Freight brokers are a vital component to the running of your business. They play the role of a coordinator between your business and carriers in order to get your product delivered as intended. However, one of the most common questions that people have with freight brokers is: how do they prepare for the actual transportation of products? To give you an understanding of how they work, here is a breakdown for you:
Checking the availability of potential carriers
Once you have confirmed your order and defined your objectives going forward, the freight broker will search through their network to find the most suitable carrier. This analysis will be conducted after collecting crucial information such as the type of the product you want to transport, the pickup and delivery point, the type of the carriers required and any special precautions when handling the loads. They will analyse it all together and find who is best suited to handle your requirements.
Passing over the vital information
They will contact multiple carrier services across the region and select the most affordable and reliable service. This might include a range of transport options, including trucks, trains, planes and cargo ships. Experienced and well-established freight brokers have a large database of carriers to select from they have options to ensure it works in tandem with your requirements.
Once they have found the right one for you, the broker will contact the carrier service and let them have all the information pertaining to your business. The exact time when the load can be picked up, the nature of the location and special requests will be notified well in advance. All you have to do is wait for the truck driver (as most businesses need a truck to start off with) to collect your products. However, if you have a truck already and need to extend your route, you can drop off your goods at the required pick-up spot for the next stage of transportation.
From here it can go two ways
1) Your carrier carrying your goods can transport them to your desired drop-off location and that will be the end of the transportation service. You will be notified about the arrival of your goods to the final location when it happens.
2) Or it will take your goods to the next point - which could be shipping port, airport or train station. Once the load is delivered to the intended location, the carrier will report the situation back to the broker, who in turn, will update you on how your goods are fairing. Once your product has arrived at its final destination, you will get a notification.
