Moving Profits: How to Build a Successful Freight Forwarding Company

Did you know that the United States Postal Service handles around 500 million pieces of mail every single day? For those looking to be part of the freight industry and partake in the millions of packages being delivered, you are in the right place. Specifically, if you are thinking of starting your own freight forwarding company, we are here to share our top tips to build a successful business from the start.

Read on to learn more before you start your small business.

Study the Industry

When you first start a freight company you need to ask what does a freight forwarding company do? It is important to take the time to analyze and study the industry to truly understand how it works.

Take the time to research your competitors all around the globe. This allows you to see how they became successful and how you can model their business with your own twist. It is a good idea to gain hands-on experience by first working with a freight forwarding company.

When you study others you can mimic whatever their strengths are and fix any flaws you notice.

Budget

You will also have to take into account how much money you can afford to spend. Estimating the costs of starting a freight forwarding company is imperative and a major key is to keep those initial start up costs as low as possible to decrease the chances of failing in the long run.

Remembering that freight forwarding services sometimes go through tough business cycles is also important.

Plan

Building a strategic plan is another piece of building a successful company. You will want to develop a mission statement that is specific and not vague. Also, create a SWOT analysis where you distinguish what the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and strengths are.

You never want to rush through the SWOT analysis because this step requires a lot of planning and research. In your plan you also want to establish all of your long-term goals based on where you are starting. Think about where you want to be in five years from starting your business and one decade later.

Make a list of the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will help show that your business is being successful. These KPIs will be used multiple times as your business ages, so make sure that you are making the progress intended.

A strategy is also an important foundation for the steps you will take when you start your business. Taking into account EZ Freight Broker Trucking Websites while you write out your strategy.

Last but not least, implement your plan as you grow and build your freight forwarding business.

Become Familiar With the Tools of the Trade

Becoming familiar with the tools that will help you run your business is another key to being successful. Lloyds Loading List used to be a book that listed all the voyages of vessels around the world, including the port of destination and origin port.

Nowadays, you can go online and search instead of going through a book. The search will allow you to find shipping lines that will be sailing the route that you will require. You can also check out Lloyds Loading List online and sign up for weekly copies of their publication.

Another important tool you want to become familiar with is Croners Reference Book for Exporters. This you can find online in today’s world because it has moved to the digital world with the expansion and growth of technology.

Croners will teach you the documentation that you need for the specific cargo that you are moving from the origin port to the final destination port. This is a huge time saver and very much necessary in today’s world where customers expect their packages to arrive quickly.

Knowledgeable With Export Documentation

If you are not familiar and truly knowledgeable with export documentations and the procedures, you are not going to have a successful freight forwarding business. One of the best ways to become proficient with these documents is with hands on work.

The second best option is to take a course that teaches you everything there is to know about export documentation and procedures.

Freight Rates

Unlike contrary belief, when you ask a shipping airline or line for a freight rate you don’t always get a quote right away. With shipping freight, the shipping line will more than likely first ask you if it is FCL (Full Container Load) or LCL (Less than a Container Load).

Once you answer whether it will be a full container or less than a container, you will need to give the dimensions of the cargo. The common answer once you give the dimensions is something along the lines of “$40 Weight Measure.”

This is where you will have to learn how to calculate this quote and translate it into the lamest terms for your client.

Ready to Build a Successful Freight Forwarding Company?

Now that you have learned our top tips to have a successful freight forwarding company, you can start taking action and make informed decisions along the way. Don’t forget that you will need to level up your negotiating and presentation skills when you start your own freight forwarding business.

With negotiating the more you do it, the better you will get. With presentations, you will need to learn how to get your point across to other companies in a clear manner.

Did this blog post help you out? Check out the rest of this article for more business tips.