I met a business owner the other day and we started discussing the differences in LTL Carriers, 3PL’s and Freight Forwarders. I asked him who he had the best experiences with, and without hesitation, he replied, “It’s been a lot easier for me to work with Freight Forwarders, although I use all three at my company.” He listed 7 reasons why Freight Forwarders have been a better fit for his supply chain:

Flexibility: Freight forwarders provide a service that is normally used by a network of agents. Many cringe when the word “agent” is used in terms of logistics, due to the bad reputation they have received over the years. Many customers think that if you are using a network of agents it increases the chances of product loss, damage or theft, which is not true. What many do not understand is that the concept of Agent has been around for quite some time. All carriers have some type of agent relationship, even the largest carriers like UPS and Fedex have an agent network in some parts of the country. What truly separates companies are their links and communication with their alliance of agents. When you look at the “good” carriers, they have strong, strong ties to their agents and, ironically, sometimes even better than if they were dealing internally within their own company. To fully understand this, you need to realize that these brokers survive by providing exceptional service to their carrier partners. The better job they do, the more business they will receive. So they want to impress, they want to be precise in their pickups and deliveries, but it’s the carrier’s job to make sure that their (agents) stay on their toes in terms of performance, accountability and reliability.

Manageability – Typically when working with an LTL carrier or a 3PL, it sometimes tends to be a “loss” of control for customers. If a shipment is lost, it often takes an act of congress to retrieve it and redeliver it to the proper address. A good forwarder has the ability to use their network to retrieve, reconfirm, and redeliver to the correct address many times without missing a beat. Many clients strictly use FF simply for this added benefit. The ability to “quarterback” your shipments throughout the entire process rests with a freight forwarder. LTL companies have too many hubs and processes to deal with, which doesn’t allow for the flexibility and manageability that a carrier can demonstrate in a single shipment and this is often found out by customers the hard way.

Versatility – Options! Options! Options! During today’s economic times, customers realize that having a company that can provide viable options allows them to maintain control, reduce costs, and increase efficiencies in their supply chain. When looking for your Forwarder, examine the services they can offer you and match them to your business needs. A good carrier can take over the primary shipping role or be used as a complementary asset when the need arises. Enabling your business to adapt faster and be more responsive to customer needs as they develop.

Versatility – Many companies often claim that they are, in fact, a one-stop shop, but if you ask enough questions, you can determine if this is true. Do they have real time track and trace capabilities? International? Storage and distribution capacities? Reporting capabilities? As your business grows, these could be things that could help make a difference in the progress of your business. These help allow a client to grow their business with the least amount of financial output.

Vested interest in your business – When a carrier can become an extension of your business, when you think of ways that you can improve your supply chain more than it actually does, that’s what a great carrier is made of. Very often in business, companies spend 90% of their time looking for the lowest cost company, whether it is the company that can add immediate and constant value to their supply chain.

All carriers strive for this, but not all reach this point. The reason is that it takes WILL to want to be the best carrier and to want to help their customer beyond the individual shipments that are delivered to them on an ad hoc basis, a good freight forwarder eliminates the “stuff that doesn’t matter”. Get to the core of the client’s objectives. Their main concern is how they can make their business work better. And understand that this doesn’t always mean being the CHEAPER carrier to the door, but often refers to being able to look at a company’s logistics setup and determine if they can add efficiencies and lower costs overall.

Cost Savings – As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, a good freight forwarder will make it one of their main goals to save their clients money, but interestingly, many times the savings do not come from simply offering the client very cheap rates. In fact, if you talk to a top carrier, they will often tell you that their prices are fair or moderate. The reason is that, many times, being able to provide a solution to a problem can require the use of more resources and increased initial costs to achieve, for example, faster transit, better customer satisfaction and more efficiency. For example, a shipping company from California, which is trying to beat its competition on the East Coast, might need to plead for the use of a warehouse and distribution facility, say in Chicago. Adding this resource will provide more control, shorter transit, and a more competitive boost for Cali Company, and of course, as I mentioned earlier, it will increase customer loyalty.

Quick thinking: A freight forwarder I spoke to came up with an example of how he added value to a new customer simply by being inquisitive. The customer had been using UPS ground shipments weighing around 50 pounds. for 10 boxes going to one location, cumulative weight of 500 lbs. Many companies that could have run into something like this would have walked out due to the name recognition and reputation of the boys in brown. But not this owner, he figured he could put together a very solid program for the client based on the cumulative rate of 500 lbs. versus UPS qualifying shipping by box. The end result was that he was able to save the customer 30% on their shipping with a much faster transit time.

I always preach that today the most important thing for a company to understand is their own “business needs…” If they understand the time sensitivity of their product, market, and industry needs, they will be able to choose the right company for their needs. logistics.