Freight Forwarders – Which of These 5 Problems Is Costing You Money?

As a freight forwarder, you know the logistics marketplace is competitive and very price-driven. This means any opportunity to improve your margins is a good thing. You also understand everything in shipping is urgent, making time yet another constant pressure on you and your company’s operations.

You might not face all 5 of these problems—but chances are you’ll be very familiar with at least a few. Just fixing one of the following can provide a massive boost in productivity to your operations. What you need is the best freight forwarding software to get you on the right track.

Problem #1: Taking Too Long to Quote

You get a request for pricing regarding a multi-modal freight movement, and they need it yesterday. Without a process to access and calculate all-in rates, it can take hours or days to get back to the customer.

Chances are, in that time, the customer has spoken to other freight forwarders and received at least a few competitor quotes. Many times, it’s the first to quote that wins the business.

Problem #2: Freight Rates Aren’t Current

Speaking of quoting customers, to do that correctly, you need accurate rate information.

Yet, in logistics, you’re usually dealing with tariffs that are already obsolete. That’s not because most logistics people are lazy, but because freight rates (especially ocean tariffs) change every few weeks or months. This makes calculating freight costs accurately impossible if you don’t have the latest rates available.

Problem #3: Cannot Balance Cost and Service

Sometimes, the lowest cost options do not lead to the best solution. Many forwarders quote higher for shipments than they should and with longer transit times than necessary.

This is mainly because they can’t easily determine what the best options are. A process to optimize cost and service when quoting customers is important to putting your best foot forward and winning more business.

Problem #4: No Centralized System for Managing Freight

If you have multiple locations that exist as separate operations from a rate and contract management standpoint, you’re losing efficiency.

This is because it probably means you’re also managing separate carrier tariffs and operating under different procedures—and in many cases, doing the same work twice for no gain. A centrally managed, single software to handle freight rate management will give you better control and consistency.

Problem #5: Losing Money on Invoice Errors

Shipping generates a lot of invoices—and messy ones at that. It’s a necessary portion of the business, but never an enjoyable one.

There are regular overcharges and other errors that are common on freight invoices. But unless you’re investing staff time into reviewing them, or have a system that automatically checks for errors, you might as well have a hole in your pocket.

GAMA Tools Solves These Problems

Instant quotes. The ability to compare all-in rates for any freight move with 99.7% accuracy. A centralized system so you can manage ALL your freight rates and contracts, plus a process that checks invoices for inaccuracies.

It’s easy to see how these tools instantly eliminate all the above problems and provide incredible cost savings for your business.