How to Negotiate Better Shipping Terms with Shipping Companies?

Do you operate a business which needs an overseas shipment of goods? Then you probably have a fair idea of how important and difficult it is to negotiate shipping terms with cargo shipping companies. No matter how cheap and affordable shipping rates you have, if your shipping partner is not trustworthy for timely delivery, the negotiation stands of no use. 

Fortunately, there are some tips and tricks to avail better shipping terms along with affordable rates from shipping companies. Here are some tips to help you negotiate in a way that can decrease the overall cost with better facilities:

Know the Terminology
Before jumping into the process of negotiation and pricing it's better to have a fair idea about the glossary of shipping terms. Terms like Forwarders, Agents, Insurance Covers, Pilferage etc. are some of the terms that are eagerly used in the world of the shipping industry.

Before your service provider traps you in this terminology, it's better to have a brief idea about all these terms by yourself. Even if you are new to the business, having a fair idea of these terms will make you look experienced and provides you with an upper hand during negotiation. 

Conduct a Through Market Research
Entrusting your precious consignment on the very first offer might not be beneficial for you. You can get price quotations from at least 3 other suppliers to compare their prices and other services offered in the industry. This acquired knowledge will help you create value as you deal with the shipping company. You can also demand some extra services based upon other quotations. It will provide you with knowledge of existing challenges in the industry.

Clarity over Refunds and Penalties
When you opt for a particular carrier, there is some standard of services that they promise to offer, timely deliveries being one of them. Failing to comply with timely delivery can result in unhappy customers and may sometimes end up in refunds and penalties. The main reason being the delay in deliveries from shippers end. 

That is the reason that you should never waive your right to claim service refunds. While negotiating with the supplier make sure you have the money-back guarantees and service refund options if the carrier doesn't meet the specific standards of services.

Having Good Inter-Personal Skills
If you clearly define the services you want, you can easily grab better pricing and offers. Its easier to explain yourself better to the people with whom you share a better relationship.

Maintaining good relationships with your carrier representatives is extremely important to grab better services and discounts. These are the people who can help you with negotiations and makes your business better and easier. Sometimes they can also help you to get access to much-discounted rates that only representatives can work out.

Final Thoughts
However there is no strict rule book applicable on pricing and shipping terms, you can always find better negotiation options for special cases. As you grow in the business, you can develop better strategies apart from those above-mentioned tips.

Using 3PL Logistics to Optimize your Supply Chain Management

The supply chain is an inclusive process that starts right from the manufacturing and ends upon the delivery of the goods to customers. Everything from the procurement of raw material to storage and transportation of manufactured goods comes under the single roof of Supply Chain Management.

There is no doubt that global supply chains are becoming complex day by day, and there are many companies out there who don’t have the right expertise to handle these operations effectively.

That is the reason that companies and international business persons are working with Third Party Logistics companies to not only manage cargo but to move cargo as well. 

 

Here are 5 reasons why collaborating with a  3PL company can help you in optimizing the supply chain:

One-Stop Solution 
One of the largest benefits of including a 3PL service provider in your business is having the bundle of services. There is no need to roam around for demanding pricing quotations and available services in the market. When you have a project in hands which needs to be completed, you can avail services like freight forwarding, inbound logistics, warehouse and distributions all from a single service provider.

Growth Opportunities
When you are managing all the supply chain function in-house, you may find it difficult to manage all the resources and norms of various countries. The professional people working in Third Party Logistics companies have a varied knowledge of various countries. With the help of these people expansion of business in distant countries is possible without being burdened of knowing different rules and regulations.

Extended Experience

These Third Party Logistics companies are well-versed with industry practices. These companies keep track of the latest technology and cost-saving facilities. Upon getting more than one facilities from these companies, you can have cost-effective solutions for various business needs. When it comes to dealing with the complicated procedure of handling custom clearances and paperwork, their years of experience becomes useful by restricting the possibility of something getting wrong throughout the supply chain.

Consistency

Dealing with a single service provider for all your supply chain needs, there would be no surprise in obtaining different services. You will be well-versed with the working style of the company, along with all the due-diligence and quality checks applied to those services. Whether the new project you are taking is long-term or short -term, you will be assured that the job will be done with the utmost care.

Increased Resources and Network

While working with a professional logistics service provider, you can get access to the vast world of connections and resources. By taking the expert services of these service providers, you can safeguard your business from possible threats and inconsistencies of the world trade. You not only get access to private fleets, but you can also grab an opportunity to grab special contracts as well.

Final Thoughts

All in all, a Third Party Logistics company can provide you with a lot of features that can help in expanding your business with increased customer satisfaction. They provide you facility of being in touch with the shipment process and updates you about the proceedings as well.

Significance of Documentation in the International Shipping of Cargo

Documentation is one of the main aspects of international trade. It represents the contract of carriage, detailed description of the goods, the terms and conditions under which the logistic operation takes place, payment terms, and the ownership of goods. Moreover, it verifies that the goods were delivered in the right condition. 
 
There are various documents involved in the international shipment process that we shall discuss here. These documents are obligatory while dealing in international trade, so read them carefully! 
 
Performa Invoice

Performa invoice can be said to be a precursor to an invoice. It is a type of quotation form used in an international transaction to specify the exact rates and services/products that the other party will receive. 

A proforma invoice is required to plan for financing, to claim the goods at customs, and to apply for the proper import licenses, and more. 

It contains certain information like description and classification of the goods, the details about the buyer and seller in the transaction, the payment term of the sale, delivery details including the delivery charges, and the currency used in the quote. 

Commercial Invoice

After sending the proforma invoice and receiving their orders, you will be required to produce a commercial invoice that contains detailed information of the entire export transaction.  

 

 

Although it looks like a proforma invoice, it gives necessary specifications regarding the nature of the goods, including its identification, market value, purchase order number, etc. 

It is this document that specifies the details of the transaction to the tax authorities, that is why it is significant for the party importing the goods. 

Certificate of Origin

Often some countries ask for a certificate of origin that specifies the country of origin of goods. This certificate is accepted only when it is signed from a country’s consulate office.

Even though you have specified the country of origin of goods in commerce invoice, it is vital to prepare the certificate of origin. Also, make sure that it conforms to all the laws and regulations while creating it. 

Packaging list 

It helps in identifying the items in the shipment. The list includes specifications about the goods, invoice member, the gross weight, and dimensions of the package. 

Moreover, it identifies any shipping marks and numbers on packages, along with any special instructions for the safe delivery of goods. The packaging list can be used by the shipping company to create the bill of lading for the shipment.
Bills of lading

Bills of Lading is one of the most critical transportation documents needed for international shipping of goods. It provides crucial information to the shipment staff that guides them throughout the shipment process. 

From the location to where the package is headed, the number of items the package contains, to how to handle the package, the bills of lading comprises everything. There are three common bills of lading documents, namely ocean, inland, and air waybill.
 
Conclusion

Along with the above-stated documents, Dangerous Goods Forms and Bank Draft is also required. So, these are the vital documents needed in the process of international shipping of cargo. 

However, the right shipping company provides complete assistance in the documentation, so choose your logistics partner wisely.

What are the Various Job Responsibilities of a Freight Agent?

When you are dealing with international business, using the services of freight forwarding becomes essential. A freight forwarder or freight agent is the person who acts as a middleman between the businessman and transporter. 

The process of freight forwarding might seem very difficult if you try to do international shipment without the help of freight forwarders.  

Following are some of the responsibilities fulfilled by these freight forwarders:

Planning and Advising 

Services of freight forwarder may vary from others, depending upon the services chosen by you. Depending on the services provided, there are some services that you can avail from these forwarders for hassle-free transportation of goods/consignment. These agents can help you in deciding the production cost, other freight expenses.  

They can also help in deciding the most viable route for effective transportation. They can also help by acting as a middleman and save a lot of time for your business by choosing the most appropriate freight forwarder for you. 

Knowing All the Restrictions 

While importing or exporting it is very essential to know the import/export restrictions of the destination country. Freight agents are the people with experience, knowing all the rules and regulations of different countries.  

They can guide you about the permissible quantities of the goods allowed. Although the list of prohibited and restricted goods vary from country to country, yet a common list of restricted items include Dangerous goods, drugs, alcohol, etc.You need to be extra careful and know the rules if you want to export/import these goods. 

Customs Clearance for the Client 

Every country has its own rules and regulations for custom clearances. Knowing all these rules is not possible for a businessman hence, here comes the role of a Freight agent or freight forwarder.  

A freight agent knows all the documents required for customs clearance and works in favour of the client by assisting in the fast clearance of the goods. They take responsibility for all the paperwork and documentation. 

Maintaining a Vital Network 

The strong network and contract of the freight forwarders help the clients to have timely deliveries. They are professional people and can manage adverse situations easily.  

When goods are delivered, there are many possibilities that goods or consignment gets stuck on the port or it may face any other difficulty. But you can trust these experts for their reliable services. 

Ancillary services 

However, during overseas transportation, the responsibility lies with the importer/exporter itself. But these freight forwarders can provide you with various services such as; 

• Bill of Lading
• Export License
• Commercial invoice, etc. 

Conclusion

When there are so many providers out there, to provide you with various assistance in logistics and freight forwarding, you need not worry about customs clearance. These are the professional people working in this direction for so many years to provide cost-effective transport solutions to the businesses. 

Doing good market research before choosing a freight forwarder will ensure timely delivery of the goods and consignment.

How To Successfully Apply Logistics Strategies In Business?

The ultimate goal of a business is to, maximize its profit by remitting customer-oriented services. To have a competitive edge in the world full of businesses, it is very important that you collaborate and outsource, various services. By doing this, you can excel in every department of trade worldwide.  

Why do you need a logistics strategy?

A business is the consolidation of various processes, partners and stakeholders. Working through a supply chain is a critical process and requires proper planning for getting the work done in minimum possible expenses.  

The supply chain is constantly changing and hence, strategies applied should be flexible and should be changed along with the time and circumstances.

Steps to implement a successful Logistics Strategy for your Business

By following the below-mentioned steps and guidelines you can ensure that your strategies for logistics are completely aligned with the business processes and goals of the organization.  

• Planning: Before moving on to further processes, it is very important to carefully plan a review of the present logistics system, customer base, their requirements and geographic distribution of various processes. 
  
  In the planning phase, all the relevant decisions and features are listed down on the paper. It is mainly created by top-level management by keeping the goal and vision of the business in mind.
  
• Organization: To have a successful strategy for your supply chain, you need to carefully consolidate all the available resources of the business. Resources of the business include available manpower, work timings and outsourcing cost. The process which can be eliminated should be eliminated at this stage to cut out unnecessary expenses.   
  
• Staffing: For the successful implementation of business strategies, it's important to appoint only qualified personnel to handle different processes. If you are short of staff or need to recruit specialised people to handle various duties it might be better to opt for outsourcing the same from some third party logistics company.  
  
• Implementation / Execution: After all the preliminary planning and organization work, now its time for you to implement and execute the strategy to your business. You can opt to choose an in-house supply chain by employing various personnel on the desired process or you can opt for outsourcing supply chain functions from experienced service providers.
  
  Every strategy should be implemented in such a way that it adds functionality to the desired procedure by increasing efficiency and time-saving.
  
• Changes: Implementation of a successful strategy for the business is not a one-time affair rather, it needs to be updated from time to time. Just after application, the manager needs to update the changes. The procedure is continued to serve the customers in the best possible way in a cost-effective manner.  

Note: You need to review these strategies from time to time to keep a track on changing needs of the business and customers. 

Conclusion

The organizations who are committed to keeping the service level high should always ensure that they incorporate these strategies in their business line for cost-effective business.
As your customer base changes you need to re-implement the changed strategies for better performance.

Significant Services Offered by Third-Party Logistics Company in Afghanistan

If your business deals in the supply chain domain or logistics field then outsourcing 3PL services are worthwhile. Logistics operation involves various complexities that require the assistance of experts. From planning, good procurement, material handling, packaging, inventory, storage to transportation, logistics covers all these stages. Third-party logistics companies in Afghanistan provide several services that ensure success at each of these stages of the logistics process.  

Here are the significant Afghan logistics services provided by 3PL companies in Afghanistan that streamlines your supply chain process. 
 
Freight Forwarding Services

Freight forwarding is one of the most important aspects of international trade. Freight forwarding services providing firms acts as intermediaries between shippers and carriers. There are different types of freight forwarding services that include air freight, sea freight, and road freight services. All these freight shipping services cater to the different needs of the client. 

For example, if the client needs quick freight forwarding services for the transportation of goods to another country then Air freight is considered as the most suitable option. Similarly, if the client needs to transport the goods in bulk then sea freight is the aptest choice. Along with shipment, freight forwarding company also provides custom brokerage services to handle documentation and facilitate the customs clearance process. 
 
Warehousing

Third-party logistics company provides warehousing and storage facilities. Good warehousing is a key to the success of the business. Not only it is important to transport the goods at the right time but also in the right shape and condition. 3PL companies in Afghanistan provide expedient warehousing services.  

They store your goods safely and take all the security measures to prevent any damage or loss. These 3PL companies are equipped with all the resources and personnel required to manage goods effectively. Moreover, by partnering with them, you can save your pocket from the managing costs of your warehouse. 

Project Cargo

Project cargo refers to the transportation of heavy and large pieces of equipment. 3PL logistics service providers in Afghanistan provide project cargo services that include heavy lift cargo, bulk shipment, warehousing, cargo handling, cargo tracking, road studies and more. 

They help in determining the best route option for your project and make sure that your project cargo reaches its destination before the deadline in its perfect condition. With the help of their dedicated and experienced team, they ensure that your heavy equipment shipping is in safe hands. 

5 Best Third-party Logistics Companies in Afghanistan 

Not every Afghanistan-based logistics company can be trusted with your logistics service requirements. To help you to choose the best 3PL company in Afghanistan, here is a list of 5 best Logistics companies that provide robust Afghan Logistics solutions and services. 
 

• AS Logistics
• ACTO Logistics
• Logistan 
• FGI Logistics
• Agility

Be careful while choosing the right Afghan Logistics service providing company in Afghanistan!

What are the New Age Developments in Freight Forwarding Companies?

In terms of market share, after the digital industry, freight forwarding or logistics industry is the second place holder.  The whole world has become a small room for business. The growing need for transportation from all over the world can be considered as a reason behind such fast development.

In order to ensure timely and right delivery of your goods and consignment to the required destination, you need a middle man called freight forwarder, and the companies providing the services of freight forwarding are known as freight forwarding companies. 

Since years, these freight forwarders ensure timely delivery of the goods to almost any location whether it is being a warehouse on the main road or a house at the end of the road. This all has been possible only with such a big network of these transporters in different parts of the world. With the help of growing technology these freight forwarding services have become more cost effective and time efficient.

Among the numerous benefits provided by these forwarders, it is your duty to find one the one matching with your needs. New age freight forwarders can be fruitful in many situations but given below are some of the latest developments in this business which led to such a market share and importance:

Credit periods

One of the most common issue in doing business is maintaining liquidity in the business. A business for its proper development and easy flow need flow of funds at regular interval. In past times payments to these companies were made in advance resulting in a block of funds but now if you have good relationships with your freight forwarder they can provide you with more credit terms so that you can purchase more inventory and goods by this credit flow.

Timely Arrivals

With the help of advanced technology and equipment, timely delivery of consignments has become a common trait of these service providers. They now guarantee a specific slot for the arrival of shipment with assured services.
The goods are delivered in the same condition as they were delivered in most of the cases without fail!!  

Handling International Documentation/Custom Knowledge

With the knowledge and experience of years, these forwarders have expertise in handling international shipments and custom departments. Through the internet and other sources, they have the best way out in any situation. With the latest and updated information, they can complete the framework which is now paperless in most parts of the worlds. Paperwork is completed even before the arrival of the shipment to avoid any unnecessary delays in customs clearance.

Specialized Services

By specializing in any specific service area or mode of transportation now customised combination of services can be chosen. Based on the requirements and experience of various service providers a particular combination of different services can be applied to the business. These new age freight forwarders understand business needs and on the basis of which they choose the best route suitable to the owner.   Previously this work has to be done by the conjunction of many transport companies but now these all services are provided at one place only.

Competitive Rates

With the presence of so many companies in the market, these forwarders are unable to charge depending upon the time and needs. In order to provide the best rates quotation to their client, they even collaborate with other transporters so that the minimum rates are provided to the business owner(s). A freight forwarder can do this by consolidating consignments of many businesses as a single unit or can consolidate with other shipping services to take advantage of bulk transport. This procedure definitely cuts freight charges to a minimum.

Conclusion

Due to the above-mentioned advancements, these freight forwarding companies have been proven very beneficial in international transport. The new age advancements have definitely reduced a lot of pressure with reliable transportation services in all corners of the world.