E-commerce simply refers to the purchasing of goods and services online. All such transactions are carried out without the physical presence of both the buyers and sellers. In recent times, we have seen an increase in the number of sales taking place online on so many platforms such as EBay, Amazon, Alibaba and the others. Such platforms have certainly changed and accelerated market activities and increased consumer demand; for selling online makes it very easy for producers/manufacturers have their products across countries and continents.
Ecommerce is forecasted to be the main growth accelerator for most economies in the coming years. Airline operators, freight forwarders, airports and the likes are all striving to increase their capacity and market share in this growing market. Therefore, strategies and technologies are being developed to attract and encourage ecommerce activities as much as possible.
Ecommerce definitely has some advantages some of which are:
- Selling online makes it easy for buyers to find specific products as there are many producers and enables both buyers and seller a fast exchange.
- Ecommerce makes it easy for many producers/entrepreneurs who are low on funds to start up and manage a business since there might be no need to have a store or outlet just yet and operational costs would be reduced also.
- There is no end to buying and selling as it is more of an open market. You can order for your goods at any time of the day more so, as there are different time zones across regions.
- Ecommerce allows more customers to be reached as there is no geographical limitation or boundaries online.
Ecommerce also has its disadvantages such as little or no guarantee on the quality of a product and the possible attack on the ecommerce site or payment gateways by hackers/fraudsters, but we wouldn’t be focusing or going into details on the disadvantages in this article.
However, if goods/products are to be bought online across the globe, how then do they get to the buyers? Trading across the globe can prove to be a really difficult task considering the fact that:
- The buyer destination may not be a familiar terrain to you. You certainly would incur a lot of cost trying to find your way around.
- How many countries would you go to just to supply your products or have an outlet for sales? The profit at the end of sales certainly won’t be worth the effort and so much time and money would be lost in doing that.
- Your goods might get to its final destination in the worst state possible considering the fact that there are a lot of risks associated with goods being transported most especially as you are not familiar with a lot of factors as terrain, weather condition etc.
- Your goods might never even get to their destination. They might get stolen along the way.
Therefore, there has to be a connection, an intermediary or a supplier between these sellers and buyers – someone to bridge the gap and curtail as much loss as can be. This is certainly where the freight forwarder steps in.
How does a freight forwarder come in?
A freight forwarder or freight forwarding company is a certified and trained intermediary whose main duty is to see that the goods and services of the manufacturing company gets to the buyer in the best condition possible. They take responsibility of the goods from when it leaves the producer till it gets to its destination. The responsibilities of a freight forwarding company include:
- INVENTORY: They are in charge of the book-keeping/documentation/inventory of all goods ready to be transported.
- WAREHOUSING/STORAGE: They ensure the goods are properly stored until they are dispersed.
- TRANSPORTATION: They handle the transportation of the goods whether by air, road or rail and every other detail in between such as custom duties.
In acting as an intermediary between both parties, the freight forwarder saves the manufacturing company a great deal of money, helps reduce time lost on the part of the company should incase it decides to transport its goods itself and helps avert risks inherent in making such movements. Examples of freight forwarders include courier companies, transporters, shipping companies etc. A local example of a freight forwarder is the dispatch rider.
The freight forwarding business is certainly a venture that would continue to be useful most especially as businesses in a quest for economic expansion, seek bigger markets for their goods.
If you need a reliable freight forwarder for your ecommerce business, look no further. Edas Global Supply Chain Ltd has all the support you need to take your business to the next level. Call +2347089921886 or email info@edasglobalsupplychain.com, and we will be glad to work with you.
