Why You Should Consider a Freight Forwarding Service in Singapore to Ship Your Goods

In a nutshell, freight forwarding is the process of coordinating and shipping goods via carrier/s, be they by air, sea, or by rail – not the process of actually moving the cargo.

In freight forwarding services, a freight forwarder, also known as a forwarding agent or a non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC), is the one that organizes the shipments either for individuals or companies in Singapore in order to deliver goods from a manufacturer to the final point of distribution, or vice versa.

NVOCCs and international freight forwarders will often charge a certain fee for transferring documents to different transportation companies once the goods reach a particular destination, which may or may not be included in their sea freight or air freight charges and is usually paid by the importer at the point of discharge.

They also act on the behalf of importers and companies when it comes to ensuring the safest, most efficient way possible, making use of established relationships with multiple carriers to negotiate the best price for shipping via various bids. While local freight forwarders typically handle local shipping, international freight companies are in the business of shipping goods across the world.

Though you may think that hiring what’s essentially a logistics company to intermediate with a shipping company may seem a little confusing and counterproductive at first, the truth is that you’d actually be surprised. Here are a few reasons why you should consider freight forwarding services in Singapore for shipping your products:

1. Freight forwarding will save you an enormous amount of time

There are simply too many things to take into account when the transportation of goods is involved, but they also have to be coordinated in order to reach their point of destination in time. This is especially true if your cargo is delicate or deteriorates easily, such as livestock or even food.

Freight forwarding services essentially work in the same way as a logistics company. Not only do they have to coordinate with the shipping company that handles the cargo, but they also have to track it in real time as well as negotiate with customs in different countries if need be.

Here are some of the other things that the logistics services of freight forwarder in Singapore are responsible for:

• investigating and planning the best route for any shipment while taking into account the cargo’s possible limited shelf life;
• negotiating contracts and transportation costs, as well as obtaining and preparing the necessary documentation to meet local and/or international customs and insurance requirements;
• making sure that consolidation services and secure, cost-effective alternatives are available to small cargo shippers who don’t have enough required cargo for dedicated units;
• utilizing e-commerce and offering specific IT solutions as well as being able to take full advantage of electronic data interchange (EDI), satellite systems, and the internet to keep track of current cargo shipping routes; and
• being adept in the process of international air and maritime trade, current geo-political boundaries, and relevant legislations that might affect these shipping routes in order to be able to adjust and ensure on-time cargo delivery.

The process of freight forwarding to ship cargo is extensive, and having to do it yourself will take too much time as well as effort in keeping in touch with as well as establishing connections with the shipping company that they chose to handle the cargo.

2. Having a logistics company coordinate with a shipping company will also save you a lot of money

There are various fees that a logistics company specializing in freight forwarding may charge various fees, not just in the mere transportation of your cargo but also in negotiating with and meeting customs requirements in many different countries, depending on where the final point of delivery will be.

Of course, the rule is that the farther and the more delicate/heavier/etc. the cargo will be, the more expensive it will get. However, when choosing a service, do consider that there could be risks along with the advantages.

Delayed shipments could mean a lot of things for your business, and not having the needed materials on time could easily cost you more than what you intended. With this kind of service, you could easily save money on transporting your goods. Not only do they simplify the work, but they also make sure that there are alternative ways to make sure they reach the destination on time and in their peak condition.

3. Singapore is the ideal waypoint for cargo transportation in Southeast Asia

Singapore is considered to be Asia’s logistics hub, geographically and topographically situated where routes via air and sea make it easily accessible and the transfer and/or delivery of shipments can be done with great convenience, depending of course on the kind of cargo being delivered.

One of the biggest reasons why Singapore is recognized globally as a logistics hubs is primarily because of its world-class infrastructure that makes it really easy to facilitate the transfer and delivery of shipments from not just Southeast Asia, but all over the world.

Being an island, it has numerous ports with many established shipping services and many more that aim to establish themselves. This array of choices, coupled with the convenience, makes the Lion City an ideal location for you to move your products throughout most of Southeast Asia and even all over the world via air freight or sea freight with relative ease.