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The Importance of Freight Forwarders in the Philippines

Freight forwarders in the Philippines make it easier for their clients to have their goods imported or exported. They handle all the details of your international shipping needs.

What Are Freight Forwarders?

In essence, a freight forwarder is an entity that arranges the transport of goods from one place to another.

Keep in mind that they are usually not responsible for the handling of the merchandise. Rather, they act as middlemen between their clients and the many logistical companies that they will need to negotiate with.

To be more specific, BusinessDictionary.com provides this definition of what freight forwarders are:

“A firm specializing in arranging storage and shipping of merchandise on behalf of its shippers. It usually provides a full range of services including: tracking inland transportation, preparation of shipping and export documents, warehousing, booking cargo spaces, negotiating freight charges, freight consolidation, cargo insurance, waybill, (called house bill of lading or house air waybill) and their agents or associates at the destination (overseas freight forwarders) provide document delivery, deconsolidation, and freight collection services, also called forwarder.”

Customs Clearance

Import Customs Clearance

This is relatively the same as the export customs clearance. Most of the time, it can be done before the cargo even arrives at its destination country. In any case, this phase needs to be completed prior to the cargo leaving a customs-bonded area.

Without completing the documents and requirements during this phase, the merchandise will be stuck in the warehouses within the port.

Export Customs Clearance

This step refers to the transaction where a declaration is done and required documents are submitted to the authorities. This can only be performed by companies holding a valid customs license.

These companies are more commonly referred to as customs house brokers. This is always done for shipments that are leaving the country.

This step is usually performed by a freight forwarder that has a valid license. Alternatives include agents appointed by freight forwarders and a customs house broker appointed directly by the shipper.

You can consider this step as the first hurdle. If any problems were to surface during this phase, the whole operation will be at a standstill until all the requirements are fulfilled and completed.

Ocean Freight

Part of the job of a freight forwarder is to choose a shipping line that will manage the ocean freight from the origin to the destination within the designated timeline for the shipments. This would usually be accompanied by a contract of carriage between the freight forwarder and the shipping line.

It’s good to note that the cost of the ocean freight has many other charges included, such as the bunker adjustment factors, currency adjustment factors, and the likes—all of which will be passed by the freight forwarder to their clients.

Experience in the Industry

Availing the services of a new freight forwarder in the Philippines is a risk that some people are willing to take. However, for those who deal with massive shipments and long-term partnerships, there are few factors that are more important than the level of experience that freight forwarders have.

A freight forwarder’s experience is a good indicator of how they might be able to deal with multiple shipping issues. Things like port shutdowns, cargo reroutes, worker strikes, and the like are just a few things that might happen at any time that could hinder or outright stop a shipment from happening.

With experience comes the wisdom to overcome these issues that are usually common within international shipping.

Credentials and Certifications

One of the best indicators of a responsible and capable freight forwarder is whether they have certifications and credentials to back up their claims or not. This is a good indicator that they have the necessary training and security requirements to handle your goods.

Customer Service

Above all else, freight forwarders in the Philippines should provide excellent customer service. If this aspect is not up to par, then it would be way better for you to choose a different one. Customer service is important solely because it is how they’ll be providing support and communicating with you.

A freight forwarder with great customer service will make the entire cargo transport experience smoother and easier.

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