Ensuring that your shipments are moved in an accurate, timely manner and that you do so in compliance with ever-changing regulations through a multitude of carriers and lanes in a way that is both cost-effective and compliant is perhaps the most challenging task for any organization. Mistakes made in such operations are costly, as delays ruin customer relations while non-compliance brings legal implications. Furthermore, carrier issues have a chain reaction effect on the organization.

It is in just such situations that the strategic value of working with a professional freight brokerage firm emerges.

What a Freight Brokerage Firm Actually Does

The freight broker serves as the specialist middleman who stands between shippers seeking to ship their goods and carriers able to transport them. Instead of owning trucks and warehouses, a freight brokerage company possesses assets far more valuable in a complicated logistics industry – well-developed connections with carriers, knowledge about the market conditions, and the ability to match the correct shipment with the appropriate carrier on a consistent basis.

Such an operation calls for having an array of over a hundred carriers, negotiating skills, knowledge of regulations in various jurisdictions, and systems for handling multiple shipments and solving any problems that may arise from them.

The Genuine Value a Professional Freight Broker Delivers

• Availability of a broader carrier network: A professional freight brokerage agency builds associations with hundreds of carrier companies by road, rail, air, and sea freight. The broker’s network enables its customers to have better pricing and capacity than those which individual shippers can obtain themselves no matter how much volume and negotiating skills they may possess.

• Saving money with market information: Freight pricing is always changing due to different factors such as fuel costs, seasonality, and market trends. Skilled brokers use the combined purchasing power along with the up-to-date market information to gain better rates for its customers than an individual shipper could do on its own.

• Protection of operational focus: Locating carriers, negotiating rates, arranging pickups, handling paperwork, monitoring shipments, and solving exceptions consume a lot of time, thereby taking away your staff from performing more important tasks, which earn money for you and satisfy your clients.

• Risk management and issue resolution: Delays, damage to cargo, shortage of capacity, and issues related to paperwork occur as a matter of course in any freight management process. An experienced freight broker will identify these risks and solve these issues far better than businesses who arrange their own freight management because of lack of expertise.

Who Benefits Most From Freight Brokerage Partnerships

Those companies which are growing and increasing their shipping volumes but don’t have their own logistics department get immediate benefits by developing relations with brokers, since they can enjoy the professional expertise without creating it inside the company. Those businesses, which are moving into new markets, use freight brokers to work with carriers which they do not know about yet and also to handle all regulatory matters. Companies that deal with seasonal demand changes use the network of the freight brokers in order to acquire the necessary additional capacities.

Choosing the Right Freight Brokerage Partner

Select brokers who have well-established carrier networks, clear and transparent pricing with no hidden costs, the ability to track your shipments in real time, a proven history of delivering shipments on schedule, and customer service that is responsive and solves exceptions in a timely manner without making you chase status reports during critical operations.

It will be beneficial if the broker has had prior experience with your kind of freight, your shipping routes, and if there are any special handling considerations involved. It is far easier for the broker to deliver consistent and cost-efficient results if he/she has dealt with your specific needs before.

Your Supply Chain Deserves a Professional Partner

You don’t run your company to be responsible for all the hassles of freight logistics that come with managing a myriad of carriers, routes, and regulations at one time. With every single minute your staff devotes to freight logistics, you miss out on time to engage in commercial activity that can set you apart from your competition and help you sustain growth.

For top-notch freight broker company services that truly offer carrier network connections and consistently lower costs and operational performance, Incinque Business Solutions has everything your company needs in terms of logistics experience, market connections, and dedication.