In today’s volatile global trade environment, shippers no longer see freight forwarders as transactional service providers—they expect them to be proactive partners. Research by Drewry shows that 42% of shippers cite service reliability as a bigger concern than cost when selecting logistics partners, while Transport Intelligence highlights responsiveness, technology adoption, and visibility as the top differentiators in forwarder performance.
To assess excellence, eight core performance areas define a best-in-class forwarder:
Responsiveness – Timely acknowledgements and clear turnaround times build trust.
Proactivity & Insight – Forwarders must guide clients through rate trends, geopolitical shifts, and routing alternatives.
After-Hours Support – 24/7 escalation channels are a strategic advantage for critical shipments.
Shippers increasingly use structured benchmarks to compare providers. Platforms like LogiScore.net introduce accountability by scoring forwarders across these dimensions, bringing transparency to a traditionally opaque sector.
As supply chains face disruptions ranging from Red Sea attacks to pandemic-related bottlenecks, forwarders that excel in these eight pillars will secure long-term partnerships. In a market where reliability is scarce, measured excellence becomes the new currency of trust.
In today’s interconnected economy, supply chains never sleep. While not every industry requires 24/7 oversight, the ability of a freight forwarder to provide after-hours escalation and control tower visibility can be a decisive competitive advantage.
Why After-Hours Support Matters
Critical shipments—whether pharmaceuticals requiring temperature control, high-value electronics, or just-in-time automotive components—do not conform to a 9-to-5 schedule. Delays caused by customs holds, port congestion, or equipment breakdowns can arise at any hour. According to the World Economic Forum, unplanned logistics disruptions can cost businesses up to 10% of annual revenues if not addressed swiftly.
Industry Best Practices
Leaders in logistics have recognized this need:
DHL’s Resilience360 platform emphasizes real-time risk monitoring and 24/7 crisis response teams to mitigate disruption.
Kuehne+Nagel’s Integrated Logistics Control Towers offer global visibility, ensuring clients know the status of shipments anytime, anywhere.
Maersk’s Global Service Centers provide weekend and holiday contact channels, reflecting how customer expectations now demand continuity.
The Competitive Advantage
While small and mid-sized shippers may not always require around-the-clock attention, the assurance that escalation paths exist provides peace of mind. Forwarders with strong after-hours protocols demonstrate:
Commitment to service reliability – ensuring critical cargo isn’t left stranded.
Operational maturity – showcasing control tower capabilities.
Customer trust – aligning with shippers’ risk management strategies.
Looking Ahead
As global trade faces increasing volatility from geopolitical shifts, labor disputes, and extreme weather, after-hours responsiveness will shift from a premium service to a baseline expectation. Shippers will increasingly factor “always-on support” into forwarder evaluations, not just for critical industries like pharma or aerospace, but across all high-value supply chains.
Forwarders who invest now in robust escalation procedures, global service centers, and digital control towers will not only retain customer confidence but also differentiate themselves in an industry where responsiveness defines loyalty.
Proactivity & Insight: From Reactive Forwarding to Predictive Partnership
In today’s turbulent logistics environment, shippers no longer view freight forwarders as transactional service providers. They expect strategic partners capable of anticipating disruptions, guiding decision-making, and offering actionable insights.
Proactivity & Insight is a defining measure of a forwarder’s maturity. According to McKinsey, companies that integrate predictive supply chain capabilities can reduce costs by up to 15% while improving service levels by 65% (McKinsey, Supply Chain 4.0). Proactive forwarders don’t wait for issues to occur; they forecast, warn, and suggest alternatives well before disruptions impact cargo.
Examples include:
Market Intelligence: Providing timely analysis of rate trends, capacity shifts, and geopolitical developments that may affect global trade.
Regulatory Foresight: Notifying customers of upcoming General Rate Increases (GRI) or Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF) changes—while offering mitigation options such as contract renegotiations, advanced bookings, or alternative routings.
Operational Optimization: Advising on consolidation opportunities, mode shifts, or improved routings that lower costs and emissions while safeguarding reliability.
DHL’s Global Connectedness Index (2023) highlights that supply chain resilience increasingly depends on foresight and adaptability rather than raw capacity. Similarly, Gartner notes that 79% of supply chain leaders prioritize “insight-driven decision-making” as a top capability for 2025.
In this context, forwarders who consistently deliver foresight build trust and secure long-term partnerships. Shippers want assurance that their logistics partner not only responds to today’s challenges but also prepares them for tomorrow’s.
At LogiScore, Proactivity & Insight is a core scoring dimension, separating forwarders that merely manage shipments from those that safeguard supply chains.
Reliability & Execution: The Bedrock of Freight Forwarding Performance
In freight forwarding, reliability is more than a KPI—it is the foundation of trust between shipper and forwarder. A forwarder may win a contract on price, but long-term retention depends on consistent execution: on-time pickup, accurate customs declarations, and shipments delivered exactly as promised.
According to a McKinsey survey of supply chain leaders, over 70% rank execution reliability as their top priority, above cost optimization. This is particularly critical in industries like pharmaceuticals, automotive, and high-tech, where late deliveries can halt production lines or compromise product integrity.
Key indicators of reliability include:
On-time pickup & delivery: The most visible and measurable elements of service.
Shipment integrity: Cargo must move as contracted, without last-minute rollovers or routing changes.
Compliance with SOPs: Especially vital for regulated verticals such as healthcare, chemicals, and aerospace.
Customs accuracy: A single declaration error can trigger penalties or delays at the border.
Claims ratio: The proportion of claims versus shipments is a direct reflection of operational discipline.
Industry benchmarks show best-in-class forwarders operate with a claims ratio below 0.5%, while lagging performers exceed 2%, eroding client confidence.
Reliability is not built overnight. It requires investment in process discipline, digital execution tools, and continuous performance monitoring. Platforms such as LogiScore provide shippers with transparent visibility into a forwarder’s reliability track record, shifting procurement decisions from promises to proven performance.
As supply chains face greater complexity—geopolitical shifts, capacity crunches, and sustainability requirements—execution excellence will increasingly define competitive advantage. Price may open the door, but reliability keeps it open.
Driving Trust Through Technology in Freight Forwarding
In today’s hyper-competitive logistics landscape, technology is no longer a differentiator—it is a baseline expectation. Shippers demand visibility, accuracy, and integration, and forwarders that cannot meet these standards risk being sidelined. According to a McKinsey & Company report, digital adoption in logistics has accelerated by more than five years since the COVID-19 pandemic, with track-and-trace systems now considered essential rather than optional.
Key Technology Processes That Matter
Online Track-and-Trace Shippers expect real-time shipment visibility. Deloitte’s 2023 Global Supply Chain Survey found that 79% of supply chain leaders rank end-to-end visibility as a top priority. Failure to provide online tracking erodes trust and increases customer service costs.
Document & Invoice Portals An online portal for shipment documents and billing reduces administrative bottlenecks, eliminates version errors, and accelerates dispute resolution. Gartner highlights that companies with automated documentation processes see a 30% reduction in billing disputes.
Systems Integration (EDI/API) In an era of API-driven ecosystems, forwarders must be able to connect directly to their customers’ systems. According to Accenture, shippers that adopt integrated EDI/API solutions report 15–20% faster cycle times and fewer manual errors.
Reporting & Analytics Regular reporting—weekly shipment summaries, KPI dashboards, or exception reports—has shifted from being a “value-add” to a non-negotiable standard. Shippers increasingly benchmark forwarders on the timeliness and accuracy of their reporting, using it as a measure of operational maturity.
Why It Matters
LogiScore emphasizes that forwarders are now judged not just by performance, but by transparency and accessibility of data. Technology processes underpin trust: they ensure accountability, reduce friction, and provide shippers with the control they demand.
Forwarders that fail to offer these capabilities risk exclusion from RFPs and long-term contracts. By contrast, those that invest in robust digital processes position themselves as partners of choice in a data-driven supply chain.
✅ Industry References:
McKinsey & Company (2021). How COVID-19 has pushed companies over the technology tipping point.
Deloitte (2023). Global Supply Chain Survey.
Gartner (2022). The State of Supply Chain Digitalization.
Accenture (2022). Supply Chain Resilience through API Integration.
Customer Experience as a Differentiator in Freight Forwarding
In global logistics, technology and networks are often viewed as the ultimate differentiators. Yet research consistently shows that customer experience (CX) remains the decisive factor in retaining shippers and winning new business. According to PwC, 73% of customers cite experience as an important factor in their purchasing decisions, second only to price and product quality. In freight forwarding—where margins are tight and services are commoditized—CX is increasingly the battleground.
Why Customer Experience Matters in Logistics
Shippers expect seamless, proactive, and industry-specific support. Delayed responses, lack of accountability, or unresolved issues directly affect supply chains, which in turn erode trust. McKinsey notes that companies delivering consistently excellent B2B experiences grow revenues 4–8% above their market. In logistics, this translates into measurable outcomes: reduced churn, higher wallet share, and stronger long-term contracts.
Five Cornerstones of CX Excellence in Freight Forwarding
Proactive Issue Management Forwarders who follow up without reminders demonstrate ownership. This reduces downtime and shows commitment to the customer’s business continuity.
Fast and Accurate Rectification Documentation errors or invoice discrepancies must be corrected within 48 hours. Slow remediation not only damages trust but also risks customs penalties and cash-flow disruption.
Named Points of Contact Having identifiable people responsible for operations and customer service—not generic mailboxes—adds accountability. Gartner research highlights that “named relationship managers” improve customer satisfaction scores by up to 30%.
Single Point of Escalation Escalation paths must be clear and responsive. Shippers value not just problem solving, but the confidence that issues won’t vanish in a maze of departments.
Professional, Sector-Specific Support Using the right language matters. A pharma shipper expects knowledge of GDP compliance; a chemicals shipper expects REACH awareness. Customer service should be vertical-specific, professional, and free of unnecessary jargon.
The Competitive Edge
Customer experience is not a “soft” differentiator; it is a hard metric tied to financial performance. For instance, Bain & Company reports that B2B companies excelling in CX grow revenues 10–15% faster and achieve higher margins. In forwarding, where many players offer the same port pairs and rates, the experience delivered at each touchpoint becomes the true differentiator.
In short: CX in logistics is no longer optional—it is the foundation of resilience, retention, and reputation.
Documentation – The Invisible Backbone of Freight Forwarding
In freight forwarding, speed and visibility often take the spotlight. Yet, behind every seamless shipment lies an element that too often goes unnoticed: documentation. Bill of ladings, house airway bills, and final invoices are not mere formalities—they are the invisible backbone of global trade. When documentation fails, supply chains stall. When documentation excels, trust compounds.
According to the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index, accuracy and timeliness of documentation are among the top enablers of efficient cross-border trade. In fact, a 2023 McKinsey study highlighted that incomplete or incorrect documents account for 15–20% of global shipment delays, leading to millions in demurrage, storage, and penalty fees annually. Documentation is not just an administrative function—it is a critical performance differentiator.
Best-in-class forwarders demonstrate four consistent behaviors:
Issuing draft B/L or HAWB within 24 hours of departure ensures shippers can reconcile cargo movements with finance and compliance teams early.
Sending final invoices within 48 hours of shipment completion accelerates cash flow and eliminates uncertainty.
Submitting documentation accurately and completely on the first attempt, reducing costly customs queries or cargo holds.
Aligning the final invoice to the quotation, guaranteeing transparency, avoiding hidden costs, and building trust.
For shippers, forwarders who excel in documentation are not just “vendors”—they are strategic partners. In an era where digitization and compliance are converging, shippers increasingly evaluate forwarders on their ability to deliver paperwork as efficiently as they move cargo. As digital trade corridors expand and e-documentation (such as eB/L) gains adoption, the leaders will be those who treat documentation not as a back-office function, but as a core component of customer experience.
Documentation is precision. Documentation is accountability. And in logistics, documentation is the ultimate proof of reliability.
In today’s interconnected logistics networks, shipment management is no longer a back-office function—it is the beating heart of supply chain reliability. Shippers expect forwarders to be proactive partners, not passive intermediaries. The difference between a good forwarder and an excellent one lies in how they manage visibility, communication, and contingency planning.
From Reactive to Proactive
Industry best practices emphasize proactive milestone updates—pickup, departure, arrival, and delivery—shared without being prompted. According to a McKinsey report, companies that embed proactive communication into their logistics operations improve customer satisfaction scores by up to 30%. Pre-alerts ahead of vessel ETA give consignees time to prepare, optimizing warehouse staffing and downstream distribution.
Speed, Accuracy, and Accountability
Proof of Delivery (POD) is a non-negotiable document in global trade. When provided within 24 hours of delivery, it accelerates billing cycles and reduces disputes. Research from Gartner highlights that delays in POD submission extend Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) by an average of 5–7 days, directly impacting working capital.
Managing Disruptions
No supply chain is immune to disruptions—weather, port congestion, and geopolitical events all test resilience. What differentiates a forwarder is not the absence of delays, but how quickly they notify shippers and offer recovery plans. The World Economic Forum stresses that transparency and speed in disruption management are now top criteria in selecting logistics partners.
The New Standard
Shippers increasingly evaluate forwarders on shipment management performance, not just rates. Platforms like LogiScore are giving voice to these expectations by holding forwarders accountable for proactive communication, documentation timeliness, and recovery planning.
In a competitive marketplace, shipment management is no longer an operational detail—it is a strategic differentiator.
📚 References
McKinsey & Company (2022). Transforming Customer Experience in Logistics.
Gartner (2023). Logistics Technology Trends: Visibility and Automation.
World Economic Forum (2023). Global Supply Chain Resilience Report.
Responsiveness in Freight Forwarding: The Overlooked KPI Driving Supply Chain Success
When shippers evaluate freight forwarders, the usual yardsticks come to mind: cost competitiveness, service portfolio, technology platforms, and global reach. Yet in practice, one factor consistently determines whether partnerships succeed or fail: responsiveness.
Why Responsiveness Matters
Industry studies confirm this reality. A 2023 McKinsey & Company survey on supply chain resilience noted that more than 70% of shippers ranked “speed of response to issues” as a top-three factor in forwarder performance. Similarly, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) highlights responsiveness as a cornerstone of customer experience in logistics, often outweighing price once baseline competitiveness is met.
Responsiveness matters because:
Decisions are time-bound: Missing a sailing, booking slot, or aircraft capacity can translate into thousands of dollars in extra cost. Timely responses directly prevent revenue leakage.
Risk is dynamic: Customs detentions, port congestion, or strikes require fast escalation. According to FIATA, delays in communication are among the top three causes of supply chain disputes.
Trust is fragile: Even a short acknowledgement — “We have your request, response by 3pm” — signals accountability. This reassurance often carries as much weight as the eventual answer.
Setting Benchmarks
While the industry lacks formal service-level standards, common benchmarks used by shippers include:
30 minutes: Acknowledgement of quotation or information requests.
6 hours: Full response to rate requests within the same region.
24 hours: Full response to cross-regional rate requests (e.g., Asia–US, Europe–Latin America).
30 minutes: Response time for emergencies (shipment delays, customs escalations, compliance flags).
These benchmarks align with service levels promoted in many Reputation+ and Insights contracts between multinational shippers and forwarders.
Beyond Systems: The Human Element
Technology — from customer portals to chatbots — helps streamline responsiveness. But according to a 2022 Transport Intelligence (Ti) report, the strongest driver of shipper satisfaction remains human interaction: how account managers, operations staff, and customer service teams communicate under pressure.
Responsiveness, therefore, is not just a process metric. It reflects culture. Organizations that empower staff to acknowledge issues quickly, set expectations transparently, and take ownership tend to outperform those that hide behind automated updates or bureaucratic structures.
A Competitive Differentiator
In an era where freight rates are increasingly commoditized, responsiveness has emerged as a competitive differentiator. Forwarders who respond faster than peers not only retain clients but often capture premium business where agility is valued over marginal cost differences.
Conclusion Responsiveness is not a “nice-to-have.” It is a critical performance indicator that directly impacts cost, customer loyalty, and supply chain resilience. For shippers, building responsiveness expectations into RFQs and service contracts can help filter true partners from transactional providers. For forwarders, treating responsiveness as a measurable KPI may be the simplest path to differentiation in an increasingly crowded market.
Is it interesting to work in the freight forwarding industry? From a Senior Managers perspective.
We need to be aware of global trade and supply chain issues affecting the movement of goods. We need to be aware of free trade agreements, customs requirements and documentation, port handling requirements pertaining to hazmat and cold chain, and understand trade financing for customers complying with letter of credits.
On the sales side, there is high pressure to increase revenue, volume and profits in a market that is saturated and highly competitive with few USP’s. There are demanding customers who don’t always know what they want, don’t always understand freight forwarding, and constantly try to reduce cost. Customers often demand a high level of service at low rates, however tend to pay late for this service. And the odd customer will call you at 11pm at night to understand where their shipment is. Sales need to work with regional and global teams to manage key accounts, and work with other subsidiaries or agents to grow specific tradelanes. The tender management teams needs to fill out endless lines in RFQ excel sheets and legal/risk/insurance needs to be consulted on contractual clauses. Every customer is unique, but at the end of the day they use the same container, on the same ship, sailing on the same water.
Operations bargain with the trucker to be at the customers warehouse at a very specific time, chase the ocean freight carrier for the bill of lading, haggle with the airline to ensure cargo is uplifted – even at late hours on a weekend, and they coordinate with overseas offices to ensure suppliers’ shipments are consolidated into the same container. Sometime we need to arrange an off-shore delivery during a public holiday when no one is around. Operations often chases sales for a copy of the customer quotation and any handling details mentioned by the customer. Occasionally they need to be insurance experts when customer claims arise. Operationally the pressure is high to complete milestones and do so within the specified KPI’s. Productivity relies on their proficiency using ERP’s and Microsoft office tools.
Procurement needs to bargain to reduce cost while maintaining a specific service level. They need to be well connected to operations to understand current demand, and be connected to sales to understand future demand. They need to be connected to the market to understand trends and carrier strategies.
Financially there is constant pressure to ensure a healthy cashflow. Sales need to be chased to ensure AR’s look healthy, AP’s need to be settled on time to ensure the vendor doesn’t stop working with us, operations needs to be chased to bill accurately on time, to generate mid-month revenue and GP forecasts, and perform month end closing. When there appears to be revenue leakage operations needs to be chased to perform deep dives. There needs to always be sufficient cash in the account to settle sudden large customs outlays for duties and taxes, or the occasional charter shipment. Besides the day-to-day accounting which includes netting, there’s the financial forecasting, monthly reporting, budgeting, monitoring OPEX and coordination with treasury. Occasionally Finance will help management with an investment request that includes CAPEX, from a new truck, renovation or a new branch office.
For HR, there is a constant movement in staff. Like any other industry freight forwarders hire people straight out of university up to senior management levels. Low to mid-level staff tend to move regularly, especially in high stress environments. While working in the freight forwarding industry is very rewarding in terms of gaining knowledge about different industries, global trade, different cultures, the pay often doesn’t seem to commensurate with the working stress level. HR is therefore always busy with the usual comings and goings, but also with strategic initiatives trying to attract new staff. And sometimes HR has to assist staff that want to relocate to the other side of the planet. For staff motivation HR arranges parties, gatherings and events around health and sustainability.
On the compliance side there is financial compliance where we need to comply with rules on transfer pricing and anti-corruption. Operationally we need to comply with customs regulations, ensure QMS, schemes and licenses are adhered to and lived, and ensure we adhere to laws regarding sanctioned parties and countries. In terms of QC, compliance will chase operations to capture those NC’s, perform the RCA and issue and close out CAR’s – all before the customer gets frustrated.
On the management side we need to ensure all these components are aligned and work together smoothly, implement regional/global plans, guidelines and budgets, provide short/mid/long term direction and goals, give staff the tools they need to complete their jobs, hold townhall gatherings answering any questions the staff has, troubleshoot and engage when issues arise – internally or externally, ensure a healthy working relationship with regional and global teams, as well as the global network of branch offices, be the main marketing officer of the company and the branch/subsidiary, and ensure all regulatory requirements are complied with. At times we need to roll up our sleeves and read customer SOP’s, tackle alignment issues between operations and sales, or operate the forklift. Occasionally we work with legal to sue a customer that doesn’t pay, sign a block space agreement with an airlines, approve payments to vendors and the payroll or create a business case for the setup of a new branch or department. All in all, as senior management we are expected to know everything and always be encouraging, motivational, positive and accessible.
