Things to note when choosing international freight forwarder in China

      International freight involves knowledge and fields in all aspects of international trade, international logistics and export clearance. The employees of the company engaged in the international freight forwarding business must have basic business qualities in order to understand the needs of customers and solve customer problems. The following points should be noted when choosing an agent.

1) The employees of the forwarder must have a certain foreign language foundation (especially English).

      If he wants to deal with foreign customers, he must has a basic understanding of the major ports in the world. It is necessary to understand the English expression of some service requirements in the port of destination, and also have a clear understanding of some of the main terms of Incoterms.

      In the process of communicating with foreign customers, we often encounter foreign customers requesting some special circumstances. All of the above must be staffed by freight forwarding companies with a certain level of English ability to understand the needs of foreign customers.

      If the coordinator of the Chinese freight forwarding company is not smooth with basic English communication, there will be great hidden dangers.

2) The business advantage of the freight forwarder must be clear.

      China’s export volume has determined that China’s international freight industry has a large cake. There are dozens of routes in the market segment of container FCL, with dozens of carriers.

      Therefore, for small and medium-sized international freight companies, it is impossible to have an advantage in each port of departure or on every route. If you come across a company that introduces itself with a strong advantage in China’s major ports and can provide you with high quality prices on all routes. Such a company, I suggest you to reject it directly.

      So if you are looking for a Chinese freight forwarder, you should first understand where their advantages are. For example, the company said that they have their own advantages in the Air Shipping (Air Freight Search System from SEABAY Logistics). If you happen to have goods ship by Air (Air Cargo Tracking System from SEABAY Logistics), you can think of this as an alternative partner.

3) The agency must be legally registered.

      Formal registration is the embodiment of integrity. If you find a registered company, you can defend your rights in the event of a dispute. If you find unregistered, he has no constraints. If something goes wrong, if he doesn’t want to solve it, or even deceive, then you will fall into a very embarrassing situation. Therefore, when choosing a Chinese freight forwarder, it is necessary to repeatedly confirm whether he is a legally registered company. Let him provide relevant documents that can prove his qualifications, such as business licenses.

4) It is best to be a company that is doing LOCAL service near the port of departure.

      Freight forwarding in the port of departure area generally knows more about the regulations for exporting containers at the port of departure. So if you are exporting from Shanghai, look for freight forwarding in the Yangtze River Delta region (around Shanghai and Shanghai). The combination of the above 3 points will be more secure.

What does a good Chinese freight forwarder bring to you?

      A good Chinese freight forwarder can bring you the following benefits.

1) The most suitable freight forwarding service

      This service is based on his many years of work experience, and is based on his many years of accumulated business advantages. He is familiar with the requirements of local shipping ports in China and is more familiar with the relevant advantages or disadvantages of going to different shipping companies in the same port of destination. He will give you a few different options to choose from, so that you can choose the price/performance ratio according to the characteristics of the goods or choose high-quality transportation.

2) Security

      A good Chinese freight forwarder must be a company with excellent reputation. Now that the freight forwarding industry is becoming more and more international, reliable credit is a prerequisite for all cooperation. It is recommended that you not only look for cheap prices and go to companies that are low-priced vicious competition. This will incur extra costs and even be cheated.

Conclusion

      I hope that the suggestions given in this article will help you choose the right Chinese freight forwarder.

      When you choose a cooperative Chinese freight forwarding company, you should uphold the principle of “not choosing the cheapest, only the most suitable one”, so that you are on the right path.