Freight forwarding is a complex and challenging process. There are always lots of things that should be done, as well as lots of tasks that should be solved. Every logistics broker knows for sure that conflicts are an integral part of transportation. Misunderstanding and confusion may lead to disagreement. If you do not want to lose your profit (or even worse - your partners), it’s necessary to be able to resolve such situations or even better - try to avoid disagreements.

The following tips are to help you to avoid disagreements with carriers and to make the process of transportation as smooth as possible. 

• Provide your partners only with accurate information. 

Let be honest. If you are a good logistics broker you want to get maximum profit with minimum expenditures. Sometimes the temptation to provide carriers with incorrect data is overwhelming. You need to define what services you are interested in. It’s necessary to clarify the type of cargo and deadlines.

• Be polite but persistent.

Screaming is not the best way to solve conflicts or disagreements. You should be always polite (always means even if the person annoys or bothers you, or irritates you, or you just do not like him or her). At the same time, you should be able to advocate your point of view. If you need to receive the door-to-door transport service, you must receive it.    

• Try to place orders in advance.

Although logistics is a fast-developing industry and the number of operators is increasing day after day, it’s better to avoid extra urgent orders. It’s cool if you are able to order the carrier services a couple of months before the deadlines, of course, if it doesn’t come to expedited shipping.      

• Think about extra remuneration.

You have to pay carriers for the services they provide. There is a set of definite fees. They are to be paid every time you order some options. Yet, it’s a good idea to include a couple of extra payments such as stop pay or fuel bonuses.  

• The legal aspect is of prime importance.

No matter how long have you been cooperating with this or that carrier or how cool friends you are, all the aspects of cooperation are to be made in an official form. It means written contracts are a must. They have to include detailed descriptions of the provided services, possible force majeurs, and ways out. All the financial aspects have to be clearly defined, too.    

• Keep everything under control. 

Even if you cooperate with the best carriers on the market, it’s still important to control the whole process. Moreover, nowadays there are so many innovative technologies which are designed especially for these purposes. 

It should be also highlighted that a good logistics broker cooperates with several carriers. It helps you not only to fulfill more orders but provide your clients with as perfect freight delivery services as possible. It’s a good idea to have reliable partners with different capacities and opportunities. 

To conclude, it’s necessary to note that disputes and disagreements are almost inevitable in logistics. You should be ready for criticism and bad reviews (not always fairly). Your task is to support good relationships with your partners in order to perform well.