Meeting new freight forwarders during coronavirus pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t made it easier for any business, much less for the freight forwarding industry. Along with the many changes the market has been facing, meeting new freight forwarders during coronavirus pandemic has been a real challenge for some forwarding companies. 

And that is because many forwarders were used to meeting and connecting with new freight forwarder partners during the physical events hosted by their logistics networks. Thus, when the pandemic started the logistics networks had to cancel their events and many freight forwarders saw themselves with no resources to meet new freight partners. 

But what if I tell you that there are many ways for you to meet and connect with new forwarder partners outside your logistics network’s physical events? 

Where to meet new freight forwarder partners during coronavirus pandemic?

Establishing a connection with a freight partner is never easy, and that is because in the forwarder industry if you don’t meet your partners face to face you will probably only be in touch through the many emails you’ve exchanged. And, most of the time, that is the reason why many partnerships don’t go beyond. 

Along with the new reality COVID-19 has brought to our lives came the new way of meeting and connecting with freight forwarders – the digital. And with that came many options and opportunities that forwarders might not have seen before. For example:

• Facebook Groups

Have you ever seen the number of groups Facebook has about the forwarding and logistics industry? They are a LOT, which means a LOT of options and opportunities to meet new freight forwarders to partner with! 

Inside the groups, there are many discussions, about events that are happening, about cargos that are going to be moved, about forwarders looking for other forwarders, and that is when you should jump in. 

When you see an activity you think might be an opportunity for your forwarder company, answer the post and start a private chat with the person who posted. Let the forwarder know you are interested and available for further conversation, suggest a 30min call so you can get to know each other and who knows establish a new partnership.

Here are the top 5 Facebook Groups we participate in:

1. Freight Forwarders Worldwide
2. International Freight Forwarding
3. Freight Forwarding
4. Freight Forwarding Business
5. Worldwide Logistics

• Linkedin Groups 

Like Facebook, Linkedin also has many freight forwarding and logistics groups with many opportunities. Different from Facebook, the Linkedin groups also open their discussions to news and insights of the forwarder and logistics industry, and that can be a great opportunity to make new connections. 

If you like some insight or news a forwarder shares inside the group it is interesting to start a conversation, like we mentioned before, start a private chat with the forwarder and discuss more about what was posted, maybe you can start a new partnership. 

Here are the top 5 Linkedin Groups we participate in:

1. Freight Forwarders Worldwide
2. International Freight Forwarding
3. Logistics Consulting
4. Africa Supply Chain, Logistics & Transport
5. The Logistics of Logistics 

• Forwarders Online Events

The new scenario the COVID-19 pandemic has installed led many freight forwarder networks to adapt to the physical events to online events. 

A great online event that brings many opportunities for forwarders worldwide is the Forwarders Online Conference – hosted by Parnity, the digital logistics network. Different from the events held by the logistics networks the Forwarders Online Conference is open to any forwarder that wants to participate. 

It is a 48-hour event with 1on1 meetings, lectures, themed groups, and networking rooms for meeting new freight forwarders, staying updated about the logistics and forwarding industry, and getting many forwarder business tips.

During the event:

➡ Make new partnerships on 1on1 meetings in your timezone

➡ Watch lectures from logistics professionals at the best time for you 

➡ Join networking rooms and themed logistics groups with a moderator

➡ Increase business opportunities

One of the best parts of the Forwarders Online Conference is that you don’t have to migrate from one platform to another, it all happens in a single place. 

2021’s conference was a huge success, we had 73 forwarder attendees, from 39 countries, a total of 454 1on1 meetings, 8 Lectures, 3 Networking rooms, and 2 Themed Groups. Stay tuned on our social media and don’t miss next year’s event.

Seize the many options of meeting new forwarder partners 

I think you are all set to meet new freight forwarders during the coronavirus pandemic. Step out of the obvious ways of finding freight forwarder partners, take a step forward, and increase your business opportunities through new partnerships. 

Go for all the options we presented for you above, enter on Facebook and Linkedin groups, join the Forwarders Online Conference, and other online events that might interest you. 

Just make sure you have a real connection with the forwarders you talk to, this way you can improve your forwarder company through your own partnerships.