What Does a Freight Forwarder Do?

A freight forwarder can provide your business with streamlined shipping, packaging all the steps of international and domestic freight into one simple bundle. This allows for easier management of your business and reassurance that your assets will reach their destination.

At Allegro Freight Forwarding, we’re in the unique position to offer a compressive end-to-end freight forwarding service alongside other services such as Logistics. In this article we will explain what a freight forwarder does, inform you about the different types of freight forwarder, and highlight the key benefits that a freight forwarder can bring to your business.

If you need forwarding services for your international or UK freight, contact a member of our team.

A freight forwarder is an organisation who handles the shipping process of goods of many varieties to locations both domestically and internationally. Not all freight forwarders will offer transportation of freight to any country, but many have trusted connections to shippers which allow them to deliver to just about anywhere.

What Do Freight Forwarders Do?

The freight forwarding process starts with the products. These can be from the manufacturer, your company, or being stored in a warehouse. The freight forwarder takes these goods and ships them to the location of your choosing through the best suited channel.

Freight forwarding allows businesses to get on with managing their production and work, while the shipping process is fully managed by the freight forwarder. This provides a stress-free way to ensure your shipments reach their destination at the time you require.

To make sure you get the most out of freight forwarding, there are a few different services that forwarders such as Allegro offer that make the entire supply chain process a lot easier. These include:

• End-to-end integration with logistics.
• Customs compliance without the need to contact an independent broker.
• Multimodal shipping options that combine the benefits of the various types of freight transportation.

Find out the difference between freight forwarding and logistics with our article. >

To maximise the potential of your shipping journey, freight forwarders can choose from a variety of different types of transportation processes. While some forwarders specialise in a single type of freight, others have a broader view that encompasses many.

Each of these types of freight forwarder comes with its benefits, but by combining the shipping methods into a single solution, also known as “multimodal” shipping, the experience for the client will be as advantageous and seamless as possible.

There are four key types of freight:

Air freight enables the transportation of goods to almost anywhere in the world. There are typically two types of air freight modes: priority, and economy.

Priority air freight is an express service specialising in speed. This is typically the fastest method of transport for goods internationally, and there are several domestic benefits depending on the country and timescale. Economy air freight is a consolidated option, allowing for cost-effective shipping that still gets to its destination quickly.

The express option can take anywhere from 3-4 days to deliver a good, but next-day delivery is also possible for those urgent last-minute fulfilments, however, this does come at a cost. Economy, on the other hand, can take up to between 6-7 days – a great choice for shipments where time is less of a factor.

Learn more about air freight from Allegro. >

Utilising interconnected networks of railways, rail freight is a great option for direct express delivery to predetermined destinations like population centres or ports.

When shipping freight internationally, it can be more effective to combine transportation methods. Rail does this well, serving as an intermediary system to get goods from one port to another. It also works well with multimodal forwarding in general, providing greater efficiency when working together with other freight options.

Rail freight is also much more environmentally friendly than other options, especially when compared to road freight, making it an excellent choice for businesses looking to cut down on their carbon footprint.

Learn more about rail freight with Allegro. >

Sea freight, also known as ocean freight, is a reliable and commonly used method of international forwarding. In the UK it can also be used domestically, such as by moving goods to Northern Ireland.

While sea freight is most suitable for delivering in bulk, there are options that allow any amount of assets to be delivered using this method. Choose from full-container loads (FCL) to ship large amounts of goods at once or deliver less-than container loads (LCL) with the same cost-efficiency and consolidated service.

Learn more about sea freight from Allegro. >

Road freight is one of the most common methods for domestic forwarding as well as transportation into Europe. It can provide speed rivalling air freight, offering next-day delivery of goods to a number of locations.

While mostly used for smaller quantities of freight, roads can provide an option to deliver in bulk as well. This is less cost-effective than options such as rail but can be useful to ensure speed. Additionally, roads aren’t constricted by their network in the same way as other freight methods, making it a reliable mode of shipping to almost anywhere.

Learn more about road freight with Allegro. >

Due to their ability to find shipping solutions for any freight specification, forwarders are an invaluable partner for any business who wants to move their goods domestically or abroad. They focus on the aspects and challenges of the freight journey, allowing businesses to perform their operations in a hassle-free environment.

Benefits of a Freight Forwarder

While there are many advantages to using a freight forwarder for your international or domestic shipping, there are also specific benefits that will increase the efficacy of your business. With less hassle comes greater productivity which can lead to an all-round increase in operational efficiency.

Among others, some of the key benefits that freight forwarders provide are:

• Less administration time.
• Reduced costs.
• Quicker shipping.
• International & UK domestic sales opportunities.
• Seamless delivery of goods.
• Easier customs navigation.

We take these benefits a step further. With links to our sister company Allegro Logistics, we offer a bespoke end-to-end supply chain management solution that encompasses every aspect of your shipment’s journey.

From warehousing and shipping to customs compliance, all the way through to distribution and last-mile logistics, we offer a comprehensive service that makes shipping, to port or to door, simple.

Find out more about the additional benefits freight forwarders can offer. >

The differences for import and export primarily come about due to the different countries involved. For example the UK Trade Tariff contains specific comparisons with customs processes in the EU, while other countries may by covered by the UK Global Tariff (UKGT) or have a specific tariff-rate quota (TRQ).

With Allegro Freight Forwarding’s seamless end-to-end supply chain management, you won’t even notice a difference between import and export. Simply provide us with your specifications and we can find a solution for you.

Integrate your logistics and freight forwarding suppliers by using the services offered by the Allegro group. We provide comprehensive cover that includes storage, shipping, customs compliance, warehousing, packing, picking, and distribution. We can take your product all the way from company to customer, with supply chains that conclude at port or door.

With an end-to-end system, you can relax without having to worry about complications with customs or other regulatory compliance. An all-in-one solution comes with a full understanding of your goods and their requirements across all stages of their journey, asking minimum input for exemplary output.