Outsource freight forwarding – When should you move to a third party?

With ever-changing international shipping conditions, regulatory customs requirements and complex brokerage processes, did you ever wonder if the ‘outsource freight forwarding’ option was viable for you?

Why outsource your freight forwarding process?

Outsourcing is sometimes seen in an unfavourable light. Outsourcing does, however, play an important role in many businesses. There are situations when outsourcing can save Australian importers and small businesses substantial time and money making. Outsourcing freight forwarding makes sense if it generates a business efficiency, i.e. the external costs are less than the internal ones.

What exactly is outsourcing?

Outsourcing is any process that involves transfer of tasks to a third party provider. It could be as simple as delegating freight forwarding processes to an expert Australian freight forwarder. It can, however, involve sending relevant business data via system integration, to make delegation to freight forwarders more efficient.

When should Australian importers and small businesses consider the outsource freight forwarding option

What are the advantages of outsourcing my freight forwarding to a third party provider in Australia?

Australian importers and small businesses need to constantly maximise their limited resources. Freight forwarding means time, labour and money. Outsourcing your freight forwarding processes to a reliable third party in Australia relieves you and/or your employees from dealing with the importing and transportation paperwork. It eliminates the stress associated with logistics management. It provides you with more time to focus on your core businesses.

What are some of the tasks and duties when freight forwarding

When you have your supplier details and a tentative cargo ready date, a third party freight forwarding firm in Australia frees you from spending hours on:

• Working out the best shipping quotes (air or sea)
• Estimating the cargo arrival date based on the shipping quotes
• Confirming shipping details of your shipment

Much time can be spent getting the correct documentation to the various parties involved in shipping, such as:

• Commercial invoice
• Packing list
• Packing declaration
• Certificate of origin

If you and your staff are also handling the customs clearance, much time is spent on:

• Managing tariff classification, concessions and free trade agreements (FTA)
• Properly completing the required customs clearance forms
• Preparing pre-arrival release documents and post-entry forms
• Calculating the necessary duties and fees
• Dealing with clearance issues as they arise

When should you outsource your freight forwarding processes?

Now is the right time to consider whether outsourcing your customs clearance processes is viable for you. Here are some questions that will help you determine if your business demands immediate outsourcing of customs clearance processes.

How much employee time is consumed by the freight forwarding process?

Compare the costs of hiring a part- or full-time in-house staff member vs outsourcing your freight forwarding. Rather than paying for the services of a part or full-time employee(s) (in-house freight facilitator), it might be more cost-effective for you to have an outsourced team of freight forwarding experts doing the job for you.

If significant employee time is being consumed, the outsource freight forwarding

Is there someone providing you with shipping and regulatory guidance?

If you think effective freight forwarding is simply obtaining shipping quotes and filling out customs entries, then you have it all wrong. It requires knowledge and understanding of shipping documentation, air and freight conditions, tariff classifications and much more. People who have this skill set and knowledge, and would be prepared to work part-time, or multi-task in a full-time role, are hard to find and hard to hold on to.

When you need current shipping and regulatory guidance, consider outsourcing freight forwarding

Do you have the time to train one of your employees to learn the freight forwarding process?

Substantial time and effort is required to become proficient at handling the freight forwarding process. It is a complex and ever-changing landscape to navigate. To have an employee develop this set of skills could be an expensive and risky medium to long-term investment.

Another thing to consider is whether your business can afford shipping delays caused by mishandled documentation, or the penalties and fees you may incur due to incorrect custom lodgements.

Freight Forwarder Quote Online Australia can help you with these complex processes. Our team of expert shipping managers and customs brokers are trained and knowledgeable on the latest trade conditions, rules and regulations. Contact us and see how we can best handle your freight forwarding situation.

When you are unable to make time to train employees, moving your freight forwarding to a third party might be a viable option for you 

Do you have the time to coordinate carriers, shipping lines, customs clearance, trucks and warehousing?

Are you still thinking that having a staff member responsible for coordination of your freight forwarding via phone and email is the best way? Think again.

We live in an era when almost all data, including logistics information, can be transferred electronically. Professional Australian freight forwarders can have this data automatically transmitted into the systems of carriers, shipping lines, customs clearance, trucks and warehouses.

When you are unable to efficiently coordinate shipping, consider the outsourcing option

Do you have the ability to track and trace your cargo?

No-one wants to guess where their cargo is. Is it still at sea? Has it arrived at the port? Is the shipment being delivered to its destination? These are some of the questions to which you want immediate answers.

Capable Australian freight forwarders will provide these details for you. Their track and trace system can easily track and trace your cargo to ensure it is transported accordingly. They can constantly update you on the arrival date to ensure timely delivery to your door. If there are any issues they resolve them as quickly as possible. This service provides peace of mind, allowing you to focus on your core business.

If you need shipping track and trace then engage a capable freight forwarder  

To outsource or in-house your freight forwarding, what is the better option?

Calculate the costs of doing an in-house vs an outsourced freight forwarders approach to business. List the services that you cannot execute or efficiently perform in-house but which an outsourced Australian freight forwarder can provide. Analyse the data you’ve gathered to determine whether outsourcing your freight forwarding is the best strategy to use.

If it looks like outsourcing is the better option, then send us a message for call us on 1300651233. Check out our Linkedin profile and look through our weekly posts for more up-to-date information on freight forwarding.