Freight Forwarder : Essentially secures the business of various exporters and importers and has the ability/facility to;
- store the cargo belonging to the clients at their warehouse (usually all big forwarders have their own warehouses)
- arrange the distribution or “forwarding” of the cargo as per the instructions of their client.. This could be a regular routing or various routings
- negotiate freight rates with the shipping line to cover the interest of their clients
- book the cargo with the shipping line as per the requirement of the client
- prepare bills of lading and associated shipping/negotiating documentation (F178, Certificate of Origin, etc)
- issue their approved house bill of lading as applicable
- may or may not also do Customs Clearance
- may or may not be accredited to customs, port etc and cannot do customs clearance if not accredited
- almost viewed by clients as an alternative shipping line
Broker is someone who;
- Arranges transportation whether road, rail or sea with a carrier, either on behalf of the shipper, consignee or freight forwarder..
- Connects cargo owners to shipping lines and vice versa and works on a commission basis..
- Outsources all the activities associated with the transportation such as transport, insurance..
- Brokers generally do not own their own bills of lading like some Freight Forwarders may do..
