TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
If your business relies on a smooth, trouble-free supply chain, working with an efficient and experienced freight forwarder is essential. Choosing the wrong provider could lead to delays, unexpected costs and extra paperwork for your hardworking staff, leaving you out of pocket, short on time and juggling frustrated customers.
There are numerous hidden costs you need to be aware of when selecting a freight forwarder, from opaque pricing to outdated customs practices, limited route options or a poorly established transport network. All of these factors can impact your bottom line, your deadlines and your wider supply chain.
For example, if you work in construction, late deliveries can cause delays to ongoing projects, impacting your budget and your timescale. While companies that import or export food and drink may find unreliable deliveries can even result in produce being thrown away.
To help you select the right freight forwarder for your cargo shipments, and avoid common cost pitfalls, we’re taking a deeper look at ten ways you could be losing money and how our experienced and expert team can alleviate your troubles.
What Are The 10 Hidden Cost Pitfalls?
1. Poor Communication
Poor communication from your freight forwarder can be a significant source of financial loss for your business. When your freight forwarder fails to provide clear, timely updates and accurate ETAs, it creates a ripple effect of inefficiencies that impact your bottom line.
This ripple can result in a cascade of issues, including disrupted production schedules, missed sales opportunities, and dissatisfied customers. For instance, a retailer expecting a shipment for a peak sales period might face stock outs if the freight forwarder doesn’t inform them about delays, resulting in lost sales and potential damage to customer relationships.
Misunderstandings about shipment details, such as incorrect addresses, mislabeling, or incomplete customs documentation, can cause shipments to be held up at borders or delivered to the wrong locations. These mistakes often result in additional expenses for rerouting, storage fees, or fines. Moreover, the business might incur higher administrative costs as staff spend extra time resolving these issues.
In the long run, these cumulative costs can erode profit margins and strain the business’s financial resources, highlighting the critical importance of finding and utilising freight forwarders who value clear and effective communication. By choosing a competent, communicative, and technologically adept freight forwarder, businesses can turn supply chain pressures into opportunities for optimisation and growth.
2. Missed Deadlines
Missed deadlines can have serious cost and customer service implications. Being unable to fulfil orders due to late deliveries can lead to customers becoming frustrated and even result in you losing business. It can also have a negative impact on your reputation as a reliable supplier.
Companies that have ongoing problems with late deliveries sometimes opt to hold onto more inventory in order to buffer against potential delays. Though this can help to keep customers happy, it will lead to increased storage and insurance costs and, in some cases, your products becoming obsolete before they have a chance to hit the shelves.
3. Outdated Customs Practices
Using a freight forwarder that doesn’t have customs in-house often means your chosen partner will utilise a third party provider. In these cases, information can easily be lost, missed or misunderstood, resulting in time consuming and unnecessary back and forth exchanges. The more people there are involved in the customs process, the easier it is for mistakes to be made. Errors can be costly and result in avoidable fines and delays. This is especially likely if the third party broker lacks expertise and experience in your industry.
Given the frequent updates to customs regulations, adherence to good practices in customs has become even more critical, especially for businesses involved in importing or exporting fresh food or animal products. With certification and physical checks required for many products, it’s essential freight forwarders are able to communicate well with their partners to ensure everything runs smoothly at the border.
Uncover How You Are Losing Money To Your Freight Forwarder
Looking to uncover hidden costs and make the most out of your freight forwarding experience? Download our free guide today and keep your profits on track without the hidden fees.
Inside, you’ll find:
- An introduction to the common cost pitfalls in freight forwarding.
- Detailed insights on how poor communication, missed deadlines, and outdated customs practices can impact your bottom line.
- Practical advice on avoiding disruptions in the supply chain and spotting opaque pricing and invoicing.
- Arm yourself with the knowledge to steer clear of unnecessary expenses and ensure smooth sailing with your freight forwarder. Simply fill in the form on this page, and we’ll send your free guide to your email inbox soon after.
4. Absence Of Cost-Saving Reviews
The markets are constantly changing, so it’s essential that you work with a freight company that regularly reviews its approach and proactively seeks cost-saving opportunities for your business. Looking for new routes, new providers and new procedures can help your freight forwarder reduce costs for your organisation, saving you time and streamlining your processes.
5. Disruptions In The Supply Chain
When your freight forwarder doesn’t coordinate efficiently with other parties in the supply chain, it can lead to widespread inefficiencies and interruptions. These disruptions can have far-reaching consequences beyond just your immediate operations. Businesses face constant pressure to deliver products faster, at lower costs, and with greater flexibility to meet ever-changing consumer demands. These pressures are further intensified by factors such as global economic uncertainties, geopolitical tensions, and unexpected disruptions like natural disasters or pandemics.
In this high-stakes environment, working with an inefficient freight forwarder can turn everyday challenges into critical problems. For instance, the need for just-in-time inventory management becomes nearly impossible when your freight forwarder can’t provide accurate, real-time updates on shipment locations and ETAs. This lack of visibility can force businesses to either risk stockouts or overcompensate by holding excess inventory, tying up capital and increasing storage costs.
The right logistics partner should act as a problem solver and efficiency booster, helping to navigate these challenges rather than exacerbating them.
6. Opaque Pricing & Invoicing
No one likes hidden costs and unexpected extras, least of all your accounts department. Using a freight forwarder with unclear pricing structures and complicated invoices will waste time and resources and give your accounting team a headache.
Instead of using a freight company with over-complicated quotations and opaque pricing, look for a forwarder that keeps costs clear and concise. This will significantly reduce the number of hours your accounting team spends processing invoices, saving you time and money.
7. Inaccurate Duty Calculations
While the responsibility for classifying goods typically falls to the manufacturer, your freight forwarder plays an important role in ensuring that these classifications are accurate and beneficial for your business. A freight forwarder with deep expertise in your industry can help identify potential issues or discrepancies in customs classifications. By working closely with HM Customs, a knowledgeable forwarder can help challenge and resolve classification errors on your behalf, potentially preventing costly mistakes.
Freight forwarders with Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status, for instance, often have direct access to key departments within customs, enabling them to address classification concerns efficiently. This results in quicker resolutions and more accurate duty calculations, helping to reduce unnecessary expenses and protect your bottom line.
Whether you’re in industries such as food and beverages, construction materials, or automotive equipment, the ability to navigate complex regulatory requirements and tariff codes is critical. The right freight forwarder can add significant value by ensuring that your duty calculations are correct and in line with your products’ specifications.
8. Limited Service Offerings
When it comes to moving products and materials around the world, flexibility is key. Your freight forwarder needs to be able to handle various lanes and modes of transport so that your business isn’t restricted to specific routes or forced to work with multiple providers in order to get the job done.
If your chosen freight forwarder has limited service offerings, you may have to pay more to move your products from A to B or work with a number of different providers to get your goods to their destination.
This extra work will cost you time and money. If you import produce with a limited shelf life like meat, dairy products or fresh fruit and vegetables, these avoidable delays could have serious consequences.
9. Inefficient Routing & Modal Selection
The route and mode of transport your freight forwarder selects can have a big impact on your transportation costs. If you work with a forwarder that doesn’t analyse and optimise shipping routes and modes, it could mean you’re paying more than you need to.
For example, your freight forwarder may not choose the most efficient form of transport for your specific goods and timeline. They may not consider alternative routes that could be shorter or offer lower fuel costs and, if they have limited knowledge of the market, you could find that they fail to negotiate competitive rates for your transport.
10. Lack of Established Network
Often, the foundation to achieve effective freight forwarding is forging strong partnerships. If a freight forwarder lacks established global partnerships with carriers and doesn’t have an in-depth knowledge of available routes, it can restrict your options and potentially drive up your costs.
Limited partnerships can mean your forwarder is unable to offer competitive rates to your desired locations. It can also result in difficulty finding solutions for complex routes or niche shipping needs and reduced flexibility in case of disruptions.
Essentially, working with a freight forwarder with limited global connections means your business might be stuck with the rates offered by the few carriers they have access to, potentially driving up your costs and reducing efficiency.
Advantages of Using Jordon Freight
Now we’ve covered the 10 most likely ways you’re losing money on your freight transportation, let’s take a look at the solution: Jordon Freight. Jordon Freight offers transparency, reduced risk, cost savings and streamlined logistics.
We do this by prioritising in-house expertise, using data-driven optimisation and maintaining a comprehensive service network.
By choosing Jordon Freight, you can avoid common and costly shipping pitfalls and get your goods from A to B quickly, affordably and on time. Some of the key benefits of working with Jordon Freight include:
Transparency & Communication
As we’ve already seen, poor communication and a lack of transparency can have serious consequences when it comes to costs. To combat this, Jordon Freight is committed to providing consistent and clear communication throughout the shipping process. You’ll receive proactive updates with real-time ETAs, great customer support and transparent pricing structures, helping you, and your team to work more efficiently. As well as communicating closely with you, we also work collaboratively with all parties involved in the supply chain, including at collection and delivery points. This allows us to ensure smooth communication and keep everyone informed.
Customs Expertise
Our in-house team of customs experts will work closely with you to ensure efficient customs clearance. Our extensive customs experience means we’re able to minimise delays and optimise duty calculations to avoid overpaying.
Cost-Saving Solutions
At Jordon Freight, we go beyond simply moving your cargo. We conduct regular reviews of your shipping processes and recommend cost-effective solutions tailored to your evolving needs. Going the extra mile means we can ensure our partners are always getting the best deal for their freight shipping and aren’t paying over the odds at any point.
Comprehensive Services
Jordon Freight offers a one-stop shop for all your shipping needs. We have a comprehensive suite of services covering various routes and modes of transport. Additionally, our established global partnerships with trusted carriers provide preferential pricing and reduce paperwork burdens.
Efficient Routing and Modal Selection
Our team meticulously analyses routing and modal options to ensure your cargo reaches its destination efficiently and affordably. We leverage our extensive experience in dealing with various countries’ legal frameworks and infrastructure. Additionally, our global partnerships provide valuable ‘on-the-ground’ knowledge, which is especially helpful when addressing issues related to town and city access restrictions.
“WHATEVER YOU’RE MOVING, WHEREVER IN THE WORLD IT NEEDS TO GO, YOU CAN RELY ON US TO DO IT.”Roddy ForsterBut don’t take our word for it, have a look at what our customers say to see what a difference our expertise can make.
“So much better and more efficient than previous companies we’ve used” – F.H, Drinks Company
“Our move to Jordon Freight was an inspired one as we have found their service and staff professional and excellent throughout.” – PH, Luxury Décor Company
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Contact Our Team Today
With outstanding communication, an extensive, trusted network and a commitment to exceptional customer service, we’re able to be your go to for freight expertise.
By taking the pain out of transportation logistics Jordon Freight can help your business save time and money and keep your supply chain moving.
Contact us today to find out more about our expert freight forwarding solutions!
