The COVID-19 crisis and the Ukraine War heavily disrupted various supply lines worldwide. Different countries already had different laws and regulations in place that usually changed frequently, and the pandemic brought with it more regulations that customs brokers needed to navigate through. The war in Ukraine made things worse thanks to sanctions and the closure of air, sea, and land routes, among others, that disrupted shipping costs and the overall shipping process.
Even if crises are occurring anywhere in the world, businesses still need to import and export products to continue their operations, and it’s the customs broker’s job to ensure that the shipments get to their target destinations.
Customs brokers are vital parts of a supply line, and the following are some of the reasons why they’re critical in crises:
They are Knowledgeable about the Changes in Shipping
The COVID-19 pandemic changed freight requirements and regulations in line with the closing of borders and other changes in line with the pandemic. Because of this, customs brokers had to keep up with the changing rules and ensure that the shipments were delivered and received in compliance with regulations.
The war in Ukraine further negatively affected shipping, on top of the already difficult situation with the ongoing pandemic. Not only did fuel costs increase, but fast and efficient shipping corridors were also no longer safe for shipping, so international freight forwarding companies had to use other routes through other countries to ship cargo. New routes mean new regulations to keep in mind and a few new challenges.
Customs brokers must stay on top of changing regulations and new challenges as they adapt to new language barriers and document processing procedures to ensure that cargo and freight get to their target destinations. They can offer different transport options to ensure the timely arrival of shipments. Without customs brokers, freight forwarding companies and shipping lines will have difficulty with their shipments.
They can Handle the Documentation Process
The documentation process has always been a necessary pain to deal with for shipments. Many business owners had already had a stressful experience dealing with the required documentation before the pandemic started, and the war in Ukraine practically redrew route maps. The process is even more stressful now because previously established processes have changed.
Businesses can rely on reliable customs brokerage services to handle documentation. A licensed and reliable customs broker is versatile and can help open new opportunities because they know how to handle the documentation process. This also guarantees that shipments will arrive on time and businesses won’t miss deadlines.
Customs brokers already kept costs down before the pandemic started, and they still do so to this day. Without customs brokers, businesses will have difficulty with their imports and exports. Customs brokers can also more readily adapt to the changes in the documentation process because they know all the necessary documents and the most efficient ways to prepare them.
Conclusion
Customs brokers are critical to keeping businesses from wasting money with missed deadlines to other costs resulting from the difficulties that sprung up from different crises. The world still hasn’t recovered from COVID-19, and the ongoing war in Ukraine made logistics worse as different shipments continue to sit in ports for weeks or months, so reliable customs brokers and freight forwarders, by extension, are necessary to keep the supply line up and running.
Without customs brokers, businesses will have difficulty importing and exporting products. Let Excelsior Worldwide Freight Logistics help you handle the following customs services on your behalf:
Prepare important shipping documents
Filing & processing customs entry
Expedite delivery of imported cargo to clients
Excelsior Worldwide Freight Logistics conducts free orientation for anyone willing to learn about import and export. It is our advocacy to share our knowledge & experience of more than 17 years in the business. Visit our website today at www.excelsior.ph to learn more about our service.
After multiple countries restarted their economies after years of being under lockdown, the maritime industry saw an increase in demand as businesses wished to press on and leave behind the turbulent times of the pandemic. This led to increased fuel costs that negatively affected the shipping industry as high fuel costs resulted in high shipping rates.
Shipping and freight forwarding companies had to raise shipping rates in response to high fuel prices as early as the last quarter of 2021. Even though shipping costs rose after economies reopened, this was still a sign that international trade was starting to return to normal. Still, another crisis popped up in the early months of 2022 that hit international freight.
On February 24, 2022, under the guise of a special military operation, Russia essentially invaded Ukraine. Russia was then struck with different sanctions that affected a lot, including Russian oil getting cut off from the market and further driving both oil and gas prices up. The current war did not only affect oil and fuel prices as international freight took a bigger hit thanks to the sanctions, cancelled flights, extended flights, and inflation.
In addition to the war in Ukraine, the current tensions in Taiwan can also affect the current state of global shipping as China’s People’s Liberation Army continues its military drills that simulate a blockade on Taiwan. This is after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.
Ukraine War and Chinese Military Drills of Taiwan
War in Ukraine
Air transport is by far the most affected by the Russia-Ukraine War as multiple airlines reduced or stopped their operations between Europe and Asia. Those that continued their operations had to use extended air routes as both Ukrainian and Russian airspaces are currently closed. Thanks to extended air routes, airlines had to use more fuel, contributing to both higher fuel prices and skyrocketing prices of goods.
A screengrab of the current state of air traffic in Ukraine. Note the lone aircraft in the middle of the Black Sea. Due to sanctions, all airlines either avoid or skirt the Black Sea to avoid going into Russian airspace. Any aircraft in the middle of the Black Sea are likely military aircraft. Photo from live flight tracker Flightradar24.A screengrab of a longer flight path taken by a BELAVIA Boeing 737-8K5flying from Antalya to Minsk. Photo from live flight tracker Flightradar24.
Land freight that relies on routes going through Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine to go to and fro the European Union, China, and South Asia no longer has any safe overland routes. This means that international freight forwarding companies will need to use different routes through the UAE, Serbia, Turkey, or Romania. Customs brokers will also need to adapt to the different language barriers and document processing procedures.
The war on Ukraine also affected maritime routes in both the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, as the routes are no longer safe. Several merchant ships have been attacked off the coast of Ukraine, making it certain that sea freight will be unreliable until the war ends. Although Russia and Ukraine recently signed a deal to allow grain shipments to move through the Black Sea to mitigate the risks of worldwide famine. Whether this means that the sea lanes will be safe for now is unknown, but Shephard Media noted that the tentative nature of the grain deal might not significantly shift the current security situation in the Black Sea, so it might not still be safe to set sail.
Like how land freight will need to rely on other routes, sea freight will also need alternative routes, making air routes a more viable option for shippers and freight forwarders.
Military Drills Around Taiwan
The blockade on Taiwan also further limited the remaining available air routes as China warned airlines to avoid flying in areas around Taiwan where the military exercises are currently held. China has also designated certain six areas of airspace as danger zones that all civilian aircraft must avoid.
Graphic representation of the areas where the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) plan to hold military drills. Photo provided by the People’s Liberation Army.
While airlines have cancelled flights to Taipei and have rerouted other flights to avoid the airspace in the past few days, air traffic has just returned to normal, at least on August 8, 2022.
Even if air traffic has returned to normal, some disruptions are still expected as military drills continue around Taiwan. The extended military drills can herald a “new normal” for freight and shipping off Taiwan.
The ClarkSea Index is a barometer of shipping fortunes, and during the War in Ukraine, it’s seen that the earnings of the shipping industry improved as the cost of shipping increased. The chart focuses only on tankers, bulkers, containerships, and gas carriers, but it’s safe to say that even the cost of shipping through the air has also increased.
The flight restrictions in Ukraine and Russian airspace effectively removed about 10 million miles of airspace and international freight routes utilized by 20% of the world’s air cargo. This resulted in longer flights and lower air capacity as carriers took alternate routes or canceled flights altogether.
If the military drills off Taiwan continue, there is a chance that the supply chain will further be negatively affected by increasing the cost of goods and causing certain shortages.
Skyrocketing prices
As shipping and freight forwarding routes were negatively affected by flight restrictions and the redrawing of route maps, the cost of transporting goods also increased as freight forwarders, and shippers had to use different routes and use other means to adapt. Longer and alternative routes will jack up fuel costs and then jack up the cost of the goods themselves.
The cost of fuel and energy reliant on fossil fuels already rose due to the higher oil prices, and the cost of other goods will only continue to skyrocket as transportation routes remain restricted. Some food prices, for one, have already eased but still remain high, but things can change if more routes end up getting closed off.
When the war in Ukraine started, there was speculation that electronic vendors might raise prices while using Ukraine as an excuse. PC Gamers didn’t exactly see this change in prices as both GPU prices and cryptocurrency crashed, and other PC parts didn’t see any price increase, at least not significant enough to warrant attention if there was any. However, because Taiwan is export-focused and its main products include electronics, there is arguably a bigger chance of prices increasing if exports are disrupted. Taiwan’s other products include the following:
electronics
information
communication and audio-video products
base metals
plastics & rubber
machinery
Taiwan’s chip manufacturing industry will also be affected as China halts its sand exports to Taiwan. The continuation of military exercises and the rerouting of sea and air freight to the country, halts in sand exports to Taiwan, and possible complications if the situation worsens can negatively affect the prices of electronics and PC parts.
For simplicity’s sake, it’s safe to assume that prices for multiple products will only skyrocket when multiple conflicts are happening that can disrupt the supply chain. As long as the war in Ukraine continues and if the situation in Taiwan worsens, there will be shortages, and price increases and the world will need reliable freight forwarders and customs brokers to keep the supply chain up and running.
Conclusion
Everyone involved in the shipping and freight industry will need to adapt to ensure that they can continue their operations amid different crises and supply chain disruptions. Shippers can only adapt to the situation and look for other transportation routes, hire competent customs brokers to ensure that shipments reach their intended destinations through the new routes, and futureproof their operations.
Excelsior Worldwide Freight Logistics constantly endeavors to be a company of enduring greatness by providing only time-conscious, client-oriented, and exceptional delivery service. We also conduct free orientation for anyone who is willing to learn. It is our advocacy to share our knowledge & experience worth more than a decade in the business. Visit our website today at www.excelsior.ph to learn more about us and our service.
The Philippines is currently seeing high fuel prices, and the public transportation sector is currently reeling from the effects as drivers are forced to pay for expensive gas. Although rollbacks could happen in the future, it won’t change the fact that fuel costs are still high worldwide.
From regular commuters to international freight forwarding companies, many people are heavily affected by rising fuel costs that effectively increase gas prices, transportation rates, and shipping costs.
Why is Gas Expensive?
Increased Demand After Strict Lockdowns
The price for crude oil initially went up when the demand for oil and gas returned as the global economy emerged from strict COVID lockdowns. Both oil and gas prices went up as major economies reopened. Because the Philippines is a net oil importer, gas prices in the country will naturally go up when international oil prices spike.
United States – 18.88 million barrels per day or 20% of the world’s total
Saudi Arabia – 10.84 million barrels per day or 11% of the world’s total
Russia – 10.78 million barrels per day or 11% of the world’s total
Canada – 5.54 million barrels per day or 6% of the world’s total
China – 4.99 million barrels per day or 5% of the world’s total
These five countries contribute 53% of the total world oil production, and anything that can affect both the production and sale of these countries’ oil will affect the cost of oil. Since oil becomes fuel when refined, expensive oil will then become expensive gas.
While the initial oil and fuel price hike were because of the increased demand, the situation worsened thanks to the Ukraine war.
Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Cut Down Oil Supply
Because Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the world responded with multiple sanctions to penalize Russia. Due to the sanctions imposed by the European Union, the United States, and other economies, Russia has been selling less oil in the market, resulting in lower supply and higher prices.
Europe started ditching Russian oil by reducing the amount of oil they buy from Russia while shopping around for alternative sources. Some countries still buy some Russian oil because they have become too dependent on it, making it hard to look for alternatives. Because there aren’t enough oil alternatives in the market due to oil producers winding down production, oil prices will remain high until Russian oil returns to the market.
As the war sees no sign of ending anytime soon, it’s unlikely that the global oil supply and prices will return to normal anytime soon.
Effects on the Freight Forwarding and Shipping Industry
Even before the Ukraine War, shipping operators in the Philippines had already imposed bunker fuel surcharges to recover from high fuel costs. Fuel accounts for a freight forwarder and shipping company’s operating costs, so they’re recovering the losses through surcharges. In fact, the Philippine Civil Aeronautics Board has already upgraded the passenger fuel surcharge to Level 4, which equates to P108 to P411 per passenger for one-way domestic flights and P543 to P5,026 per passenger for one-way international flights.
The current surcharge is Level 11, which equates to P355 to P1,038 per passenger for one-way domestic flights and P1,172.07 to P8,714.84 per passenger for one-way international flights. Cargo fuel surcharge is also Level 11, which equates to increases of P1.82 to P5.34 per kg for domestic flights and P6.03 to P44.80 per kg for international flights.
Adding the war in Ukraine to the equation, fuel prices will naturally go up. Philippine Multimodal Transport and Logistics Association, or PMTLAI, president Marilyn Alberto noted that trucking costs would continue to spiral as fuel costs continue to increase. International air freight forwarders in the European Union and the United Kingdom were barred from flying in Russian airspace, creating difficulties in going to East Asia, effectively increasing fuel consumption which then increases fuel cost and transit times.
Alberto said that even if the Philippines does not make any significant trade with Russia and Ukraine, the country will still feel the ripple effect of the following:
Higher fuel costs
Long transit times
Suspension of services
Delays due to inspections of cargo bound to Russia to comply with sanctions
The ripple effect increases air and ocean freight rates due to longer container routes, high fuel prices, and possible high surcharges.
Conclusion
The reopening of multiple economies increased the demand for fuel and oil, resulting in higher fuel costs. Both the Ukraine War and the ripple effect of lower oil supply and longer transit times also added to the already high fuel costs. The cost of international freight forwarding will remain high, and it will take time for it to go down. Even so, freight forwarders and logistics companies will continue to operate, and it’s more important than ever to rely on a reputable company.
Excelsior Worldwide Freight Logistics conducts free orientation for those willing to learn. It is our advocacy to share our knowledge & experience worth more than a decade in the business. Visit our website today at excelsior.ph to learn more about our service.
Whether you are new in the importing and exporting industry or not, you might have already encountered the term Incoterms in your business. For starters, International Commercial Terms or Incoterms , which the latest edition was released in 2010, is a set of standardized trade terms created and published by International Chamber of Commerce in 1936 to serve as the basis of agreement between the supplier and the buyer that trades internationally.
The latest edition, the Incoterms 2010, contains 11 rules which are divided into two classes: 1. Rules for any mode or modes of transport; and 2. Rules for Sea and Inland Waterway Transport. Both differs in the mode of delivery, but understanding the difference between each rule is critical to know where and when the responsibility of the buyer and the supplier ends.
Detailed below are the duties of buyer and supplier in accordance with the 11 rules in Incoterms 2010.
Outsourcing logistics is a cost-effective strategy to expand your international reach and increase profits. The cost of hiring employees and renting storage space is typically lower than hosting operations in-house.
Outsourcing Logistics Lessens Paperwork
Outsourcing also helps minimize the amount of paperwork, invoices, and inventory. You can focus on other aspects of your business, such as maximizing your business’s sales potential. Outsourcing also improves efficiency, which is critical for reducing costs.
Operational Benefits of Outsourcing Logistics
Aside from reducing operating costs, outsourcing logistics can also provide several strategic and operational benefits. For example, you can take advantage of a 3PL’s experience to negotiate better prices with domestic transport providers. These providers also have access to a variety of suppliers and can accommodate seasonal inventory changes. They can even accommodate seasonal inventory fluctuations. Furthermore, they have the resources and expertise to handle the complexities of supply chain management.
Outsourced Logistics Allows You to Focus More on Other Business Matters
By hiring a third party to handle your logistics, you can focus on developing your business instead of worrying about the day-to-day activities of the logistics department. It will free up your employees’ time to do more important tasks. Outsourcing logistics also allows you to focus on other aspects of your business, such as marketing. The results of outsourcing logistics are worth the extra cost. If you’re planning to grow your business in the future, outsourcing logistics may be the perfect solution for you.
Outsourced Logistics Saves More Money
The most obvious benefit of outsourcing logistics is cost savings. Outsourcing your business’ logistics to a third party will save you money and improve control and visibility of your company’s inventory and orders. It will also ensure that you get the best service for your money. When it comes to saving money, outsourcing your business’s operations to a third-party logistics provider is a great way to go. All of your staff can focus on running your business, leaving you free to focus on growing yours.
Outsourcing logistics can also reduce costs. Your team will have more time to focus on innovations, and you will no longer need to worry about managing a logistical department. By hiring a 3PL, you can focus on core business functions. Your team will be able to focus on these things, which means you’ll be able to focus on your logistics. You will be able to concentrate on your business and not worry about logistics.
Key Takeaways
Outsourcing logistics helps your company’s fulfillment process run more efficiently. Outsourcing your logistics to a third-party provider will free up your time to focus on other aspects of your business. You will also be able to save money by cutting operational expenses and investing in other areas of your business. You will be able to focus on your core business while you’re outsourcing your logistical operations. When you outsource logistics, you’ll have the freedom to concentrate on other aspects of your company.
Excelsior Worldwide Freight Logistics conducts free orientation for those who are willing to learn. It is our advocacy to share our knowledge & experience worth more than a decade in the business. Visit our website today at www.excelsior.ph to learn more about our service.
Managing the e-commerce supply chain requires some important logistics skills, and this article will discuss the most critical of these. Regardless of the size of your business, it is essential to understand your entire business’s supply chain, including the components that are interconnected. The average e-commerce supply network is more complex than ever, and you need to be proactive instead of reactive. This means developing a predictive software solution to forecast demand and respond to it accordingly, similar to most recommendations that you will get from the most respected logistics company in the Philippines.
Identifying the Issues with The Supply Chain
Before you start your e-commerce supply chain, you should do a high-level process review. This can give you a comprehensive picture of the issues you need to address. In addition, this will help you to identify potential challenges and bottlenecks in your e-commerce supply chain. This will make your decisions easier and improve your business’s performance. Here are some helpful tips: (1) Determine what your customers want; and (2) Understand the challenges and benefits of each stage, and (3) consider hiring reading more about international freight forwarding.
Optimize your supply chain. Managing the supply chain will increase customer satisfaction and reduce operating costs. As you add items to your inventory, you must optimize your process to ensure that they arrive at their destination on time and in perfect condition. Typically, slotting is done at the SKU level. This is the wrong approach because it will lead to dead stock and negatively affect your business. By focusing on how much each step in the supply chain will cost, you’ll be better able to predict where each item will sell and when it will be delivered to customers.
Avoid duplicating processes. While duplicating processes can increase productivity, it is a common mistake for eCommerce startups. Many people end up with duplicated inventory, which increases their operational expenses. A good database administrator will be able to compare rates in seconds. If you can’t manage this, you can use a free-shipping rate calculator that will do the work for you. When it comes to cost, make sure to look for similarities between the two processes.
Proper planning and data collection are critical for e-commerce success. While it’s important to take care of inventory, capturing data will help your team focus on key metrics. This information is essential for e-commerce fulfillment and can be used as true north. It will provide a solid basis for your forwarding organization to manage your e-commerce supply chain. Aside from being the most critical component, the e-commerce supply chain will also benefit from a solid relationship with the customer.
A good e-commerce supply chain will include regular inventory audits and effective communication with customers. When it comes to delivery, consumers expect minimal delivery charges and zero human errors. In addition, a streamlined supply chain will help minimize the risk of damaged goods. This will also reduce your costs and make it easier for your customers to communicate with you. It will also help you avoid mistakes when dealing with third-party suppliers.
Excelsior Worldwide Freight Logistics conducts free orientation for those who are willing to learn. It is our advocacy to share our knowledge & experience worth more than a decade in the business. Visit our website today at www.excelsior.ph to learn more about our service.
Transportation management is a comprehensive discipline concerned with realizing the transportation requirements of an organization. This requires the systematic analysis of an organization’s transportation processes and systems and the identification of the key relationships among these processes and systems.
Transportation management system or TMS is a powerful software application that integrates multiple real-time systems and algorithms that align a business supply chain, logistics process flow, warehouse process modeling, linehaul express shipping, freight capacity planning, and off-loading.
With this software, the speed and efficiency of an organization’s transportation and warehousing activities can be improved through the collective efforts of the transportation and warehousing staff. In fact, real-time transportation and warehousing data can significantly improve the operational productivity of an organization.
A well-designed transportation management system can achieve this by reducing logistical errors, schedule delays, excessive over-crowding in the warehouses and delivery locations, and other factors that hinder the smooth flow of goods and materials. TMS can help in the:
Real-time inventory management – A major advantage of a truck and delivery tracking applications and TMS is that they provide real-time inventory reports of loads carried by vehicles in the system. These reports are used by trucking personnel to assess their routes, forecast their loads based on past performance, and plan for additional routes or route changes that help in optimizing fleet performance. In addition to this, the tracking of loads and other parameters provided by the software, such as route, time value of money, and fuel consumption of the vehicle, can also be useful for controlling costs. An example of the common usage of truck tracking reports is for companies involved in transporting hazardous waste. TMS can also track hazardous material shipments by alerting companies when specific routes or shipments are being used by the shipper, for example, for hazardous drugs.
Real-time information about the land and sea-borne freight – In today’s fast-changing and interconnected world, a company need not wait for shipment or cargo arrival time to evaluate the cargo status. Real-time information about the land and sea-borne freight in the system allows organizations to evaluate their inventories more efficiently. The information includes estimated unloaded weight, destination, and date of shipment, among others. Trucking companies can access and evaluate all this information through real-time tracking systems using GPS-enabled handheld devices.
Visibility and availability of resources – It is no longer enough to rely on paper records to monitor inventory, supply chain, and shipment status. Trucking and Logistics companies need to have access to real-time visibility and availability of personnel, trucks, resources, and vehicles. This is essential, especially during emergencies when supplies and services may be badly needed. TMS can also help minimize the impact of emergencies and other unexpected events on logistics operations and business. Trucking and Logistics companies need to have TMS applications that provide real-time visibility of resources. In addition, the system should allow for flexible scheduling of deliveries, route mapping, reroute management, and other activities.
Excelsior Worldwide Freight Logistics conducts free orientation for those who are willing to learn. It is our advocacy to share our knowledge & experience worth more than a decade in the business. Visit our website today at www.excelsior.ph to learn more about our service.
The freight forwarding industry has been around since the 1800s and has come a long way since then. In modern times, freight forwarding is a major factor in companies moving their products from one international location. With advances in technology and the Internet, freight forwarding is now more convenient and affordable than ever. A freight forwarder can easily send products and goods all over the world.
Many freight forwarding trends are happening across the globe today, especially in the Philippines. Let’s take a look at some of these freight forwarding trends in the Philippines.
More and more businesses and individuals are using freight forwarders to help them expedite their shipments. Small and big establishments have realized that a Filipino freight forwarder can greatly increase the speed of their shipments. They can also help businesses to save time and money in the long run.
More Goods Overseas
Another popular trend in the freight forwarding industry in the Philippines is that more people are sending their goods overseas. Most people in the Philippines are familiar with the country’s long coastline. They also know how long it takes for international freight services to arrive at their desired destination. Because of this, most freight forwarders have plans to send freight from Manila to foreign countries regularly. This allows the shipment of large amounts of goods.
Two-Way Shipping Services
Freight forwarding service providers often offer two-way shipping services to help clients send shipments overseas. These shipping services enable clients to track the status of their goods in different parts of the globe. Since tracking your shipment is important, this is a great way to ensure that you receive the shipment in the quickest amount of time.
Why Freight Forwarding?
Other than regular shipments, many freight forwarding companies offer freight forwarding services for specific reasons. One of these is when a business or individual needs to ship their goods to a specific destination outside the country. For instance, if an American company wants to ship its products to China, it will first search for a freight forwarding company that can do so. After finding a provider, they will tell what products they want to ship and where they want the products to go. The provider will then search for a container in the area suitable for storing the shipment until it is shipped to its intended destination.
The freight forwarding industry is still growing in the Philippines. Many factors contribute to the growth of this industry, including the country’s economy, the growing number of international businesses that choose to ship goods to the Philippines, and the increasing popularity of shipping services such as Air Asia and Oceania. This growing industry has shown no signs of slowing down and will continue to thrive in the years to come. The key to success in the freight forwarding industry in the Philippines lies in continued research and development to improve on existing freight forwarding trends and develop new methods to make shipping easier and more efficient.
Excelsior Worldwide Freight Logistics conducts free orientation for those who are willing to learn. It is our advocacy to share our knowledge & experience worth more than a decade in the business. Visit our website today at www.excelsior.ph to learn more about our service.
Port congestion is when a ship coming into a port for the express purpose of cargo or passenger operations is either unable to berth at the desired location or needs to wait for an opportunity for docking.
In such a case, there is no space for the ship to unload cargo, and therefore all operations stop. Port congestion is a major problem faced by most ports worldwide. It can occur for different reasons such as extreme weather conditions, shortage of fuel or diesel, breakdowns, etc.
To combat port congestion, ships are often required to call at sea or port to unload their cargo. However, this is not always possible, and therefore the only solution is to store the excess tonnage normally used on board and ensure that the ship has space available when called at sea.
Why does Port Congestion Happen?
Increased fuel surcharges, stricter tankers rules, tougher security procedures, global events, and a tightening economy contribute to port congestion. Cargo that used to arrive at its specified time and date may now take longer due to weather concerns and extra time spent checking for illegal or dangerous material loads. Even smaller shippers can encounter extra time delays when shipping lines wait for their overseas carriers to return from a trip. These factors combine to cause congestion, especially when extra time is added to each shipment’s delivery date.
Port Congestion in the Philippines
With increasing international trade and immigration, the Philippines is experiencing port congestion. The burgeoning of container activities has resulted in a large build-up of material at sea and land in the country. A large portion of this build-up occurs at the main international port in Manila.
The rising population and increased traffic at the country’s ports have resulted in inefficiencies in its transport system – in which Manila has long been a major problem area. In some areas, there are physical problems caused by the number of ships and containers. In other areas, the inefficiency caused by inadequate infrastructure makes it difficult to use the existing ports to their fullest potential.
In addition to affecting the overall transport system of the country, port congestion has also affected the handling of goods. Many goods come by sea to the Philippines either by land to the larger cities or across the island on trucks. Businesses are affected when port congestion forces goods to be unloaded at each port and then transported to larger harbors. The delays caused by port congestion can affect an exporter’s profit schedule, making the whole exporters line more difficult than usual.
Preventing Port Congestion
The solutions provided by a global freight forwarding company can alleviate these problems. A company that can help an international trade broker better manage its supply chain can help them avoid common mistakes that can occur during port congestion.
Freight forwarding companies can also provide advice on the best way to streamline their operations and increase their ability to meet the demands of their customers. These experts can help ensure that the long-term viability of an international trade business is not put at risk due to short-sighted actions by shipping companies and brokers.
Excelsior Worldwide Freight Logistics conducts free orientation for those who are willing to learn. It is our advocacy to share our knowledge & experience worth more than a decade in the business. Visit our website today at www.excelsior.ph to learn more about our service.
Finding an excellent freight forwarder is very important, especially if you want your shipping business to run smoothly. A shipping company should always be able to provide their clients with great service and a great deal of flexibility in their operations. These two factors will help you maximize your profits and minimize the time you need to deliver your freight.
Of course, the best thing that you can do for your clients is to make sure that the freight company you are dealing with has excellent employees who can take care of the needs of their clients at any given time.
This article will focus on factors to look for a freight forwarder so you can ensure that you find the best one:
Expanding Your Choices Online
A good way to find a good freight provider is to research online and then make some calls. Find out what companies other people are using to ship their products and how satisfied they are. You can also find out what type of pricing model they use and what other services are included in their shipping package.
It is best to find a freight company that will provide free quotes for their shipping services. A quote can be obtained by visiting freight websites and enter your shipping information. The quotes will give you a price range to compare. Choose a company that has the lowest quote and that fits your budget best. Make sure that the company has been in business for at least five years.
CRM
One of the things to look for in a freight forwarding company is its customer relations management or CRM. The company should have a system in place to keep track of its customers, the type of goods they are shipping, the contact information of the customer, and other important information about them. This system should give the customer information regarding the status of their package, what the shipping company’s name is, and other important information regarding the forwarding company.
If you want to save time whenever you talk with your customer or when you need to check on the status of a package, your customer should easily access this information through the company’s CRM. Customer relations management is extremely important because it streamlines operations, ensures customer satisfaction, and promotes brand loyalty among your customers.
Customer Service
The freight forwarding company should ensure that it maintains an excellent customer service program. For instance, your client may get in touch with you to ask you about the best rates available for their shipment. If you cannot provide them with the answer they are looking for, the customer may decide to change shipping companies in the future. It pays to always be ready with your client’s wants and needs.
The Type of Good to be Shipped
You will also have to consider the type of goods you will be shipping. There are different types of freight like cargo transportation, hazardous goods, international freight, and even items that are difficult to ship, like custom-made goods from countries outside the Philippines. When it comes to these kinds of shipments, the freight company you choose should have a good variety of options that it can use to transport your goods. Whether you want your products transported in a closed container or in an open trailer does not matter. The company you choose should determine the most appropriate container for your shipment based on the size and weight of your merchandise.
Excelsior Worldwide Freight Logistics conducts free orientation for those who are willing to learn. It is our advocacy to share our knowledge & experience worth more than a decade in the business. Visit our website today at www.excelsior.ph to learn more about our service.
