What is a freight forwarder? A freight forwarder plays an essential role for any company involved in import/export or international freight movements. Freight forwarders look after all the paperwork (or electronic paperwork, as it is today) involved with moving goods around the world. And there is a lot of paperwork.

A freight forwarder liaises with shipping companies to organise passage (place on a ship or aircraft, for instance) for a shipment. They might then organise pickup of the shipment from their client’s premises for delivery to the shipping company. Next, the freight forwarder will organise the bill-of-lading – the document required to place the shipment onboard a vessel – and any export documentation required. At the receiving end, the freight forwarder will again organise import/customs paperwork and, finally, delivery of goods to the final destination. All along the way the freight forwarder is keeping in touch with both shipping companies and clients to keep everyone abreast of what is going on.

Shipments can vary from a few boxes to a pallet load to a container load to an entire tanker full of oil, so the job of the freight forwarder can vary enormously in this regard. However, to the freight forwarder themselves, each shipment is more-or-less the same as any other: they just need to follow the correct process and stay in touch with what is going on.

Freight forwarders are experts at what they do and therefore remove a lot of complexity from the workload of those who want shipments made.