Freight forwarding in TELS CARGO - complex schemes of delivery of goods "turnkey"

• What does Freight Forwarding mean as a service of the logistics market, when it is necessary and when you can do without it?
• If there is no possibility of direct road transportation, it is necessary to contact a forwarding company to arrange the delivery of cargo?
• What is the difference between forwarding services offered by transport and forwarding companies? How high is the reliability and convenience in both cases?
• Why involve third-party carriers if you can arrange delivery with your own transport along the entire route?
• What other services does TELS CARGO offer as part of the forwarding service?

What does Freight Forwarding mean as a service of the logistics market, when it is necessary and when you can do without it? 

In the established terminology of the logistics industry freight forwarding service means the organization of cargo delivery "turnkey" with the provision of all necessary procedures and measures: search for transport, loading and unloading work, registration of shipping documents, related services (insurance, customs clearance, etc.). 

Freight forwarding service is required in the organization of complex transportation, such as the delivery of goods using different modes of transport or multiple carriers, transportation of heavy and oversized cargo, partial loads, delivery of goods in several stages of warehouse processing, etc. 

In cases where delivery can be made by a single vehicle from the shipper's warehouse to the consignee's warehouse, the forwarding service is actually narrowed down to finding a transport contractor and preparing shipping documentation. This set of actions an experienced customer is able to do on their own, and often prefers to apply directly to the transport company executing the transportation, rather than to a freight forwarding company-intermediary. It is worth noting that in the current situation the possibilities of direct transport by road between the EU and EEU countries have significantly decreased due to mutual sanctions (for more details on the situation and available solutions, see "Direct road transport from/to the EU "for all occasions"). Today, the main delivery schemes in this direction involve the coupling of semi-trailers or transshipment of cargo at the border. 

If there is no possibility of direct road transportation, it is necessary to contact a forwarding company to arrange the delivery of cargo? 

If there is no possibility of direct delivery of goods by road in most cases we have to turn to expedition companies, as not all road carriers offer their own forwarding services, or their level of competence is not enough to qualitatively organize a multi-step delivery.

TELS CARGO company offers its customers forwarding services at a very high quality level with a wide range of related services. In situations where the delivery of cargo by one vehicle is not possible, we ourselves carry out the selection of a road transport contractor in the EU and are fully responsible to the customer for the successful delivery. We provide similar services for deliveries to/from China. 

What is the difference between forwarding services offered by transport and forwarding companies? How high is the reliability and convenience in both cases? 

It is believed that forwarding companies have more competence in the field of freight forwarding, because for them it is their main business, and transport companies specializing in transportation in their segment do not have enough competence to provide quality forwarding services. This opinion is partly true, but not always. 

In particular, the forwarding service TELS CARGO is implemented by specialists with many years (often more than 10 years) of experience in international forwarding. The level of management and business processes in this case we have built not only according to ISO standards, but also taking into account the increased requirements of a number of our largest customers - transnational corporations. 

When a transport business acquires the competence to offer high quality forwarding service, a number of serious advantages for the customer are formed: 

1) For the same result, the entire amount of work is performed by fewer contractors, which reduces the risk of all sorts of inconsistencies and problems with communications.

2) Even when using third-party contractors, the transport company carries out part of the work using its own resources, under its own full control. 

3) If the contractor has vehicles registered in the EU and RF/RB, it is possible to deliver cargo to/from the EU entirely by his own transport, even if the semi-trailer is hitched at the border. 

TELS CARGO transport of Czech and Russian registration gives our customers this opportunity. Another obstacle for Russian and Belarusian companies in realization of forwarding services is the difficulty to pay for the services of European contractors - international financial transactions are often blocked because of sanctions. TELS CARGO has its own company in the Czech Republic, from which payments are made to European contractors, which removes the risk of non-payment and significantly increases the trust of European carriers. 

Why involve third-party carriers when you can arrange delivery with your own transport along the entire route?

 The involvement of third-party trucking companies can take place with the consent of the client in two cases: 

1) the need for urgent transportation when our own transport is fully occupied (although we try to load our own transport in the first place); 

2) for the sake of reducing the client's costs. 

In the current environment, the rates for direct freight deliveries between the EU and the Russian Federation bypassing Belarus are very high. The multiple increase in the cost is due to the increase in the length of the routes and a sharp decrease in the carrying capacity on the route. The variant with transshipment at the border is often more cost-effective even taking into account the forwarding component - there are enough intra-European contractors on the market offering services at attractive rates. 

Often there is a benefit in using two contractors even for transportation within the EU, because the total cost of transportation on the "two shoulders" is lower than the rate, for example, of direct transportation from Warsaw to Spain - this is the reality of today's market, and we try to take it into account to optimize the logistics budgets of our customers. 

What other services does TELS CARGO offer as part of the forwarding service? 

There are other services of our company, where the forwarding component is included - for example, delivery of small parcels as part of groupage cargo. TELS CARGO independently organizes the collection and consolidation of cargo on the territory of the EU with subsequent shipment in its own transport (more details). 

The range of forwarding services also includes: assistance in the design of shipping documentation, assistance in customs clearance, a wide range of services for warehouse freight handling (more details), all the necessary procedures for organizing oversized cargo transportation, cargo insurance, logistics consulting.