3 challenges faced by freight forwarders that you can improve

The logistics industry has already improved a lot due to the use of technology, however, certain challenges faced by freight forwarders have not yet been solved…

While the work of freight forwarders might often go unnoticed, their responsibilities are anything but trivial. 

Yet, behind this vital role lies a variety of challenges that can test the mettle of even the most seasoned professionals in the industry.

Challenges in freight forwarding

The freight industry is a dynamic, multifaceted field that requires a deep understanding of logistics and a knack for problem-solving in the face of unexpected obstacles.

As mentioned before, although the use of technology has brought advances to many processes in industry, some of them still require attention. Such as:

Customer and partner management

The lack of partners and customer management is one of the biggest challenges faced by freight forwarders. 

Due to the fragmentation and inconsistency of the many parties involved in the process, it’s difficult to have all information consolidated in one place.

For that kind of problem, freight management software that gathers the information of these different parties could be a solution.

We recommend that you look for a platform that will allow you and your team to have the main information of your partners and clients in one place.

At the end of the day, forwarders are just trying to connect with other forwarders around the world. 

And of course, they will try to make the best connections and partnerships out of it.

To speed up the partnership process, a management system is really helpful.

To help your freight forwarder company with freight partnership management Parnity is the best option in the market.

With Parnity’s management system, forwarders are allowed to have all their partners in a single place and organize them in a board by country, city, modal, service, or whatever makes sense. 

Along with ranking partners to know which are the best options to quote in a country, analyze them to improve partnerships, and share it with the whole team.

Difficulty of connection 

Because everything happens so fast in the freight industry and finding a forwarder partner to work with isn’t as fast as the job flows, the connection and communication can get lost and delayed. 

That is why some forwarders choose to be a part of a logistics network, to fasten and improve the process of finding forwarder partners.

The reason is that inside a logistics network is possible to find more information about the forwarder than it is on a Google search. 

Parnity – the evolution of Forwarder Networks is the best option for forwarders to find future partners. 

That is because all forwarder members inside Parnity have a complete profile with all the information you will need to make your decision 

Besides that, you also have the possibility of sending a message to the direct quotation contact.

Furthermore, a freight forwarder management system is also a big help in this case.

Especially because if you already have mapped potential partners in a country or city you will only have to get in touch with them and ask for a quotation.

Analyze the processes

Having all aspects of your company’s processes controllable through an analytics system provides the ability to simplify and optimize work processes.

Not to mention that it also provides the potential for better analytical, anticipatory strategies and improvements. 

Using analytical tools, the forwarder companies will not only solve problems but also prevent them, and improve the quality of their partnerships.

Companies that adopt this mindset and improve this kind of system will eventually stand out from those who can’t keep up.

How to improve your forwarder business

Growing a business is the goal of every forwarder company, however, making improvements inside a freight forwarder business is never easy.

Sometimes you can be blindsided by how you are used to operating, leaving you stuck in the same place.

However, now that you have understood the challenges faced by freight forwarders, it’s time to see how you can start working on the improvements.

Here are some tips to improve your forwarder business: 

Take your marketing actions to the next level

Your freight marketing strategies can’t be the ones left out of your business workflow.

Many forwarders don’t take marketing seriously, but that is how you are going to take your freight forwarding business to the next level. 

After all, who is not seen is not remembered.

The first marketing action you need to take inside your forwarding company is with your current partners. 

Stop for a moment, and ask yourself the following questions:

• How are you managing your relationship with them? 
• Are you getting any feedback, good or bad? 
• Are you letting them know that they are your priority?

If your answer was no, let me walk you through some tips on how you should improve your marketing strategies.

Maintain relationship with your partners:

To maintain a relationship with your active forwarder partners you must keep in touch with them at least once every two weeks. 

For example, you can send an email to them saying how successful your work week was and how they were part of it. 

Show them the number of cargos you delivered, and to how many cities or countries, and by the end leave a note – that was only possible because we have you as a partner. 

Let them know how your business is going and how they are a part of its success, let them feel included and seen for their hard work. 

Ask for feedback:

Another super important freight marketing action is to ask for feedback.

After each service you deliver send an email or a WhatsApp to your forwarder partner asking him how he felt about your work.

Don’t forget to also ask if there is anything you can do better next time.

Partnership reactivation:

Think about your inactive forwarder partners, the ones that you haven’t been doing business with in a while, but you would like to.

You can send an email or a WhatsApp message saying that you miss doing business with them and if there is anything you can help them with. 

It’s important to understand why you haven’t been exchanging business with those partners, so ask them if something happened, if by any chance they were unsatisfied with your services, and how could you assist them in the best way possible.

Click here to learn more about how you can increase your forwarder partners’ retention.

Social media strategy:

Having social media accounts for your freight business is crucial to your business success.

In 2020, 3.6 billion people were using social media, according to Statista, so I guess you can see the importance, right?

You can start the social media strategy inside your forwarding business by gathering some ideas about what you would like to talk about.

After you’ve mapped that it’s time to think about which social media you would like to be part of. 

Finally, it’s time to plan and execute your marketing strategy.

Learn how to start your forwarder’s social media strategy and all the tips to do it on our blog social media strategy for freight forwarders, click here to read.

Build a solid relationship with your current forwarder partners

It’s common to think that getting new forwarder partners is the way to improve and grow a freight business. 

However, improving your current freight forwarding partnerships is the key to growing your forwarder company. 

Building a relationship with your freight forwarder partner requires a lot of effort and it should start from day 1 when you make the first contact. 

Bear in mind that a forwarder company with a customer-centric approach will guarantee the partner’s success. 

After all, the happier your forwarder partners are with your services the better the chances of them doing business with you again and recommending you to other freight forwarders.

To learn more about customer-centric strategies for forwarder business read our blog.

Here are a few tips for you to ensure a good forwarder business partnership:

1. Make sure you and your forwarder partner are on the same page about the services you will be exchanging. 
2. Clarify all the documentation needed and regulations.
3. Establish an official channel of communication – it’s common to exchange emails, messages, phone calls, and much more in a business.
4. Get to know each other – relationships work best when we know who you are working with, so let your partners know your staff, and get to know theirs.
5. Make sure to follow up – be sure to get feedback from your forwarder partners, and let them know yours. 

Forwarder partners management

Last but not least, our last tip to improve your forwarder business is partnership management. 

You might think it doesn’t help, however, consolidating the information about your partners in a single place can optimize your team’s work, leading to improved business and faster decision-making. 

Having your partner’s information gathered in a bunch of spreadsheets and emails should not be an option for you anymore. 

If you truly want to improve your forwarder business you need to start thinking about using a freight forwarder management system.

With help from freight management software, your forwarder company can optimize processes.

The more consolidated the information of your partners is, the faster your team can work on it, leading to faster decision-making and more business. A great option for a freight management system is MyPartners – Parnity’s CRM  – which is a solution for freight forwarders to stop using spreadsheets and start improving their management.

To sum up

From navigating complex customs regulations and managing a network of partners to ensuring timely and reliable delivery of goods, forwarders must continually adapt to an ever-changing landscape.

These challenges faced by freight forwarders that you can improve, however, are not insurmountable. 

With a commitment to innovation and a focus on building strong relationships with partners and customers, forwarders can successfully navigate these obstacles.

Remember establishing improvements inside your forwarder company is not an easy and fast process, so start from the beginning. 

Organize your marketing strategies while you work on your partnership relationship, and then you think about a management solution for your freight company.