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Why Work With a Freight Forwarder?

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First, what exactly is a freight forwarder?  A freight forwarder is a 3rd party agent that performs functions on behalf of an importer or exporter to organize and arrange transportation of goods from point A to point B. You want to import T-shirts from China?  We can do that.  Trying your luck in Australian market with your newest invention?  Yup, we can do that too.

When running a business, it’s very tempting to do everything in-house to cut costs.  It is no different with the shipping and logistics aspects of your business.  So what benefit is there to outsource that responsibility to an outside party?  Is there any at all?  Wouldn’t it be more expensive?  Wouldn’t you lose more control over your operations?  Keep reading and we’ll give you a few simple, no-brainer reasons why you should give freight forwarders a chance:

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1. They have expertise and experience.Freight forwarders have deeper, workable knowledge about how freight shipping and logistics works.  You may encounter a problem that you don’t know how to approach from shipments going MIA to your freight (yikes) being stopped by Customs! Well, chances are freight forwarders have already encountered that problem multiple times and can provide to you affordable options to solve your transportation and logistics issues! Read about ARCA’s experience.

2. Your time is valuable.Coordinating logistics and transportation is time consuming, often tedious work.  You have to request rates, go over contracts, understand the time constraints, coordinate carriers, communicate with multiple parties, assure that you can abide by multiple government agencies’ regulations and deadlines ALL while running your daily operations.  Streamline your responsibilities and tell your forwarder what you want, and when you want it, and let them do all the work!

3. They have resources and a strong network.Having a strong network of carriers and contacts that can assist with your needs is key to efficient and cost effective transportation.  A freight forwarder utilizes established relationships with carriers and vendors – trucker, ocean liners and air freighters, to negotiate the best possible price to move goods along trade routes and by choosing the best path.   Because of their experience, they are able to see how costs vary across the board and are better equipped to save on overall freight costs – and pass that savings onto you. Check out some of the services ARCA offers.

If you still aren’t sold on using a forwarder, give the ARCA team a call and we can walk you through the benefits of using a company like ours.  We love empowering and advocating for our customers.  Let us be the solution for a hassle-free way to import and export your products!

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