Freight Forwarding Company Profile | Freelance Shipping Pty Ltd

Freelance Shipping – In Depth Freight Forwarding Company Profile

There is a freight forwarding company profile for every known forwarder out. We just thought it’s time to introduce one company that’s going to be the cornerstone. A cornerstone for the customer that requires that extra service or special requirement.

In this profile we like to tell you about Freelance Shipping Pty Ltd. it’s basis, core values and how the new development of technology has helped the company streamline. Its streamlined their client’s business and overall competitiveness sky high. Especially Small business owners.

Core Values

Every Freight forwarding Company profile should include a summary of core values that it started from. The shipping company developed its roots from working in the industry. True individual experiences from the ground up. 

Freelance Shipping operators started out in the industry and would have to deliver the charges to small business owners.  We expect our operators to ensure they increase sales. Help importers reach a goal of higher profit . That also meant targeting small importers who just didn’t have that cash flow. 

Reason

The reason behind this was they would not be importing as frequently as the bigger clients. Morally it was wrong. It gave zero to no chance for small customers entering the import market. Small importers had very little clue in terms of documentation they require or custom practices / fee’s.  Even supply chain or wharf procedures had fee’s which cost the new importer a lot.   The story came from the start-up Director. The director would focus all his attention on me and spoke how he was obliged to charge a customer over rated fee’s.  It was troubling for him especially when these new importers were just starting off. 

Organizing Shipments Through Your Supplier

The customer thought it was a good deal. He agreed with the supplier for a small freight fee to ship the goods. Nobody ever think that if your getting it cheap , there may be other costs!.  Like landed port charges!. The customer was unware of this and there is no way the client could obtain their cargo without paying the large fee’s which went back to the supplier and his shipping agent.  Any charges disputed would result in delay.  Display would mean more storage money for the forwarder. The importer would rush back and forth overseas and around the world in 40 days and back, to little or no change for price. Its a check mate. 

The Turning Point – Freight Forwarding Company Profile: Freelance Shipping

It was this pinnacle point stored in the director’s memory. The tax invoice was issued to a client and the owner asked to pay a large and hefty bill. From my interview I believe it was a turning point for the companies director. A client who broke down in tears as the freight cost over 2-3 thousand in charges. Comparing it to what he had originally thought. It ended up being more.  He had been shafted by overseas Chinese and the operator here were on the front line to take the heat.  It was this moment that it changed.

The director partnered up with an associate and opened the firm that would believe its core values are tailored to suit the needs of small importers. He never wanted to feel that way of destroying somebody’s dreams of starting something for themselves. This sort of decision leads to the new importers being kicked out of the game. Higher landing costs meant he had to sell the goods for more. Even to get something out of it. 

Story Time

This story was the turn around that would introduce a leg up for the small importers if they rely on the company to undertake and look after their shipments. Freelance Shipping was born. It meant small importers could compete with the bigger firms and grow. Not every solicitor / accountant and freight broker are the same. A new company formed. Freelance Shipping’s core values and structure is dedicated to help small business’s grow. A genuine and reliable freight forwarder that they can rely on and understand a new importers struggles. 

Freelance Shipping Services:

In this instance the company created services that were automatic. Streamlined to improve the customers process.

The services ranges from:

• Importing and exporting personal cargo or cargo that other forwarders would not spend time with or hard to obtain licenses offshore
• Door to Door shipments-  Customers understood the landing costs upfront (no hidden charges)
• Free document preparation and collection including checking that it meets Quarantine and Customs obligations or linking.

Cargo services 

• • Air freight cargo to anywhere in the world including the export of small itemized cargo

  • Sea freight cargo of containers and smaller consignments that can provide cheaper costs in terms of shipping and delivery

• Delivery – Container deliveries / LCL – FCL deliveries nationwide with the help of their agent partners can facilitate client’s requests for delivery anywhere nationally.

• Interstate trucking and transport – Business is booming in the inner lands of the metro cities.
• Insurance on all transit – this means your cargo is insured for the value from wherever it travels from in the world to your door. Doesn’t matter what mode of transport. If there’s any problem, you know you can take it up directly with the broker in Australia. which means that your payments are settled here. Not anywhere else in the world, strictly saying this makes it a headache to settle if not done in Australia.

Advice / Consultations

Every freight forwarding company profile wouldn’t be complete without a subject on whether the company provides advice. Any importers that’s starting out would like to know the ins and outs of what their ordering. Are there any precautions they must take, costs involved, permits they need to acquire and how to get it smoothly into Australia without customs destroying their goods and dreams.

 A figure of speech of course, customs won’t destroy your life, most likely just your bank account and take off a couple years of life from the stress they give you! Ok Jokes aside.

Freelance Shipping provides consulted services which can range from $70-120 AUD depending on the advice needed. If its general, then their willing to devote some time to help the importer get their business up. As an opinion I feel not many companies overall do this anymore. To devote time in helping a person who has merely queried on developing their future of importing or exporting.

General Advice

General advice and looking into some certain specifics clients can get a better understanding and walk away with doing their own general research and lookup. What about those products like hazardous goods, liquids, or special commodities that require attention. Well that’s where the fee’s come in. Could you imagine spending countless hours trying to research for every customer including costs, regulations, authorities and legislations surrounding their goods? It would take a lot of time where it could be devoted to something else. It would not be viable to devote so much time in providing free advice.

What’s the difference you ask? – Freight Forwarding Company Profile – Freelance Shipping

A freight forwarding company profile isn’t the same without advice factors. The quality of the advice given is the difference. The specifics of it. Everybody knows you need an adequate business plan, properly planned and implemented to achieve results. Anybody that tries to do things for cheaper end up paying more or end up with what they paid for in terms of cost / service and quality.

If the international trader is serious about opting to grow his/ her business, then this would be the setup to undertake. The freight broker can take of all the things including looking up legislations from customs and quarantine, charges, payments made to other government bodies, obtaining permits. To name a few more, concessions on commodities, free trade certificate ruling for the specific goods, are there any hazardous or dangerous components that would require it to travel in a certain mode or perhaps an ingredient that is banned?

You don’t want customs to find this and if you were unaware that could land in a hefty penalty as it is the responsibility of the importer or exporter to check

Freight Forwarding Company Profile: Freelance Shipping Pty Ltd
What About Exporting Consultations

Well exporting can come in terms of what you require in terms of exporting the goods from here, does it meet compliance issues or does quarantine want to have a sneak peek. Are the goods prescribed? Perhaps like meat and grain? Quarantine will inspect all goods in this category. You ask why?. Australia always ensures that it’s exports are of the highest grade. Can’t go around exporting crap!

Work with your freight agent in ensuring the goods are of top quality.  The freight broker will help you co ordinate inspections and get the right documentation ready for your export.

Documents – Freight Forwarding Company Profile – Freelance Shipping

Documents like phytosanitary certificates need to be obtained in a certain time frame. Before the export cut off time at the wharf, all documents need to be inspected and processed. This is a timely ordeal. Just in case something does slip up then that means, there needs to be a plan B. The delay caused of “not knowing particulars “would mean your customer gets their shipment later than expected. Any sort of delay would mean that the customer on the receiving side would have to be told. This can result in their customers also receiving the bad news. This would be bad as it would mean you are un reliable and possibly could lose their business.  

Factors

There are other factors that go untold. What is that you need in the exporting country in terms of commodity requirements? Do you know what their Border agencies require in terms of paper trails and processing?

This is where you need your freight broker to research and find out exactly what’s required. They have their agents in that country ready to take the request from the broker and do their bidding. Find out the requirements for the export container or cargo. 

Example

A freight forwarding company profile should always include an example. An example would include when a client called about sending personal effects to China.

Once everything was arranged according to the broker, he had a gut feeling that there could of something not right. The client originally said that no other agency wanted to take on the work. This lead to some red flags so after the broker decided to investigate the goods it ended up that China no longer wants any type of second hand goods or personal effects.

YES, that means if you want to move back you require an import license in China to obtain that which can be a very lengthy process for the importer. Unless you have large sums of money ready to go (which the Chinese do currently due to their ever-growing economy) then you have a chance.

But this pitfall saved the client a lot of time and money. If it had reached China without her not paying the Freelance Shipping broker to do the research, she would have had a container on the wharf collecting storage to which customs would not ever release. Either the storage option or she would have to pay people to destroy the goods in government-controlled bond store.  Everything has a chain reaction. Its always better to do the research up front, develop a well-structured plan, analyse then make the move.

Conclusion

While this has served a short summary of the freight forwarding company profile, I’d like to point out that its always the persons genuineness to help that makes anybody or any business approachable. Remember that its better to do business with somebody who’s a human then a robot that tries to take every penny from your wallet. I like that personal approach, whether its my barista making the coffee with the chocolates I like or my favorite restaurant preparing my one of a kind meal. Like a chef that understands how much chili I need in my Spaghetti Gamberi! I love that personal approach that a business gives. It makes me feel special. That’s what these guys are. So, if you’re in it for the long haul and you require that personalized approach check them out. I did.

Contact them today and see how they can help you.