How to get started? Tips for beginner freight forwarders in the transport industry

Working in the freight forwarding industry is often seen as very demanding, but also promising and high-paying. This is no surprise, as freight transport is a rapidly growing sector of the economy, directly linked to trade and industry. How do you start your career in freight forwarding? We have put together advice, tips, and key information for beginners in the industry.

What are the basic duties of a freight forwarder?

Let us start with the basics by asking ourselves who a freight forwarder is. This is very important because the terms freight forwarder and logistician are often mixed up. However, this is a mistake. While a logistician is in charge of planning and managing the flow of goods, a freight forwarder’s job is to organise and oversee the transport of goods from point A to point B. This defines the nature of the freight forwarder’s job, which requires both organisational and interpersonal skills. Since we are talking about the nature of the job, it is worth taking a closer look at what someone in this position does on a daily basis.

What are the basic duties of a freight forwarder?

• Advising on the choice of means of transport.
• Contacting the clients and contractors.
• Pricing of transport on an ongoing basis and monitoring of payment.
• Organisation (including insurance) and planning of cargo transport.
• Monitoring the status of the transport and communicating with the carrier, and even the driver on the road.
• Finding new orders.

Obviously, this is a very general list, as a freight forwarder’s duties can vary from company to company or specialisation to specialisation. Some freight forwarders may specialise in a specific type of transport, such as road, rail, air, or sea, while others may expand their expertise in intermodal transport.

What skills are most important for a freight forwarder?

In addition to the knowledge and personality traits suited to the profession, such as attention to detail and reliability, it is also important to have certain skills that are useful in the work of a freight forwarder. Simply put, it will be proficiency in planning and organising work well. A freight forwarder should be able to predict what taking on an order will involve, then create a plan and carry out the actions outlined in it as intended. But surprisingly, this may not be the most important skill for the position.

This is because the work of a freight forwarder also involves the possession and development of so-called soft skills. These include interpersonal skills, which ensure smooth communication with clients, carriers, and drivers. This, in turn, affects not only the execution of the plan but also the building of relationships with clients and the ability to respond appropriately to unexpected events during transport. Such skills are linked to decisiveness and composure, as in these situations, the ability to make quick decisions while remaining calm and guided by rational considerations is particularly valuable.

The last type of skills required of a freight forwarder are those related to the use of modern IT tools.

What tools make a freight forwarder’s job easier?

Since we are already at the digitalisation of the industry and the necessary tools that help the work of the freight forwarder, it is worth mentioning a few of them.

Tools that are useful in a freight forwarder’s work

• TMS (Transport Management System) – a system used for comprehensive transport and freight management, where orders can be managed from the moment the order is received, through transport organisation and monitoring, to reporting and billing. An example of such a tool, which can be used in small, medium, and large companies, is fireTMS.
• Freight exchanges – platforms where loads can be listed, carriers can be found, and sometimes even shippers can be located. They offer great support for both beginner and experienced freight forwarders who are expanding their client and contractor bases. Examples of exchanges include fireXgo, Trans.eu, TIMOCOM or Transporeon.
• CRM software – a tool used for managing customer relationships. It allows for tracking emails and phone calls, segmenting contacts, and effectively planning communication between the freight forwarder and the client.

How to start a career as a freight forwarder?

There are many ways to start a career in freight forwarding, and it is difficult to outline a standard path that a beginner freight forwarder should follow to start their professional career. Often, people in this role begin by starting their own business. All that is needed for this is a registered business, a computer, and a phone. Then, one can build a database of potential clients and contractors or purchase access to a freight exchange to find orders. Another way is to apply for a suitable position or internship with a freight forwarding company.

What education is needed to become a freight forwarder?

In freight forwarding, formal education in the field is not required. A good freight forwarder should primarily possess the skills mentioned earlier, which make them suited for the profession. Of course, knowledge is very important, but it is not necessarily required to graduate from a specific school or course, as is the case with professional drivers, in order to take up this job.

When it comes to specific education that will make it easier to get started in the profession, this can be obtained as early as secondary school level. The situation is similar with higher education. Nowadays, you can easily find majors dedicated to transport, freight forwarding and logistics.

Is it worth doing an internship or vocational training in freight forwarding?

An internship or vocational training is a great way to start a professional career as a freight forwarder. This applies to those who are or have been educated in this field, as well as those who are starting their freight forwarding career on the practical side. In either case, an internship or vocational training allows a chance to see what the job involves, acquire knowledge and establish connections in the industry.

What are the main challenges in the work of a freight forwarder?

As mentioned earlier, the work of a freight forwarder, while promising and offering good earnings, is highly demanding and involves facing many challenges.

Some of the main challenges in a freight forwarder’s job include:

• lack of clients and an insufficient number of orders – this results from periodic fluctuations in demand for freight forwarding services, which are linked to the state of the economy (freight forwarding being a sector closely tied to trade and production),
• insufficient communication with clients – an excessive number of orders can result in the freight forwarder having too little time to communicate properly with clients regarding transportation,
• falling to keep up with the dynamic situation during transport – this results from both an excessive number of orders being managed and tools that are not suited to the amount of work required,
• time pressure and client demands – a consequence of having too much work to do in too little time and gaps in communication with clients.

Most of the aforementioned challenges can be dealt with through proper work organisation and the use of modern tools.

How to deal with time pressure in the work of a freight forwarder?

The aforementioned time pressure is probably the biggest burden in a freight forwarder’s job. It arises when a client has very high expectations regarding the execution of an order or when the freight forwarder is handling too many orders at once. Fortunately, this can be partially addressed by implementing appropriate organisational solutions and introducing tools that streamline the work.

The most important role is to adequately assess the resources and capacity to handle multiple orders at one time. In this case, a good solution is to implement a TMS system, which not only allows for proper work planning but also helps monitor order execution, track in real time the effort and time required for each order, and identify which orders are the most profitable. A well-prepared plan at the beginning, followed by consistent execution and ongoing monitoring, can help reduce the time pressure on the freight forwarder.

Finally, it is worth adding that working under pressure can also be dealt with on a personal level. It will be important to maintain a balance between work and personal life, ensure proper rest after work and on weekends, and have the ability to stay focused. This is crucial because even working in the best-organised company with the best tools can be stressful if we do not take care of rest and recovery ourselves.

How to avoid mistakes in freight forwarding with fireTMS?

At the outset, we mentioned that key qualities of a freight forwarder are attention to detail and diligence, as their work largely relies on meticulous documentation and planning. Unfortunately, even the most thorough and vigilant employee can make mistakes when it comes to working with multiple documents and orders.

Fortunately, IT solutions, such as fireTMS, help alleviate the burden on freight forwarders, for example, by allowing documentation to be managed in one place and based on documents automatically generated from data stored in the system. fireTMS also enables task planning and comprehensive monitoring of order execution. This allows for better preparation for unexpected situations and making more informed decisions based on hard data.

Are you wondering how fireTMS can assist you in freight forwarding? Register and try our system for free for 14 days!