not asking for references and feedback
As said on the last topic, the internet should not be the only reference you use when picking a partner to make business with. Some agents will make this decision without first analyzing important things about the company, for example. Actions like asking for feedbacks from some of the company’s previous clients are important to ensure that you know your partner’s background and not have any unpleasant surprises.
Before becoming partners of a freight forwarding company, talk to some of their clients to see if they had a positive experience with the company and look into previous logistics operations they have done, this will make things a lot easier for you to choose a reliable company!
3. Choosing the agent only based on their fees
We all know how finding partners that offer competitive fees is important to avoid spending unnecessary money and, consequently, make more profit. However, searching for a good partner shouldn’t be only about finding a company that offers the lowest costs from the others, because they might not offer the quality of services you are looking for.
Therefore, when searching for a freight forwarding company, look for the one that offers the most cost-effective solutions, considering the prices, as well as things like their infrastructure, delivery time, cargo insurance, customer experience, services offered and how experienced is their team.
4. Not analyzing the expertise of the freight forwarding companies
Expertise is another very important factor to be considered when choosing a partner to work with you. Although new forwarding businesses pop up all the time with innovative thinking and different solutions, it’s important to choose a company that really experienced with the specific needs of your cargo. Ask them for previous cases, especially if you need to transport dangerous or perishable goods, project cargo, valuable items, etc..
Thinking about this, try to find the middle point between working with a company that is open to new trends and innovations, as well as has an established reputation for certain services. This will give your business some credibility and show your public that you only work with the best companies available in the market.
5. Picking a company with expertise that doesn’t match your needs
Besides analyzing a freight forwarders’ experience, it is also important to ensure that their expertise matches what you are looking for. Said another way, it doesn’t matter if you picked the most well-known freight forwarder for air freight services as your partner if what you need from them is ocean freight services.
Every forwarder tends to have an area of expertise, and when choosing your partners, you should look for one that aces the area in which you most need assistance. If your company is big on transporting perishables, for example, make sure to partner up with agents that offer appropriate infrastructure to conduct this kind of operation. A good way to do this is joining specializes logistics networks that focus on specific niches.
6. Having an outdated contact list
Most freight forwarding companies a contact list with important connections they’ve made over the years and might need eventually. However, some of these lists are outdated and their information might not be accurate to the current years. For example, a company that might have been good in the past but is recently facing some financial problems or went bankrupt.
Try to always keep an eye on what’s going on in the logistics market in order to stay informed about what companies are doing good at the moment, keeping an updated list of them. That will be very useful when looking for a partner!
But how to choose the best partner among so many freight forwarding companies?
The general rule is to avoid making all the mistakes we have listed above and conduct accurate and detailed research before deciding to work with a specific freight forwarder. Joining logistics networks, such as Twig Logistics Network, is another good strategy since these groups gather reliable freight forwarders from all over the world and provide many tools to facilitate your search.
But apart from choosing the right partners, there are other things you can do to increase profit as a freight forwarder. Download the free eBook Practical Guide to Boost your Sales and see some useful strategies to have an incredible sales performance in the logistics market.
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