What they do, and what they do not
A freight forwarder organises transport: they contract with shipping lines or airlines, consolidate cargo, handle terminals and, usually through a customs broker, file the clearances. They are not the carrier — except when they issue their own document and act as one — and they are not your customs broker, even if they nearly always provide you with one.
That distinction matters when something goes wrong. If the forwarder acts as an agent, they answer for their handling; if they issue their own bill of lading, they answer as a carrier, within the per-kilo liability limits set by whichever convention applies. In neither case do they answer for the value of your goods: that is what insurance is for.
What to give them so they can quote
With less than this, what comes back is not an offer: it is an estimate that will change.
- Exact origin and destination
- Postcode and town for pickup and delivery, not just the country. A 200 km inland leg changes the price.Pickup 41007 Seville → delivery 11122 Stockholm
- Incoterm
- It defines how far they have to quote. Without it, each forwarder quotes a different scope and the offers cannot be compared.CPT Stockholm (Incoterms 2020)
- Packages, dimensions and gross weight
- By package type. This is where volumetric weight comes from, which is what gets billed when it exceeds the actual weight.8 pallets 120×80×145 cm · 3,912 kg
- Nature of the goods
- What it is and its tariff heading. It decides whether there are restrictions, whether temperature control is needed and which insurance applies.Bottled olive oil — HS 150920
- Value of the goods
- For the policy and for the declaration. It is not optional if you want insurance with real cover.€23,280 invoice value
- Requested pickup date
- And whether there is a deadline at destination. It changes the routing and sometimes the mode.Pickup week of 6 October
- Special requirementsOptional
- Temperature, dangerous goods, stackable or not, tail-lift needed at delivery.Non-stackable · tail-lift delivery
What to ask before you book
Two quotes with the same headline number can end thirty per cent apart because of what is not written down.
- What exactly is included and what falls outside the price?
- Which surcharges can appear later: fuel, congestion, peak season?
- How many free days of demurrage and storage are there at destination?
- Is the transit time you quote port to port or door to door?
- Are there transhipments, and how many?
- Who is the agent at destination and who does my customer talk to?
- Do you issue your own document or the carrier’s?
- Does the insurance you offer cover invoice value or limited liability per kilo?
Where the money goes
- Comparing prices with different scopesA door-to-door quote and a port-to-port quote are not comparable. What looks cheapest is usually what includes the least.
- Not asking about free days at destinationDemurrage and storage are charged per day and per container. Five days of difference between two quotes is worth more than the discount you are negotiating.
- Guessing the weightIf the real weight exceeds the declared one, it is re-invoiced with a surcharge. And if volumetric weight is higher than actual, you are billed on volume.
- Assuming transport comes with insuranceCarrier liability is capped per kilo and does not cover the value of the goods. Without your own policy, a loss is paid out in cents per kilo.