In the face of changes occurring in the modern economy (including transport services), it is increasingly evident that greater chances for market success lie not with individual entities operating only in a very narrow market segment and competing with each other, but with groups or large companies capable of creating coherent supply chains. These changes are related, among other things, to increasing customer expectations regarding the quality of the offered product, the quality of services provided, and their price. Meeting their individual needs necessitates moving away from the traditional understanding of transport services, exceeding existing standards, and implementing a full market orientation within the company. Freight transport clients increasingly require a single, clearly indicated service partner while simultaneously having services performed in a comprehensive manner. Trends in the modern transport market clearly indicate the need for partnership ties when creating services for the client, based on close cooperation between carriers and other entities participating in the freight turnover process. Broadly understood service complexity should be understood through participation in a supply chain of a number of companies very strongly linked to each other – most often through capital – which can be defined as: A network of related companies that operate on the principle of mutual cooperation, jointly controlling, directing, and improving physical flows and information from suppliers to end users.
Integrated supply chains are today widely considered to be the solutions with the greatest potential for achieving savings and generating profits. A rail carrier should strive to ensure that its work and the company’s services play a key role in the transport chain. This cooperation must begin at the stage of commercial negotiations, and its primary goal is to ensure the possibility of executing the contract as a logistics project, taking into account various types of transport modes, transshipment, storage and packaging of goods, quality testing, organization of cooperation between individual subcontractors of the logistics process, etc.
Freight forwarding as an element of the logistics service chain
The separation of freight forwarding as an independent business activity has a long history. With the growth of trade exchange, and consequently the development of transport in its individual elements, increasing specialization followed.
As a consequence, this led to the development of a transport intermediary who, acting on behalf of a client, dealt with activities related to the shipment of goods without performing the transport activity itself. The freight forwarder concludes transport contracts and contracts for the performance of “ancillary” activities in their own name but for the account of their principal, charging a specific margin for the service. In Poland, the “Civil Code” act formulates the definition of a forwarding contract. Article 794 of the Civil Code states that the subject of this contract is:
• sending a shipment
• its receipt
• performing other services related to the transport of the shipment.
This brief characterization of the forwarding service proves that the scope of forwarding services is very broad. With the development of information technology, freight forwarding is beginning to play an increasingly important role as a link connecting individual elements of the transport process. The basic service of freight forwarding companies is organizing the transport of goods within the country and abroad. The area of operation includes road, rail, sea, inland waterway, air, and intermodal transport.
Organizing transport consists of searching for the “principal” client of the transport, establishing details regarding transport, negotiating the price for the service, and settling the service. The tasks of these companies also include searching for additional clients to ensure optimal use of transport means along the entire planned transport route. In the case of export and import of goods, companies are also responsible for filling out customs forms and organizing customs clearance. As part of the services provided, they advise on the choice of transport management, mode of transport, and transport route, and often prepare the cargo for transport. A freight forwarding company, while carrying out its services, also plans the quantity and quality of the necessary means of individual transport branches for the implementation of a given service. Caring for its image in the TSL sector services market, it should carry out these activities while maintaining high quality of the provided service and an adequate price. This rule cannot be just a slogan but a consistently implemented principle, because a client who feels that the service was performed at a lower level than offered will certainly move to the competition – even if they had to pay more. It is very important that this rule is followed not only by company management but also by rank-and-file employees, on whom the company’s image depends, because they are the ones who most often have direct contact with the client. As the most typical forwarding services, we can list:
• providing advice to exporters, importers, and producers
• organizing the delivery of goods to the indicated place, which is associated with providing shipping instructions to the sender of the goods
• concluding contracts with carriers and other entities for the performance of necessary services
• preparing and completing transport documents and other documents required by separate regulations of the importer’s and exporter’s country, and distributing these documents
• organizing customs clearance of goods and handling other matters related to control activities (standardization, sampling for testing, etc.)
• monitoring the progress of the service through supervision of loading activities, notifying the principal, and supervising the progress of the transport process
• securing the principal’s interests in the event of damage or loss of the shipment, or other potential losses
• insuring the goods – at the request of the principal
• settling payments for transport services.