The logistics sector all over the world is undergoing great transformations and advancements. Due to this, this sector is showing incredible growth and is likely to grow more in the upcoming years. So, logistics companies provide diverse and specialized services to meet the demands of various industries.
Logistics services play a vital role in running any business successfully. Because when a business grows, it becomes difficult to manage the transportation of products from one place to another. So, here comes the need for logistics companies that offer a wide range of services to help businesses. These services ensure effective and on-time transportation of goods from one place to another.
to make the logistics process successful, you should know that everything falls right. There are seven Rs in the logistics process that ensure the successful completion of the assigned operation. These seven Rs are the Right product, Right customer, Right price, Right quantity, Right condition, Right time, Right place, etc.
In today’s article, we will discuss different logistics services offered by a 3PL logistics company. We will also discuss freight forwarding, a specific logistics service, its types, and its importance in businesses.
Main services offered by a 3PL logistics company to run a business successfully
3PL company is an organization that outsources logistics operations to a third party. Most businesses these days are availing the services of these companies to safely transport their goods from one place to another. Logistics companies offer plenty of services to make the shipment smooth and successful. With time logistics companies keep updating their services to offer the best experience to the businesses. They use modern warehousing, good infrastructure, and advanced technologies to successfully manage the operations. Some of the major logistics services that a logistics company provides are:
- Procurement: It mainly orders and receives products or goods from upstream inventories in the supply chain.
- Order fulfillment: It involves many steps like receiving orders from the customers, and then picking and packing the order for the customers. After that make the orders ready to be sent out.
- Storage: After proper packaging, the goods are stored in safe and secure warehouses.
- Transportation: Lastly, the orders will be transported from the provider’s storage place to other parts of the supply chain. Sometimes the goods are directly transported to the customers from the provider’s storage facilities.
These are the most basic facilities a 3PL logistics company offers, but that’s not all. Many logistics companies provide some additional services besides those discussed above. Those additional services include freight forwarding, shipping goods with different transport methods, reverse logistics, environmentally controlled freight, etc.
What is freight forwarding in logistics and its importance?
Freight forwarding is one of the most important aspects of logistics when it comes to the transportation of commercial goods. Transporting commercial goods in bulk on their own is very difficult for the businesses. It is very costly and time-consuming as well. Here, comes the role of freight forwarding which is the process of moving goods from one place to another.
Freight forwarding companies move the goods from the manufacturer to the customers. It is a complex process including multiple steps that businesses can’t handle on their own. These companies use single or multiple carriers and different modes of transportation like road, sea, air, or railway to move goods.
Freight forwarding involves everything from picking goods from the manufacturer to delivering them to the end customers. It handles all the processes that come in between like warehousing, handling customs, tracking, documentation, licenses, and much more.
A good freight forwarding company makes freight logistics very safe and secure with their expertise and specific features. Many freight forwarding companies are in the market. It is important to consider all the aspects while choosing the right one for your business shipments. Freight forwarding involves a series of steps to successfully transport goods from one place to another:
Modes of freight forwarding
- Ocean freight forwarding: transportation of goods by sea or ocean
- Air freight forwarding: transportation of goods by air
- Truck freight forwarding: transportation of goods by trucks which is the most common method used by businesses
- Railway freight forwarding: transportation of goods by railway services
Types of freight forwarding: It is of two types – domestic and international. Domestic involves transporting goods within the country. However, international freight forwarding involves cross-country transportation of goods.
What is the importance of an international freight forwarder?
Transportation of goods internationally is a very complicated, expensive, and time-consuming process. It involves plenty of steps that are very difficult to manage by the businesses on their own. So, businesses look for international freight forwarders or logistics companies that will do this for them. They handle the complete shipping process and deliver goods safely to the right place and location. With the help of freight forwarders, businesses can focus on the other aspects of their business.
They organize and manage the entire shipping from picking up the goods to storage, and delivery. It is their job to find the most efficient safe route and cost-effective mode of transportation for the shipment. They handle all the custom-related things, documentation, and necessary procedures for smooth shipment.
How does an international freight forwarder work?
- gets a proposal for shipment from any business
- after accepting gives bill of lading
- cargo pickup from the warehouse
- arranges shipping company
- does the paperwork and customs clearance
- transportation of cargo to the airport/seaport/railways
- loading of cargo and shipping to the discharge point
- customs clearance (both export and import)
- receiving cargo at the overseas branch of the freight company
- release of cargo to the receiver
Conclusion
Most of the businesses these days are dealing internationally. To make this happen successfully, businesses make sure their international clients receive genuine products on time. Transportation of goods cross-country is quite complex for businesses on their own. However, 3PL logistics companies like Amerigo Logistics work great in international freight forwarding. Such companies are a step solution for all your transportation needs. Freight forwarding companies ensure safe, secure, and timely delivery of your goods at the right location without any hassle. A good logistics company and its services, help you build a strong and trustworthy relationship with your customers.
