5 Management of Suppliers Services Offered
Freight forwarding is complex, it requires the activities of many different suppliers to be co-ordinated to ensure that cargo is successfully moved.
Supplier management is undertaken on a continuing and per individual shipment basis. Opposite are some aspects of this role undertaken by the freight forwarder:
• Using industry knowledge to select suitable suppliers dependent on activity/mode
• Obtaining and managing cargo capacity including permanent bookings to secure space on their customers’ behalf
• Negotiation and monitoring of freight rates on behalf of the customer
• Establishing if the client has any special requirement relating to equipment, documentation, and personnel – passing this information to the chosen supplier and monitoring compliance • Monitoring service levels including adherence to departure dates, schedule reliability levels and accuracy of invoicing etc.
• Aggregated buying / negotiating power as the freight forwarder has a wider client base
• Local contact with suppliers
• Reduction of the customer’s workload because they have fewer suppliers to monitor.
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