If you are a business that imports and exports your products, you may have come to realise that there are numerous obstacles you must overcome in order to get your product safely to its destination. Importing and exporting your product presents a great opportunity to grow and expand your business but the processes, paperwork, and regulations involved in international trade may seem intimidating.
For example, The South African Revenue Service (SARS) defines approximately 90,000 product tariff codes that are strictly enforced on all imports. When exporting there is a lot of documentation required such as, exporter registration form, letter of credit, commercial invoice, custom declaration form, form NEP (no foreign exchange proceeds), Form E (repatriation of foreign exchange earnings) and export permit. This can be overwhelming to process and consume time that would be better spent focusing on the strategic decision of your business. Therefore you need a trusted partner in freight forwarding like AGL to assist you.
What is a freight forwarder?
A freight forwarder, simply put, is a specialist that handles the obstacles your import/export business will face. So, a freight forwarder organises shipments for your business to get goods from the manufacturer to an end customer or final point of distribution. Your freight forwarder should be a trusted partner that facilitates the logistics of transporting goods whether by air, road, sea or rail, as well as ensuring the lowest possible cost through streamlining your supply chain.
At AGL, we focus on the global movement of your cargo, be it time-sensitive cargo, or bulk movements, we are here to get you moving forward with your business operations.
What does a freight forwarder do?
According to the South African Association of Freight Forwarders, when it comes to international trade, freight forwarding plays an essential role. Forwarders facilitate this activity by managing transportation, customs clearing, documentation, third-party payments and other crucial elements involved in international supply chains. Simply put, a freight forwarder must get the product to the customer by a specific date in its original state.
A freight forwarder does not actually ship or move the freight but rather facilitates the movement of your cargo by relying on relationships and partnerships that they have established. At AGL we keep this in mind and as such we have chosen to support multiple diverse agents who cover many different and diverse commodity types to ensure flexible solutions-based international logistics. We have hand-picked and vetted our partners to ensure that the importance of accurate pricing, fast transit times and reliable transport modes are valued. It is our core focus to meet and exceed our client’s needs and expectations.
Why do you need a freight forwarder?
By choosing the right forwarding company, you will save your business copious amounts of time and hassle. They become an essential asset and partner in the movement of your cargo.
As a freight forwarder, we also calculate and advise you of the best ratio of cost versus speed on all your import/export movements. Through our expert knowledge, experience and understanding of international shipping legislation and procedure, we ensure that your goods arrive on time and in a cost-effective way.
Our Forwarding Services Include:
- Sea, air, road and rail modalities
- Efficient and cost-effective shipment routing
- Cargo consolidation services
- Cargo inspection services for exports
- Associated foreign and local landside services
- Optimised transit times
- End-to-end visibility and management of cargo movements: predictive and proactive problem resolution
At AGL we understand that by entrusting us with your product, we partner with you in the pursuit of your business success. As such AGL management meets regularly with our global partners to ensure trends, new services and basic country dynamics are monitored so that we in turn can use this knowledge to benefit our clients. Contact us to find out more about how we transport quality and excellence and how we can save you time and money when it comes to the movement of your cargo. We are moving forward. What about you?
