An international freight forwarder or an international logistic provider handles the transportation of goods from one country to another. This blog post will tell you more about what this type of company does and how logisticians can get into the game.
The Different Services An International Freight Forwarder Provides
Depending on the requirements and the nature of your business, you can select from a range of services. The most basic service provided by an international freight forwarder is the delivery of goods to your customer. This service handles all the transportation from the point of loading to the point of delivery. A few other services that an international freight forwarder might offer include:
- billing and accounts handling
- market research
- customs clearance
- labour leasing
- warehouse management
- security scanning and screening
- inventory management
- product mapping
- brokerage of sales
- legal advice
- risk management
- HR administration
- HR development
- training
Why Do You Need An International Freight Forwarder?
If you're looking to grow your business abroad, you'll need an international freight forwarder to take care of the logistics. As an entrepreneur looking to break into international trade, you'll need someone with in-depth knowledge of customs, quarantine and other government regulations. Someone who is able to navigate the legal and regulatory complexities of operating overseas.
Fortunately, there are specialists in this field who can help you determine the best way to go about setting up your international freight forwarder . They can advise you on the best type of service to offer based on your industry. For example, if you're in the food processing industry, you might want to offer food safety inspection services because of the many countries where your products could be exported to. Alternatively, if you're in the pharmaceutical industry, you might want to offer drug registration and licensing because many countries have special requirements in this area.
Setting Up An International Freight Forwarder
The first step in setting up your international freight forwarder is to determine how much volume you will need to move each year. This amount can vary but is typically measured in thousands of cases or hundreds of boxes. Once you have this figure, you can roughly calculate the cost of a single pallet. A pallet is a flat deck that stores and protects goods during transportation. A typical pallet consists of four vertical steel bars held together by crossbars. A pallet can store 100 to 400 kilos of cargo. This is why a pallet is often referred to as a “packing case” or “carton”. For more details on pallets, check out this informative piece from FreightZone.com.
If you are operating from a physical location, you will also need to consider the cost of real estate including land and building space. Remember that you will also need employees to run your business, so you might want to include the cost of payroll and other relevant taxes in your budget.
The Most Common Regulatory And Compliance Issues You'll Face
Regardless of where you plan on operating, you'll inevitably have to deal with customs regulations and paperwork. An international freight forwarder can help you navigate this process and make it simpler. For example, if you want to ship a container from Italy to China, you'll need to get the container checked by the relevant customs authorities in both Italy and China. It's a complicated process but one that is unavoidable if you want to do business internationally. For more information on customs and other relevant regulations, you can contact your local trade representative or the customs authority in the nearest large city.
How An International Freight Forwarder Can Help
Once you have a good idea of the type of service you'll be offering and how much volume you'll need to move each year, you can start looking for franchise opportunities or business partners who can help with the financing. You can also explore the possibility of working with a professional services firm to set up your business. They can help you determine the best way to go about structuring your organization and assist you with legal and regulatory issues that might arise. They can also help you draft your business plan and pitch to investors.
Depending on your industry, you might also want to consider seeking out freight brokers who can negotiate lower rates with trucking companies and shipping lines. Freight brokers can be extremely useful in finding the best rates for shipping goods internationally. Finally, you can contact the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) to see if they can provide any guidance on operating a business internationally. The ICC can help new and small businesses get started in importing and exporting by providing advice on where to look for financing and getting materials necessary for the operation of your business.
Types Of Businesses An International Freight Forwarder Can Operate
A few of the businesses an international freight forwarder can operate include: