Fraud in freight forwarding is one of the key concerns for businesses. Even though many technologies have emerged to maintain transparency in the supply chain, it is unfortunate that fraud and scams are still possible to happen.
Digital freight platform have become the order of the day for freight booking and services. But there are instances of people getting caught in fraud or scams when dealing with a digital freight brokerage.
However, by following certain guidelines, you can spot fraud and avoid being the prey of freight forwarding scams. Check the essential tips here.
How to Choose a Reliable Right Freight Forwarder?
Here are some important tips that will help you stay away from freight scams and fake digital freight brokerage.
Verify Freight Forwarders: You must verify if the freight forwarder is reliable or not before giving them the consignment. Here are things that you need to consider:
- Check the profile of the logistics companies profile online
- Analyze if the types of services provided by the logistics companies meet your shipping requirements or not.
- Confirm if the logistics companies are registered with the business activities
- Verify logistics companies licenses for providing goods movement services
- Look for freight forwarders liability insurance
- Read reviews of logistics companies on the Internet
- Analyze the reputation of the freight forwarder
Get Detailed Shipping Cost: Various metrics and factors add to the total cost of shipment. Hence, you must be aware of all terms associated with it. To avoid paying the unnecessary cost or getting charged high, you must ask the freight forwarders to share the breakage costs. By doing so, you will have a clear understanding of your payments.
Read Terms and Conditions: Shipping goods involves certain risks like loss of packages, damage or wrong delivery. Certain terms and conditions are defined for freight forwarders and traders to handle these uncertain situations.
Therefore, you must cross-verify the documents and read all the terms and conditions carefully before handling your shipment requirements to the freight forwarder.
Compare Transportation Service: Goods are transported via land, water and air. The shipping charges and time depends on the transportation service used. Moreover, the requirement for transportation services varies from business to business. Hence, you must choose your transportation service based on your shipment requirements. This will help you avoid shipment delays and paying extra for transportation. Make sure the freight forwarding company is giving you the right information related to the transportation of goods and you choose the best option for the shipment of goods.
Access Freight Tracking System: Technology-driven freight services are a must for today’s business. By accessing the tracking system offered by the digital freight forwarder you can gain visibility of shipment. This helps you track the container and ensure that it will reach its destination on time. Using tracking software also allows you to foresee delays. Using accurate tracking data you can take the right action before the occurrence of any problem. Say, you can inform the end customer about the delays and tell them the reasons for the same.
One of the major benefits of real-time freight tracking is that it minimizes the risk of package loss. Tracking tools have proven to be of great help in supply chain management. It enhances the overall efficiency of the system, helps in faster operations, and boosts customer satisfaction with accurate and fast shipment.
Conclusion
Freight forwarding scam and fraud can not only cause loss of money but also loss of reputation as a trader. Hence, conduct thorough research before approaching freight forwarding companies. You need to be extra careful in case of international logistics services and the chances of scams are higher.
It is better to go with logistics companies with certain years of experience in the field and have a good online and offline presence in the market.
