How to improve your freight forwarder networking

Freight forwarder networking is one of the key points for the success of your freight business.

In the forwarding industry, building strong relationships is crucial for success.

Effective networking can lead to new partnerships, increased business, and a better reputation in the market.

A good partner network can provide several opportunities to improve your forwarding company and increase your business generation.

However, it can be challenging to know where to start. In this blog post, we will discuss freight forwarder networking strategies.

Maximizing your opportunities to make new partnerships

Every day, freight forwarders around the world are developing new partnerships.

This is because sometimes, to exchange a shipment, a forwarder needs one or more partners in a specific country, region, or city that are specialized in that shipment.

Maximizing your opportunities to make new partnerships is a crucial aspect of effective freight forwarder networking.

It requires a strategic approach and a willingness to put yourself out there. 

In this section, we will explore some tips on how to maximize your opportunities to make new partnerships and expand your network in the freight forwarding and logistics industry. 

From attending industry events to exploring social media, these strategies can help you build valuable connections that can lead to long-term partnerships and business growth.

Attend industry events and conferences

One of the best ways to network in the forwarding industry is by attending industry events and conferences. 

These events provide an opportunity to meet other professionals in the field, learn about new industry trends and technologies, and showcase your services to potential partners. 

When attending these events, be sure to bring plenty of business cards, be open to meeting new people, and engage in conversations that go beyond small talk.

If you want to know more actions that can help you improve your opportunities when attending a logistics event, click here.

Besides that, Parnity Xchange – Parnity’s annual meeting – will take place between February 1 and 3, 2024 in Las Vegas and will provide forwarders a unique opportunity to delve into the latest industry insights and share knowledge in a way that has never been seen before. 

To learn more about Parnity Xchange, click here.

Explore social media

In today’s digital age, social media has become a powerful tool for networking.

Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram provide an opportunity to connect with professionals in the forwarding industry, join industry groups, and share industry news and insights. 

When using social media, be sure to post regularly, engage with others in the industry, and participate in relevant discussions.

If you are interested, click here for a complete guide to social media strategies for freight forwarders.

Furthermore, Parnity’s social media channels can be a great inspiration for freight forwarders, check out our Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin.

Build a strong online presence

In addition to social media, having a strong online presence can also help with networking in the forwarding industry. 

A professional website can showcase your expertise, services, and industry knowledge. 

It can also help potential partners find you when searching for forwarding services. 

Be sure to optimize your website for search engines, keep your content updated, and promote it on social media.

Build relationships with existing clients

While it’s important to focus on building new partnerships, it’s equally important to nurture existing relationships. 

Building a strong relationship with your existing clients can lead to repeat business, referrals, and positive reviews. 

Be sure to stay in touch with them regularly, provide excellent customer service, and go above and beyond their expectations.

Be a problem solver

Being a problem solver can set you apart from the competition and make you a valuable partner. 

When working with clients, be proactive in identifying potential issues, and offer solutions to solve them. 

This will demonstrate your commitment to your clients and your ability to provide excellent service.

Join a logistics network

Finally, to optimize your chances of making new partnerships, consider joining a logistics network. 

This can be one of the most effective ways to acquire new forwarder partners and increase your business volume. 

Logistics networks with a global presence make it easier to expand your business to other countries and cities, which can lead to new partnerships and greater success.

For instance, Parnity is an excellent community for networking in the forwarding industry that has forwarder members across more than 75 countries who make more than 1,500 searches for new partners per month.

Best practices for a successful freight forwarder networking

Networking plays an important role for people to expand their knowledge in their field and build strategic business relationships. 

In a freight forwarder, more than having streamlined and efficient processes, you need to build valuable connections. 

To grow your business, it’s essential to find reliable partners. 

Here are some tips that can help you improve your freight forwarder networking even more:

Build a networking department

Having a department or a team member exclusively responsible for taking care of all the partnerships your forwarding company has with other forwarders is extremely important for good networking.

By having a department or a member of your staff in charge of your partnerships, you will be able to get a more strategic point of view on them.

This way, you’ll be able to develop more business and improve your profit with all your partners.

In addition, you will avoid losing quotations and money with operational problems generated by the lack of control of your partners worldwide.

Know your current partners

The first thing you should keep in mind when it comes to networking is your current freight partners. 

It’s very important to know as much information as possible about each forwarder partner you do business with.

This is crucial for making better decisions and above all, developing new partnerships in the future.

Gathering all this information in a spreadsheet can be inefficient and end up resulting in process errors. 

So to make it easier, you can use a management tool for forwarders to help you with the data.

A freight forwarder management system helps forwarders centralize, optimize, and streamline communication within the company, along with quotation processes and decision-making. 

It’s important to understand that the more consolidated the information you have about your partners is, the faster your team can work on it. 

Parnity has a practical and easy-to-use freight management tool for forwarders to manage and analyze all their freight partnerships, click here to learn more about it.

Understand your partnerships

Once you have mapped out your forwarder partnership data, it’s time to use it to fully understand how your partnerships are going. 

Understanding which partners your company is sending shipments to and which are sending others in return, for example, is very important.

Also, make an overview of your partnerships and dive deep into other data.

Make sure to compare partners offering the same services in the same country or city in your analysis to see if you are making win-win partnerships. 

This is not an easy analysis to do, but it’s only through it that you can improve your networking.

Standard partnership conditions

One of the biggest benefits of understanding your current partners brings to your forwarder, is the ability to standardize the conditions your company will have with any other partner worldwide.

When we talk about standardizing these conditions, we are referring to profit share policies, credit terms, and operational guidelines, for example. 

It is very important to have these standard conditions not only for your current freight partners but also for new partners. 

Remember that standardized processes are, usually, more efficient.

Develop new partnerships

Being well-prepared is one of the crucial factors for the success of any freight forwarding company. 

So networking also includes the responsibility to communicate clearly and effectively with your sales, operational, financial, and pricing team to understand where and how the company should develop new partnerships.

This way you will be able to not only improve your current business but also look for new markets to expand your business opportunities.

Partner relationships

Your company probably has a person responsible for inside sales, a sales executive, and customer success, right? 

But who is the person responsible for taking care of your partnerships worldwide?

This is important because all these partners are also sending shipments to your company.

Maintaining a good ongoing relationship is essential to expand and improve the number of shipments with the companies that have chosen to work with you. 

Besides that, is the best strategy for them to recommend your company to other freight forwarders, for example.

Generate business through partnerships

Last but not least, successful freight forwarder networking can help you generate new business opportunities through partnerships.

You can, for example, set goals in terms of new business coming to your company from different partners in different locations. 

This is an excellent way to increase the number of shipments by looking for business opportunities with your partners worldwide.

A final note on effective networking

Effective networking in the forwarding industry is essential for success in the forwarding industry. 

By attending industry events, exploring social media, building a strong online presence, nurturing existing relationships, and being a problem solver, you can build strong partnerships and grow your business. 

Don’t forget to evaluate whether your freight forwarder should be in a logistics network. 

Perhaps the most effective way to acquire new forwarder partners and gain more business volume is to join a logistics network.

Finally, remember to be authentic, stay open to new opportunities, and always prioritize building and maintaining strong relationships.

As you can see, knowing how to improve your freight forwarder networking can bring several benefits to your forwarding company such as:

• Expand your business opportunities;
• Improve the profit from your partnerships;
• Develop new business and partnerships;
• Increase your business generation;
• Optimize your freight forwarding company’s processes.

So don’t underestimate the power of a freight forwarder networking strategy when you are analyzing your freight company’s processes. 

Use the guide presented above to learn how to develop and apply a successful networking strategy!