Depending on business needs, international freight forwarders may be constantly looking for trustworthy partners with whom to do business and accelerate growth. Some forwarders find it difficult to choose partners due to the abundance of options on the market and a lack of knowledge about the factors to consider in order to select the most suitable partner.

This article will inform you about some of the most common mistakes that freight forwarders make when finding a business partner. By being aware of some of these, you will be able to avoid them and make the most profitable decision in choosing your partners. 

Here are the 5 common mistakes:

1. Learning about your potential partners just from their websites

The internet has transformed the freight forwarding industry, making it easier for forwarders all over the world to connect with one another. However, you cannot always rely on the information found online. Websites are a good place to learn about a company and the services it provides, but you have to take into account that some people publish inaccurate information about their business in order to attract more customers by projecting a different image than what they truly are.

2. Not doing enough research 

As mentioned above, you should not purely rely on the company’s website as your only source of information when selecting a business partner. Some agents will choose a partner without first thoroughly researching the company. Before choosing your partner, speak with some of their clients to see if they had a positive experience with the company and look into previous forwarding operations they have done. This will make it much easier for you to choose a reliable company and avoid any unpleasant surprises!

3. Choosing partners only based on their fees

It may be tempting to find partners who charge competitive fees in order to save cost and earn more profit. However, looking for a good partner should not be limited to finding the company that offers the lowest costs, as they may not provide the quality of services you require.

Therefore, when searching for a freight forwarding company, look for the one that offers the most cost-effective solutions, as well as their infrastructure, delivery time, freight insurance, customer experience, offered services and their team’s expertise. 

4. Picking a company with expertise that doesn’t match your needs

Although new forwarding companies emerge all the time with innovative ideas and novel solutions, it is critical to find a company that can fulfill all the specific requirements of your needs. You should inquire about the partner’s previous cases, especially if you need to transport hazardous goods or valuable goods.

In addition to evaluating a freight forwarder’s experience, it is important that their expertise matches what you are looking for. It doesn’t matter if you choose the most well-known freight forwarder for air freight services as your partner if you need ocean freight services from them.

Every forwarder has a specialty and you should look for one who excels in the area where you require the most assistance. If your company specializes in transporting perishables, make sure to collaborate with agents who have the necessary infrastructure to carry out this type of operation. 

5. Keeping an out-of-date contact list

Most freight forwarders keep a contact list of important connections they’ve made over the years that they may need in the future. However, some of these lists are out of date, and their information may not be up to date. For example, a company may have been successful before, but is now experiencing financial difficulties or has gone bankrupt.

Try to keep an eye on what’s going on in the freight forwarding market at all times in order to stay informed about which companies are doing well right now and to keep an updated list of them. That will come in handy when you are looking for a partner.

Aside from choosing the right partners, there are other things you can do as a freight forwarder to increase your profit

As you may have discovered while looking for a partner, digitalization is important and affects more than just your decision to choose a partner. Implementing logistics technology, such as freight forwarding software, will inevitably have a significant impact on the growth of your business. If you’d like to learn more about how GoFreight, an all-in-one freight forwarding software, can benefit your business, please contact us for a free demo.