A freight forwarding operation is a combination of international transportation (sea freight, air freight and domestic freight) customs clearance and short-term 3PL warehousing services. Throughout the supply chain, a product is in transit for close to 90% of the total cycle. This means that efficient management of your freight operation positively contributes to achieving higher order fulfillment. Mismanagement, on the other hand, can lead to erratic supply chain flow, resulting in missed timelines and unhappy customers.

Efficient management of all freight forwarding tasks, including transportation, customs clearance, air freight and sea freight documentation, government rules and regulations, strengthen the supply chain by delivering the product in a timely manner. This will avoid unnecessary costs and anxiety to Operations and Logistics solutions managers. This efficiency also assists in optimizing inventory levels, reducing demurrage and detention, an increased order fulfillment rate and assists with cost reduction.

Read on to learn how you can strengthen your supply chain through efficient freight forwarding and the role of an efficient freight forwarder in achieving this.

Meet your deadlines

Producing sufficient stock of your product and delivering it to the end customer within a committed timeline and at the minimum cost are the main objectives of any Supply Chain manager. These objectives contribute to brand value, customer satisfaction levels and ultimately, the growth of your business. On the other side, failing to meet delivery timelines (which result in stock-out situations), unsatisfied customers, lost sales and obsolete inventory erodes the perception of your brand and customer trust. Efficiently managed freight forwarding operations ensure that all the products in the supply chain are delivered timely and in good condition. These objectives can be easily achieved by engaging with experienced and professional freight forwarder.

Optimize inventory levels

Optimized inventory levels reduce the risk of stock-outs, overstocking and high inventory carrying cost. Maintaining a balance between demand and supply is essential to keep inventory levels optimized and a freight forwarder plays a key role with this. For inventory optimization, the right product should be available at the right time, in the right location and in the right quantity. Experienced freight forwarders understand this very well and use their global network and resources to ensure that all agreed performance parameters are achieved to ensure balance of stock across the supply chain.

Gain visibility with track and trace

Tracking and tracing of your product is necessary for planning and providing updates to customer. Many managers face challenges in providing cargo status, especially when cargo ships by sea freight. Unavailability of the cargo status makes it difficult for managers to commit delivery timelines, prepare documentation, forecast, launch sales promotions and manage marketing campaigns. Efficient management of sea freight and air freight, provided by established freight forwarders, ensures that the cargo status is kept updated in the track and trace system. This provides increased pipeline visibility and increased confidence for inventory planning and sales promotions.

Keep supply cost low

Sea freight and air freight contribute substantially to the total supply chain costs of any business and hence plays a significant role in keeping product prices competitive. Along with freight, custom clearance costs, duties, in-transit warehousing costs, documentation costs and detention/demurrage costs are the major contributors to the overall freight cost. Lower costs and higher margins give you an advantage over your competitors. This is achieved by having efficient operations and management control over the operations, which is precisely what an experienced freight forwarder has the ability to deliver.

Every supply chain has two major functions, warehousing and the management of freight. Warehousing ensures that goods are being properly stored; freight forwarding delivers your goods flawlessly. Management of these two functions strengthens your supply chain operations. When it comes to the management of freight, managers in Australia face challenges with lower order fulfillment rate, demand supply gap, inventory optimization and international documentation. Leading businesses in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and other areas of Australia know that to eliminate the challenges of freight operations, it is best to collaborate with an experienced and professional freight forwarder such as BCR.

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 Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Fremantle (Perth).

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