10 freight forwarding services you can offer
Want to grow your forwarding business? Learn how freight forwarding services like ADR, GOH and AEO can help you attract more clients.
As a freight forwarder, offering specialist freight forwarding services can set you apart from the competition. By expanding your offering, you can cater to a variety of customer needs, making you the go-to choice for customers with specific requirements.
In this guide, we’ll explore the most in-demand services, and how a freight forwarders network like Haulage Exchange can help you find the right carriers to support you and your customers.
Specialist freight forwarding services and certifications
1. ADR (Transporting Dangerous Goods)
ADR, which is a French acronym for “European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road”, is required when transporting hazardous materials, including chemicals and flammable substances.
This freight forwarding service ensures safe and legal transport across long distances, making it incredibly useful for industries such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing that require the movement of dangerous goods.
2. DGSA Qualified (Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor)
DGSA provides oversight for the safe transport of hazardous goods, ensuring compliance with safety and legal guidelines.
This qualification is legally required for high-risk shipments, offering peace of mind to customers handling sensitive materials that require stringent safety measures.
3. FORS Bronze, Silver, Gold Certification
FORS operators demonstrate excellence in fleet operations, appealing to clients who prioritise safety and environmental standards.
Bronze focuses on legal compliance, Silver on maintaining safety equipment, and Gold on managing noise pollution and emissions. A FORS accreditation assures customers that their goods are transported by a fleet committed to high operational standards.
4. Frozen Transport
Frozen transport is helpful for clients needing temperature-controlled transport for items like pharmaceuticals, perishable foods, or biological samples.
By offering this freight forwarding service, you can guarantee that your customers’ items are kept at the correct temperatures throughout long-distance transit, maintaining their integrity and safety.
5. Garments On Hanger (GOH)
GOH is ideal for clients in the fashion industry who require wrinkle-free delivery of clothing items.
Retailers, fashion designers, and garment manufacturers benefit from this service as it ensures that their products are ready to wear or sell upon arrival, maintaining their quality and presentation.
6. High Security Freight Forwarding Services
This means carriers can provide enhanced security for high-value or sensitive items, such as electronics, jewellery, or confidential documents.
This service is suitable for customers needing assurance that their goods are protected during transit, reducing the risk of theft or damage.
7. Level A/B Aviation, Cargo Operative
This is necessary for customers needing to ship goods via air freight, such as pharmaceuticals, electronics, or urgent parts.
This freight forwarder service ensures secure and compliant delivery to and from airports, crucial for goods that need to be transported quickly and safely.
7. Refrigerated/Chilled Transport
This is required for customers needing to keep items cool, such as dairy products, fresh flowers, or certain pharmaceuticals.
This freight forwarder service maintains chill temperatures throughout the journey, ensuring that these products arrive in optimal condition.
8. Authorised Economic Operator (AEO)
Means secure and efficient customs controls, essential for customers regularly importing or exporting goods.
This status ensures expedited customs clearance and enhanced security, making international shipping smoother and more reliable for businesses.
9. CMR Insurance Certification
CMR insurance provides legal protection for international shipments, which is required for customers transporting goods across borders, especially in the EU.
Similar to freight forwarder insurance, CMR ensures the security and compliance of items like furniture, electronics, or commercial goods, offering peace of mind and legal assurance during transit.
Find certified specialists on Haulage Exchange
Haulage Exchange can help you find specialist carriers to offer these freight forwarding services, providing several key benefits.
With access to over 50,000 compliant vehicles, you can find the right vehicle for any job, ensuring you meet diverse customer needs. Sameday pickups ensure quick response times, enhancing customer satisfaction.
All carriers on HX are continuously monitored for compliance with industry standards, ensuring safe and legal operations. By using HX data to find competitive rates, you can offer cost-effective freight forwarding services. Real-time tracking allows you to monitor freight in transit, providing clients with accurate delivery updates and exceptional customer service. Additionally, streamlined payments with our new SmartPay functionality makes your accounting simple and efficient.
Find reliable carriers and cut your costs with Haulage Exchange
MPC Couriers joined the Courier Exchange back in October 2016.
Back then, managing director Martin Coulson was new to the industry. He joined CX as an owner-driver, getting to grips with the job all while driving his rented van all over the Midlands.
After a few years of making a decent living as an owner driver, Martin quit the road and became a freight forwarder.
MPC Couriers currently boast 551,446 in sales figures – and that’s in just half a year.
Martin explains his journey from owner driver to freight forwarder over the past 7 years.
8 years
as an HX member
522
positive feedback comments
126%
return on investment
Approach
An entrepreneur at his core, Martin started on the Exchange with no real logistics experience.
“I built everything up and learned the trade from scratch.”
But, although he had no experience, Martin had a clear idea of where he wanted to be.
I wanted to compete against all the big boys to be honest. When I looked at posting work, I though wow. I instantly saw posting loads as my future. That’s what attracted me to the Exchange. That was my goal.
Martin Coulson, Managing Director, MPC Couriers
“I had to go on the road to learn the logistics as a courier driver because I’ve never done it. I was also looking at the customers. I cover the lot now.”
Martin dove (or, rather, drove) into the role of owner-driver with enthusiasm. Driving for a few years taught him everything he needed to know about transport and logistics. Networking on the Exchange helped him build a strong number of trustworthy and reliable, from haulage carriers to big shippers.
“It’s all been technology and learning the trade. I’ve joined networking clubs, which you meet customers through. It’s all been using technology and building that up.”
“And I’ve used the platform as much as I can,” he adds. “In my backloads. In my business when I didn’t have any work. And now I’ve come off the road, I use it to sell jobs.”
Results
Today, MPC Couriers have access to over 47,000 vehicles UK-wide and the 2022 UK Transport award for ‘Most Trusted Same-Day Courier Service – UK and Europe’.
MPC Couriers are also proud to sponsor ‘Square Peg Activities’ – a charity that helps families with disabled children get the inclusive care they require.
The Exchange has given me a thousand million percent increase in sales. I can cover the whole country within 60 minutes in transport. To have the recourses of 90% of the logistics companies in the UK at my fingertips is a powerful, money-making tool.
Martin Coulson, Managing Director, MPC Couriers
And MPC Couriers’ growing sales figures reflect this.
“When I started making a grand a week, I thought “bloody hell this is good!” Martin exclaims. “Then the figures went up to 5 grand a month to 7 and a half. Recently, it’s been more like 24 to 25 grand a month. It’s just grown so quick – it’s growing very quick.”
“When I take on a customer, I promise to take all the hassle out of transport. I look after everything and everyone. It’s a little niche I’ve got,” he adds.
Martin’s ‘little niche’ is on track to “making a million quid in sales figures this year.”
Conclusion
Martin’s happy to report that he’s scaled MPC Couriers into a bigger business. And with a bigger business comes bigger opportunities.
“We’ve got a lot of big companies we work with. I’m growing my business through the website, customers, and referrals. One of my customers advertises on prime time TV. I’ve got a Ministry of Defence contract with Eurosonics. I’ve done a bit of ADR work too. It’s just growing year, in year out.”
Martin also acknowledges his loyalty to the platform that helped to expose his business to larger networks – and gave him the opportunity to advance his career.
I’ve had same-day networks try to give me free memberships. I tell them I’m not interested – I say I’m with CX. Because that’s where I’ve built the business and that’s where I’m staying.
Martin Coulson, Managing Director, MPC Couriers
MPC Couriers’ success is especially encouraging to anyone looking to start fresh in the transport industry.
“You can make a living off the Exchange being a driver, or you can take it further. And when I first started, I didn’t know a thing about logistics. It’s a learning curve.”
Martin Coulson, Managing Director, MPC Couriers
And, finally, Martin’s parting words are encouraging to anyone looking to build their business on the Exchange.
The sky’s the limit if you want it to be.
Martin Coulson, Managing Director, MPC Couriers
Ready to see how you can build your business on HX?
As the latest Brexit deadline draws ever nearer, the uncertainty surrounding if, when, and in what form Brexit will occur only continues to grow. One thing that is certain, however, is that logistic companies cannot afford to go unprepared. If Brexit does happen this October, and particularly if a deal isn’t reached in time and the UK crashes out of the EU with no deal, then making adequate preparations will be the key to surviving the initial chaos that the UK’s exit from the EU will likely spark.
The freight industry, placed as it is at the literal border between the UK and the EU, promises to be one of those most affected by Brexit. To help mitigate the impact on your freight forwarding business, we’ve put together these top tips for creating a Brexit action plan. Our list covers the most important things to consider in preparation for Brexit, as well as some top tips on how best to ready your business for life outside the EU.
Customs and tariffs
Understanding the impact of new duties on imports will be a key part of your preparation. Research both the financial and administrative cost of these new duties. Consider how your business will adapt – what new approvals will you need? what costs will you incur? It is particularly important to ask whether you are at risk of having to pay multiple duties if you operate across Europe.
Legal
Re-examining your contracts, identifying those with clauses reliant on the UK’s membership in the EU, and understanding how easy or difficult it might be to renegotiate or leave these contracts is another important step towards being prepared for Brexit. While thinking of the future, also begin to identify what safeguards you might want to include in new contracts as protection against uncertainties, as well as updating your freight forwarder insurance coverage.
VAT
Sales of some goods between the UK and the EU will, when the UK leaves, become imports and exports for the purposes of VAT. Preparing for the possibility of increases in costs and in administration will be vital to your Brexit preparations and to protecting your cash flow and remaining profitable.
Systems and data
New importing and exporting activities will require new data to be captured and made available in support of the receipt and dispatch of goods and the declarations that accompany them. How will this data be managed, and what new systems will you need to implement to accomplish this? An audit of your existing systems will help identify issues before they occur.
Lead times
One of the unavoidable realities of Brexit is that it is going to make everything take longer. Customs bottlenecks are certain to be a feature in the post-Brexit landscape, and this will have particularly dramatic repercussions when it comes to moving goods – especially if those goods have short shelf lives. If this is something likely to affect your business, it’s worth building contingencies to account for these issues now.
Grants and incentives
There are a whole plethora of grants and incentives stemming from the EU that go to benefit EU businesses, and it’s very likely that you benefit either directly or indirectly from some of this funding. Accounting not only for how this will affect you, but also trying to appreciate how potential changes to this funding might affect the decisions your business partners and clients make in the future will be a useful preparatory exercise.
Join a freight platform
Freight platforms such as Haulage Exchange have the potential to mitigate the impact of many of these changes. Offering end-to-end, real-time freight management, Haulage Exchange can help streamline your processes and provide you with a platform to move your loads safely to and from the UK, while offering specialist freight forwarding services. Some of the benefits of Haulage Exchange include:
The ease of finding carriers
With well over 50,000 vehicles available across the UK and Europe, having access to the Haulage Exchange network means never having to risk letting your customers down. The exchange allows you full control – post freight, search for carriers, and track and communicate with the sub-contractors you are using.
The Haulage Exchange is an accredited business and only enables access to professional trade-only carriers that have been vetted and are compliant. The built-in feedback system adds a further level of insurance for members looking for a prospective driver, meaning you can increase capacity in an adaptive and intuitive way.
Innovative technology
The Haulage Exchange makes use of cutting edge technology to enhance the experience from both load poster and carrier perspective. The exclusive driver application means carriers can stay connected to the Exchange while on the move, giving them the ability to update their status, availability, and current load details, to allow members to make an informed decision before offering new work.
Once a member has decided to subcontract to a carrier the system ensures seamless load management throughout the journey. Carriers can update members with real-time ETAs and can provide PODs at the completion of a load. Finally, the app also offers the ability to create invoices and send paperwork digitally – cutting down on both printing and administrative costs. The system is also HMRC Making Tax Digital compliant meaning in a single click you can submit data to HMRC for your VAT return.
The mobile app also operates as part of the Exchange’s mission to offer complete online logistics and load management solutions to its members. Working with high profile partners, the Exchange can integrate telematics into members’ existing platforms and TMS systems. Some of the Haulage Exchange’s sixteen partners include Teletrac Navman, TomTom Telematics, Masternaut and Causeway.
Final thoughts
The only certainty of Brexit is uncertainty, but for freight forwarding software companies, proper preparation and planning can go a long way to alleviating worry. Many of the difficulties likely to arise from Brexit will involve the increased costs and administrative headaches precipitated by new duties, legal requirements, and customs processes. Luckily, tools like those offered by Haulage Exchange can go a long way to mitigating these issues by offering a more streamlined and centralised way of managing the logistics of freight movement.
By making good use of these tools as part of a broader preparedness initiative, freight forwarding businesses can make Brexit’s October 31st deadline just a little bit less scary.
TVS Supply Chain Solutions specialise in providing revenue growth, inventory reduction and operating cost reduction. They have multiple distribution centres and forward stock locations at strategic points around the globe, with over 4 million sq. ft of warehouse space.
They also have access to a global distribution fleet, working with some of the best and most proficient carriers in the marketplace. This means that they can ship products however and whenever their customers require.
The Haulage Exchange has helped TVS Supply Chains Solutions to run their day to day operations more efficiently, here’s how;
What prompted your initial interest to join us?
We paid a visit to our current providers and I noticed that they were members of the Haulage Exchange, so we thought we would give it a shot!
Before joining the Exchange, what problems or obstacles did you face?
We were not dealing with the drivers directly, we would go through a third party which can result in things being lost in translation. But with the Haulage Exchange, we have the details of the drivers and we deal with them day in, day out.
How did you run your operations before joining?
We would give the jobs to a selection of companies and pay our margins on that.
What would you say are the 3 best features of the Haulage Exchange?
- Dealing with drivers directly
- Getting backloads at good rates
- A feedback system that allows you to rate drivers and determine their reliability
Has the platform helped you overcome any problems?
Joining the Exchange has reduced our costs and enabled us to effectively communicate with drivers.
What difference does the Exchange make to your everyday activities?
It has allowed us to cut out the middlemen in our operations so that we can deal with the drivers directly.
Would you recommend us to others?
Absolutely! As a matter of fact, I have already recommended it to people I know, because the Haulage Exchange is working for us, therefore I’m confident others will love it too.
Do you use the Haulage Exchange to get extra capacity when you need it?
Getting backloads has become much easier but we do not have a fleet or drivers as we just post work out. However, the Exchange has helped us build our own network of reliable drivers which has made our operations significantly more effective and efficient.
