Freight Forwarding via Flexport

Addressing the opportunity in outwardly boring businesses.  Good overview.

" .... To get the best deal on each leg of the journey and handle the hand-offs through customs, freight forwarding services serve as an organizational logistics layer. They have direct relationships with carriers like truck owners and massive shipping container boats.

But like I said, it’s an unsexy business, so until recently, freight forwarding was still being done with a jumble of Excel, email, fax, and paper manifests shipped around the world. That made it extremely tough to spot overspending or snags in supply chains.

That is, until Flexport indexed all the available carriers into a searchable database in its free software for organizing and tracking shipments. ... " 

Freight Forwarding

Freight forwarding in the supply chain.  Opportunities exist, but standards are one issue.  Planning is another.

WSJ:  " ... Companies that coordinate shipping for retailers and manufacturers, known as freight forwarders, do everything from finding the right combination of trains, planes and trucks for a speedy delivery to pushing shipments through customs.

Forwarders’ work touches much of global trade, but many customers complain that the industry relies on outdated technology: Orders are often placed via phone call, or even fax, and tracked using emailed spreadsheets. ... "