How to find a reliable freight forwarder in China?

After the cumbersome product purchase process, you have finally reached the last crucial step. How to send your products to the destination? Which transportation method is suitable for your goods? What documents should you prepare for customs clearance? We can hand all these troubles to the freight forwarder.

What is a freight forwarder?

A freight forwarder is a service provider who specializes in arranging storage and transportation on behalf of the shipper. It usually provides a full range of services, including: preparing transportation and export documents, warehousing, booking space, negotiating freight charges, and cargo insurance, etc.

In short, a good shipping agent will save you time and trouble while providing reliable and cost-effective transportation.

How to find a freight forwarder?

There are basically two ways to find a freight forwarder. You can find someone by yourself, or you can ask the supplier to handle it for you. Although there are thousands of freight forwarders, it is not easy to choose a reliable freight forwarder. You may encounter some freight forwarders who attract customers at low prices, but try to charge you additional costs under various excuses.

The easiest way to find a freight forwarder yourself is to search for it on Google. You only need to enter “freight forwarder” in your country/region to get a list of freight agencies. In addition, you can ask a friend with a rich import experience to introduce a reliable forwarder. If you decide to use your own forwarder, remember to ask the supplier to quote FOB prices.

The following are the tips we have summarized based on experience to help you determine and choose a reliable freight forwarder.

• Find an experienced freight forwarder. An experienced freight forwarder means that it has handled various situations. The easiest way to confirm whether a freight forwarder is experienced is to check the age of the company. It is a good company to survive such a long time in fierce competition.

• Find a freight forwarder with an extensive network in your country/region. You should choose an agent with a large network in the target country. Suppose you want to import from China to the United States, then you should choose a freight forwarder with strong connections in the United States.

• Looking for freight forwarders with good customer service. How quickly does the freight forwarder respond to your questions? Does the freight forwarding company take care of your personal needs well? If you are new to international transportation, they should be able to take you to step by step to understand what you need to know and do it patiently to ensure that everything is done smoothly.

Ask the supplier to help you find a forwarding company. If you want to save yourself the trouble of finding a cargo agency, you can ask Alibaba suppliers to recommend you to arrange shipment. The premise is to ensure that the freight they quoted is CIF. If the quoted price is reasonable, this may be an ideal choice to help you deliver the goods.