Freight forwarding is a service which looks after all aspects of the movement of freight between its departure point and its destination. Some of the activities involved in freight forwarding include organisation of carriage (either by a shipping company or by a courier company), organisation of pick up and compilation of paperwork.

Freight forwarding is a specialised activity which makes import and export easier. People working with freight forwarding companies are experts in negotiating the sea of documentation which can be associated with a shipment. This document can include the senders commercial invoice, various declarations (including lists of what is being shipped), the bill of lading (which records acceptance of a shipment on board a vessel or aircraft) and customs documentation. In Australia, many freight forwarding organisations also act as customs clearance agents (customs brokers) and are able to handle all aspects of the customs process for import and export on behalf of their clients.

Good freight forwarding companies take over all these activities for their clients, allowing their clients to get on with their own business. Freight forwarding personnel are highly organised people who have an eye for detail: leaving out a single document, or even a field on a form, can lead to hold ups in delivery. Effective freight forwarding personnel are skilled at anticipating problems and keeping their clients in touch with what is going on.

Where freight forwarding has traditionally been laden with paper, modern freight forwarding is performed largely electronically. However, there are still as many documents, albeit electronic documents, that need handling. Nevertheless, the skills needed remain the same: thoroughness, detail-orientation and a desire to, literally, dot the i’s and cross the t’s.