Air freight is the fastest, the most reliable and also the most expensive transportation mode. Effective management of this mode requires flawless planning, efficient management and professional skills. Further, to ensure the objectives of order fulfillment and business growth, it is important that nothing should go wrong in the air freight process.

Management of air freight services requires knowledge of processes, understanding of goods-specific requirements, an extensive operations network and an experienced team. Working with freight forwarders with fewer resources is likely to bring continuous hassles, lower service levels and more service failures. Growing Australian businesses need a professional air freight forwarder that they can have confidence in to assist them in meeting business goals. Experienced freight forwarders provide speed and accuracy, cargo-specific knowledge, a dynamic network as well as a high level of customer service and reliability. Engaging an experienced and professional air freight forwarder will assist you in achieving your goals much more easily.

Read on to know how these 4 benefits make your air freight operation flawlessly smooth.

1) Speed and accuracy

Air freight is the fastest transportation medium. Any interruption or error in customs clearance, documentation, booking, transportation and packaging processes can defeat the whole purpose of using this service and may incur additional costs due to penalties and ultimately unfulfilled orders. Aligning with professional air freight forwarders reduces your risk. Freight forwarding experts monitor every process carefully to make sure that delivery timelines are met. By doing this, logistics managers can consider them as their extended logistics team.

2) On-call global network

A strong freight forwarding network should enable its customers to move shipments to and from most parts of the world, thus providing flexibility to source and sell anywhere. Within many organisations, Operations and Logistics solutions Managers are expected to have their network ready anytime so Marketing or Procurement/Purchasing departments can sell or buy in any part of the world at any time. A professional Australian air freight forwarder can, at any time, draw on an extensive global network as part of their service offering. Engaging these forwarders delivers Operations and Logistics Managers with confidence and comfort as they can access the freight forwarding company’s network so their colleagues can source and or sell anywhere in the world.

3) Specific knowledge and expertise

Though being safe and fast, air freight comes with many statutory, operational and goods-specific requirements, for example, requirements for wooden packaging in Australia are quite different from Europe and the import/export of perishables is governed by different laws in different countries. Improper management of these requirements may lead to delayed shipments, additional charges and sometimes shipment off-loading. No Operations or Logistics Manager would like to hand over their air cargo to a rookie freight forwarder that is less informed about current national and international legislation, shipping requirements, changes in customs tariffs and trade statuses among different countries. Experienced freight forwarders in Australia have built their knowledge over many years and keep themselves up-to-date in this fast-changing environment.

Further, check and see if the freight forwarding company is IATA accredited. Being IATA accredited means that the freight forwarder has the financial and professional competence and this has been verified by the International Air Transport Association, the peak body representing the world’s airlines. Not being IATA accredited should raise an alarm bell for you. Aligning with a well-informed, IATA accredited air freight forwarder reduces the risk of your cargo getting stuck in the air freight process enabling an economic, on-time delivery.

4) Timely door-to-door solutions

The primary reason to choose air freight over sea freight is speedy delivery. This only works if all the links in the logistics chain such as pick-up transportation, customs clearance at origin and destination and final transportation for delivery are well planned and stitched together seamlessly as one process. Doing this requires an enormous amount of knowledge and resourcefulness. Successful Operations and Logistics Managers understand that well-established air freight forwarders bring their experience to them as they have been doing for other shippers for many years.

Air freight services are an important yet costly part in your supply chain process and hence must deliver on your expectations. Outsourcing this part to an air freight forwarder is highly critical and should be done perfectly. Air freight forwarders should be resourceful, established, knowledgeable and accredited by IATA. They should bring you services that include door-to-door solutions and an established global network to fulfill your current as well as future needs. There are many established air freight forwarders in Australia that have been operating for decades, providing tailored solutions for air freight operations. Working with these air freight forwarders will assist you in meeting your business goals with confidence.

For more than a century, BCR has continued to help small, medium and large businesses achieve an optimum logistics solution with warehousing and transportation, including air freight and sea freight services to and from the major ports including BrisbaneSydneyMelbourne, Adelaide and Fremantle (Perth).

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