Things you should know about freight forwarders and customs brokers

This article is prepared based on the purpose of explaining the basic working of freight forwarders and customs brokers.

What is Freight Forwarding?

Freight forwarding is a process of moving goods/ commodities from one place to another. The goods that are being transported are known as freight. A person or a company that takes responsibility for the movements of goods is known as a “Freight Forwarder”.

Example: 20Cube Freight Forwarding & Logistics Solutions.

Followings are some of the major types of freight forwarding based on different factors,

• Less than Truckload Freight,
• Full Truckload Freight,
• Intermodal Rail Freight,
• Air Freight,
• Ocean/ Sea Freight,
• Expedited Freight.

Challenges Faced by Freight Forwarding Companies:

The benefits that can come from executing a centralized freight forwarding setup are essential to manage the complicated industry that is freight management. Dealing with the most common difficulties facing the freight forwarding industry remains at the heart of supply chain management. Some of the challenges that can influence the advantages of being Freight Forwarders are as follows,

• Increase in the number of competitors,
• Limited visibility to location,
• Changes in the regulations of trade,
• Cyber attacks,
• Increase in the demands of customer services,
• Fuel cost,
• Environmental Issues,
• Driver Shortage and Retention, etc.,

Myths About Freight Forwarding:

Outsourcing freight operations to global products enables companies to grow faster by concentrating on various benefits. But many unfounded misconceptions and assumptions create unnecessary complications for freight forwarders which might discourage them from using the services.

The followings are a few of the assumptions that people have on Freight Forwarding,

• Less Control over Freight,
• Service varies for different volumes,
• Services are not transparent,
• Freight Forwarding is Expensive (or) Not value for the money,
• Can collect our own freight without the help of a Customs Broker.

These are the things that are not real but considered by the people. While choosing the best Freight Forwarder for your shipment, do consider all these things and select the one accordingly.

Whether your business is importing goods or exporting goods, you will have to go through the customs clearance process. Instead of working on the customs clearance process on your own, it would be a good idea to seek the assistance of a customs clearance company.

The customs broker that you work with will be able to oversee all sorts of transactions related to customs entry, customs valuation, product classification, payment of taxes, payment of duties, customs rebates, and even duty drawbacks. As a result, you can make sure that you don’t have to go through the frustration of customs clearance on your own. Before you work with a customs broker, there are a few important things you need to be aware of. Continue to read and you can get to know everything you want.

What is customs clearance?

Customs clearance is the process that you follow to move goods through customs. When goods are being imported into a country, they need to go through the customs clearance process. In other words, all international shipments are subjected to customs clearance before they are delivered to end customers.

The customs clearance process can be quite complex and overwhelming. That’s because there are lots of documents and paperwork involved in the process. They include packing slips, commercial invoices, and shipping labels. Due to the same reason, you will face challenges as you try to get through the customs clearance process on your own. That’s where a customs brokers Melbourne can help you with.

What is the average customs brokerage fee?

It would be a good idea to be aware of the fee that you have to pay for the services. There are a few factors that determine the cost of services offered by a customs broker. In most instances, the customs brokers charge a fee depending on the commercial value of the shipment that they focus on clearing. However, it is also important to be aware of the other expenses that contribute towards the average customs brokerage fee.

One of the biggest factors that determine the average customs brokerage fee is the total number of items that are present on the disbursements or invoices. Depending on the total number of items, the work that a customs broker has to deal with would change. A customs broker and a client would sometimes get into an agreement to receive services at a flat fee. You can get in touch with customs brokers Melbourne to know more about how the fee is being calculated.

What are the differences between Customs broker and freight forwarder?

The biggest difference that you can see between a customs broker and a freight forwarder is the way logistics are handled. A freight forwarder would usually deal with logistics at the time of moving some goods from one destination to another. In other words, you can expect the freight forwarder to directly work with careers and secure bookings through air, ocean, truck, or rail. The freight forwarder will provide advice to shippers based on the estimated freight charges, costs associated with special documents, port charges, terminal handling fees, and insurance expenses.

However, a customs broker will be working mainly with bureaucratic aspects of the shipment. It includes document completion and providing assurance to the goods of a company being moved to a different port in the world. The customs brokers pay special attention to the import aspect of an export transaction while working with different government agencies. You need to approach the right services provider while keeping these differences in mind.

The above-given information is provided by a freight forwarding company named 20Cube Freight Forwarding & Logistics Solutions. They offer professional customs broker services in 3 different locations namely Customs Clearance Brisbane, Customs Clearance Melbourne, and Customs Clearance Sydney. Visit their website for more information.

Thanks for reading.

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