There’s a pattern we see a lot as freight forwarders. A business send their first proper shipment, and it doesn’t go completely wrong, but it’s not smooth either.
Nothing breaks, and the goods still arrive, but during the process, there’s a lot more back-and-forth communication, i.e., more than expected. Sometimes there are also a few unexpected costs, and sometimes a delay that no one really explained properly.
And the general feeling at the end is usually: “Right… that was more complicated than we thought.” – That first shipment tends to be where people get caught out.
It Starts Off Feeling Straightforward
Most people come into it thinking it’s fairly simple because you’ve bought goods, or you’re sending them out. You get a quote. Someone collects it. It gets delivered. Job done.
But what’s not obvious at the start is how many little steps sit in between those points, and how easy it is for one of them to cause a delay.
It’s not that freight is overly complicated, but it’s just that no one really explains the full process and everything involved.
The Small Things That Trip People Up When Sending Freight
It’s rarely big mistakes, but small things that no one mentioned early on.
We’ve had situations where:
- A document was technically correct, but it did not properly meet the format customs wanted
- A shipment was ready, but couldn’t move because of one missing detail
- Goods arrived but couldn’t be released straight away, also because of missing paperwork
None of these is a disaster by any means. But they all slow things down, and most often, they can be avoided.
And when it’s your first shipment, you don’t always know what’s normal and what is not, and so it’s common to end up chasing updates, asking questions, trying to figure out if something’s gone wrong.
The Freight Bit That is Often Not Explained Properly
Freight is not just one company doing one job, but it is, in fact, multiple stages, often handled by different people:
- Collection
- Export handling
- Customs
- Main transport
- Arrival handling
- Delivery
And they all rely on each other. So if something small gets held up early on, it doesn’t just fix itself, but it pushes everything else back as well, like a chain reaction.
That’s usually the moment people realise: “Ah… this isn’t as simple as I thought.”
Timings in Freight Forwarding Aren’t Always Exact
This one issue causes a lot of frustration early on.
You’re told a shipment will take, say, a couple of weeks, so you naturally plan around that delivery date.
But in reality, those timings move a bit, and although not massively (most of the time), it is enough to notice and have some kind of impact.
A day here, a few days there, or sometimes a bit longer if something unexpected comes up. And if no one’s explained that upfront, it can feel like something’s gone wrong when actually, it hasn’t.
Other times, the freight is sitting waiting, and it is actually waiting on paperwork or some other requirement, and until you take action, little is going to happen.
Quotes Can Sometimes Be Misleading (Without Meaning To Be)
Another thing we see quite often, especially on first shipments, and depending on which company has provided the quote, is people assuming everything is included in the quote.
The quote will generally depend on a number of factors, such as destination charges, customs clearance, local handling, insurance, and other factors.
So the price can sometimes look good at the start, but then, when other charges such as insurance or other things change as the shipment moves along, the price can quickly rise.
And this is where the frustration kicks in, and it’s not because anyone’s trying to intentionally mislead you, but because it wasn’t fully clear from the beginning.
(This, though, is where transparent quotes that are explained and clear, such as we offer at RSJ International, can really help).
Most People Only Learn This After the First Shipment
After one or two shipments, you can get it so that you know what to ask, and you understand the process better.
But that first shipment? That’s where most of the learning happens.
We speak to businesses all the time who say, “If we’d known this before, we would’ve done it differently.”
How to Make Your First Shipment a Lot Easier
You don’t need to know everything about shipping and freight, but a few simple things make a big difference:
- Ask what’s included in full (does it include insurance, for example)
- Check if anything gets paid at the destination
- Does the price include checking and sorting out all documentation before shipping
- And work with someone who is willing to explain things, and not just send a quote
That alone avoids most of the common issues.
Final Thought
If you are looking for peace of mind and want to focus on building your business, rather than worrying about becoming a freight expert yourself, there are professional freight forwarders such as RSJ International who can make the process much easier for you.