Role of Freight Forwarding & Logistics Companies in Supply Chain Management

1. Role of Freight Forwarding & Logistics Companies in
Supply Chain Management
The global Logistics sector is dominated by a handful of multinational giants, which creates
unfair competition for newer entrants in the market and smaller organizations. The global
logistics market is lead by various service providers such as Consol Agent, ​Freight
Forwarder​, Iata Agent, and Customs Brokers (CHAs). The last twenty years have seen the
emergence of multinational organizations that have acquired and bought local and smaller
players of the market to acquire the multinational status coupled with the global logistics
and supply chain network. Therefore Freight forwarding and supply chain management
has become a crucial part of any Logistics company in the entire world.
Logistics is like oxygen to supply chain without which the movement of goods across a
chain wouldn’t be smooth. Logistics is a rock hard foundation upon which any supply chain
stands. Let us take a closer look at that:
Logistics is one of the essential components of supply chain management, without effective
logistics management a supply chain cannot function very well. Logistics management
involves management of goods, services and information from point of origin to point of
consumption. Logistics aligns the complex pattern of import-export operations, inventory
management, warehousing, purchase planning, packaging etc in supply chain management.
Logistics is the one key factor that helps in reducing the cost and improving the efficiency
of supply chain. Logistics and supply chain has influenced product movement to meet and
exceed the consumer demand. Due to which the companies saw that they could lower the

2. cost and improve productivity through effective logistics management and strategic
planning.
Most of the key logistics players i.e service providers were initially freight forwarders who
dealt with the bookings of the cargo coupled with the shipping services and got segregated
into logistics other segments over time. However, as the global Logistics business practices
changed, and supply chain management started gaining recognition, these logistics
companies realized the potential of being able to offer multiple logistics services including
multimodal transportation, warehousing, customs brokering, and freight forwarding under
one roof. In Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management, a Freight Forwarder plays a
very significant and interlinking role in the industry. The various inter-linking roles of a
Logistics Company and Freight Forwarders are explained below:
● Global Network: A Freight Forwarder is considered as the hub of information owing
to his expertise and global logistical processes, familiarity with the law and his
highly build social network.
● Integration of Operations: A freight forwarder integrates various verticals of the
supply chain management by conveying the right information to the right service
provider in the right place at the right time.

3. ● Consulting Services: Any importer or exporter can rely on the freight forwarding
services to seek advice on export strategies, competitive situations and also
regarding any trade terms included in the contract.
● Cost-effective and Legal assistance: With their established global network, they
facilitate import/export by providing standard services at economical prices. The
advent of freight forwarders has made Logistics services easy to handle and
cost-effective. LogiSWOT helps you to get in touch with various freight forwarders
from all over the world.
● Legal Assistance: A freight forwarder is also responsible for preparing all the
necessary documents and certifications that are required in global trade.
Logistics and supply chain management both are essential for the growth of the company.
Logistics within supply chain keeps changing constantly to meet the rising demands of
the consumers. To meet the rising expectations of the consumers, companies not only
have to meet but fulfill their needs/demands in a timely yet cost-effective manner.
There is an online portal called ​LogiSWOT​ that can help you to do so. This online portal
asissts various service providers such as (Consol Agent, Freight forwarder, Iata agent
and Customs Brokers) to offer cost-effective price quotations against the query raised
by the cosnumers (export/importer). To start gaining or enjoying the benefits of the
portal just Log on to MyLogiSWOT and get registered now!!