What should international freight forwarders consider

       With the continuous development of international trade, more and more foreign trade enterprises chooseInternational freight forwarding companyTo carry out all kinds of trade business。It must be admitted that international freight forwarders have begun to penetrate into various fields of international trade, and gradually become an indispensable part of international trade。Therefore, what aspects should the owner or shipper consider when choosing a freight forwarder？
 

 

First, freight forwarders should be familiar with the common sense of maritime geography

 

       Because ships enter and exit different countries, then as an international freight forwarder, should be familiar with the world's geography and routes, familiar with the location of ports, transit locations and inland distribution centers。In addition, freight forwarders should also understand the pattern of international trade and its development trend, the flow of goods, such as Western Europe and the United States, Canada, Japan and other highly industrialized countries, they import a large number of raw materials from developing countries, export industrial finished products。

 

The second is to be familiar with the scope of application of various modes of transport to the goods

 

       At present, there are four modes of transport in the international shipping market: liner transport, charter transport, non-vessel carrier and intermodal transport。The characteristics of liner transportation are the regulation of time, route, port order and rate;chartering，That is, irregular transportation，No fixed route or schedule，According to the supply and demand of the shipping market，Operating on any route，Freight rates can also be negotiated，Providing services for bulk cargo carriers;Non-vessel carrier，Refers to engaged in regular transportation，However, it does not own or operate vessels required for maritime transport，The NVOCC is the carrier status，Different from the actual shipper，But it is different from the actual shipper。

 

For the owner or shipper, choosing the right mode of transport determines whether the freight forwarder is skilled in the following types of business:

 

(1) Stages of transport services, if the goods need to be shipped out within a certain period of time, choose liner transport;

 

(2) Transport speed;

 

(3) Transport costs, if transport time and speed are not the main factors considered by shippers or shippers, then freight is the primary consideration;

 

(4) The reliability of transportation: before choosing a shipping company to entrust the cargo, it should check its strength and reputation to reduce the possibility of being victimized by maritime fraud;

 

(5) Business conditions and liabilities, ostensibly, a shipowner has ownership of the ship, but in fact he mortgaged the ship to the bank and became the operator of the bank by signing an operation contract with the bank, which will adversely affect the interests of the shipowner in the future when bringing a dispute over the carriage of goods to the court。

 

三是Freight forwarderPeople should understand the adaptability of different ship types to the cargo of the owner

 

       As a shipping agent, it is important to understand the characteristics of the ship, such as the ship's country of registration and tonnage, Gross registered tons (GRT), net registered tons (NRT), bulk cellars, packing cellars, gross deadweight tons (DWT), load lines, ship classes, etc。Better freight forwarders should also understand some special types of cargo ships, such as liner, half container, half pallet, bulk carrier, ro-ro, full container and so on。

 

       Freight forwarders are very familiar with shipping regulations。In addition to understanding the Hague Rules, Wisby Rules and Hamburg Rules, the freight forwarder should also have a sufficient understanding of the maritime regulations and port practices of the country of export or destination of the goods。

 

       Freight forwarders should be skilled in handling the various documents for the carriage of goods by sea and ensure that the basic production is correct, clear and timely。The main documents of sea transportation include bill of lading, sea waybill, manifest, invoice, bill of lading, packing list, dock receipt, mate's receipt, etc。

 

       Freight forwarders should understand customs procedures and port operation procedures。Customs clearance is one of the traditional functions of freight forwarders in import and export trade。There is a dual relationship between freight forwarders and customs and with customers, and countries have different regulations on the legal status of freight forwarders, but customs is generally authorized by the government。The customer (i.e. the owner of the cargo) should consider the ability of the freight forwarder as a customs agent to protect the responsibilities of both the customer and the Customs in the performance of his duties。

 

       Freight forwarders have the ability to handle transport procedures, bonded warehousing, inland customs clearance and other aspects of the agency, therefore, the ability to operate the port procedure is crucial。In addition, the ability of freight forwarders to provide lower freight rates is also an important factor to consider, and there is a close relationship between freight forwarders and liner rates。

 

       Review of freight forwarding contracts, but also pay attention to some factors such as credit status, select a good freight forwarder, for the performance of the owner of the contract is very important。