Building a strong relationship with your freight forwarder is essential to ensure that they understand your business and overall needs. The best strategy for success is to view your freight forwarder as a partner and focus on long-term gains rather than short-term savings. Here’s why this partnership is crucial and how it can benefit your business.
The Importance of a Strong Partnership
A solid partnership with your freight forwarder goes beyond a simple business deal; it’s a strategic alliance. Prioritizing the lowest cost per shipment can result in problems such as bumped cargo, especially when space is limited. By collaborating closely with your forwarder, you can effectively plan for peak seasons, ensuring that your shipments are prioritized and avoiding expensive disruptions.
Risks of Neglecting Business Relationships
It’s important to remember that failing to establish solid business relationships can lead to serious consequences, including financial risks and legal liabilities. Thoroughly screening logistics providers and conducting due diligence is essential to safeguard your interests. Relying solely on your shipper for inbound shipments leaves much of the process in unknown territory, exposing your business to potential problems without adequate support. This underscores the importance of overseeing your freight and actively participating in the process, with Universal Logistics as your trusted partner throughout the entire transaction.
Ensuring a Clear Understanding of Your Needs
From a client perspective, it’s crucial to ensure that your freight forwarder has a comprehensive understanding of your business and can provide tailored shipping solutions.
This includes:
- Prioritizing Client Experience: Ensuring that the services provided align with your expectations and business requirements.
- Effective Resource Management: Utilizing resources efficiently to optimize costs and improve operational efficiency.
- Constant Shipment Tracking: Providing real-time updates and proactive communication about the status of your shipments.
- Agility in Handling Complex Supply Chains: The ability to quickly adapt to changes and resolve issues as they arise.
It is important to know how your freight forwarder will respond in case of any issues. Can you rely on your service provider to address the problem to your satisfaction? A dependable forwarder will have backup plans and the ability to manage unforeseen challenges efficiently.
The Foundation for Ongoing Success
Establishing a strong, long-term relationship with your freight forwarder is crucial for anyone involved in supply chain management. It provides a foundation for ongoing success, ensuring that your logistics needs are consistently met and that your business is protected from potential disruptions.
For more information and to explore how we can support your business, please contact David Lychek, Director of Ocean & Air Services at Universal Logistics. Let us be your partner in achieving seamless and efficient logistics solutions.
