Freight Forwarder

A Freight Forwarder is responsible for managing the movement of goods, often across international borders. The Institute of Export provides professional qualifications for Freight Forwarders to assist in career development. Freight Forwarders, also known as freight clerks or shipping clerks, deal with arranging the movement of goods. It is their job to find the most appropriate and cost-effective way of moving goods between countries, and co-ordinate the arrangements.

Freight Forwarders speak with carriers, such as road, rail, air and sea companies, and confirm transport arrangements. They also liaise with clients, advising them of the costs of transporting goods and the arrangements that have been made. When working on behalf of an importer, it may be necessary to clear goods through customs, arrange the payment of duties and taxes, and organise the delivery of goods to the importer's premises.

Other duties include selecting safe routes and carriers (road, rail, sea and air), booking transport cargo space and dealing with transport rates, insurance and schedules. You will also be required to make calculations by weight, volume and cost using a computer to input freight details and routes, prepare quotations and invoices and prepare contracts such as Bills of Lading and Letters of Credit as well as communicating with carriers and clients by letter, phone, fax and email.

Freight Forwarders normally work 37 hours a week, Monday to Friday, and may have to work Saturdays on a rota. Some companies operate shift patterns and out-of-hours work. Freight forwarding offices are normally light, airy and well-equipped.

To be a freight forwarder, you should have good verbal and written communication and numeracy skills and be accurate, paying attention to detail. They must have basic computer skills, be able to prioritise work and be diplomatic.  It is helpful to have an interest in geography and be able to hold a conversation in a foreign language, for some jobs.

The qualifications needed to start work and training as a freight forwarder vary between employers. Some employers look for people with a good level of general education, for example some GCSE's (A-C)/S grades (1-3), including English and maths, but many new entrants join with A levels/H grades, and some have a relevant diploma or degree.

More than 2,000 companies operate as freight forwarders in the UK . These include local, national and international freight forwarding companies, as well as major retail companies, manufacturers, warehousing and distribution firms, and the armed forces. There may be opportunities for experienced staff to work overseas on a temporary or permanent basis. It is possible, with training and experience, to advance to a supervisory or management job.