Do you own manufacturing business? Or your business include shipping goods from Saudi Arabia to the US? If it does, you will need a trustworthy and experienced shipping company. And finding a shipping company in Saudi Arabia is not that hard. There are numerous such companies. But, putting your business in the hands of an unknown shipping company without any credentials is very risky. To say the least. So, you need to locate and hire a reliable and experienced logistics company. Before you start with your car shipping from Saudi Arabia, for example. And you need to know what questions to ask a logistics professional. If you want to do it with ease. And without complications.
Dealing with customs paperwork
Shipping from Saudi Arabia is a complicated business. You can try to do it on your own. But what will you do when you come to the Bahrain customs clearance? Surely you are not prepared for that situation. There is lots of complicated paperwork involved. And everything has to have a proper form and 100% accurate data. If your paperwork has even the smallest typing error. Your shipment could be held for who knows how long.
If you don’t have an inside man in the customs, you will have many problems and additional expenses until you sort everything out. And if your cargo has limited time to arrive at the destination. You could even lose your shipment. And that could hurt. That is why it is best to hire logistics professionals for this type of business.
Prepare before you start interviewing logistics professionals
Hiring a logistics company in Saudi Arabia requires some thinking and research. You can easily use the internet to find logistics companies that meet your requirements. But, choosing the right one for your business is another story. Before you start interviewing logistics companies, you will need to do some preparation work.
You will need to be clear with what services you will need. And what your cost limit is. And you will need to know what questions to ask a logistic professional during the interview. If you ask these questions, the answers you get will help you decide which company to hire.
Questions to ask your logistic company
- How long have you been in the logistics business? This is one of the first questions to ask a logistic professional.
- Do you own all necessary licenses?
- I need your advice. What services do you provide and recommend for my business?
- Do you have operational and efficient order completion system established for your clients? And is it possible to make some alternations?
- Who are your partners and providers? Make sure you know all the details.
One of the first questions to ask a logistics professional is how long have they been in business
When interviewing logistic professionals one of the first questions to ask is, how long have they been in business. The answer you get can tell you a lot about your shipper. Ideally, you would want to hire someone who is in business for a decade or more. If you find a logistic company that is in business for years. That can be a pretty good sign that you are dealing with a trustworthy company that understands its clients’ needs. Company’s longevity is a sign of reliability.
On the other hand, if they are just starting up. Or they have been in business for only a couple of years. Better wait for them to get some more experience and connections before you start working with them.
Membership in logistics associations is very important
Another important question to ask logistics professionals is to show you their licenses. They need to have proper licenses issued by Saudi Arabia. Also, take notice if they are the members of an international or Saudi Arabian logistics association. It says a lot about their credibility if they not a member of any logistics or freight forwarding association.
This is very important because the membership in those associations requires them to follow certain code. And if you end up in some kind of dispute, you can easily resolve it if there is a logistics association involved in the resolvement. They can be very helpful in these kinds of situations.
Let your logistics professional answer all the questions regarding your shipment
Before you think about questions to ask a logistic professional, ask yourself this. What do you really need for your business? How will this whole operation go through? And, what services will you have to require from your logistic professionals to accomplish your idea?
If you don’t have answers to these questions, maybe your logistics professional could give you answers to them. Maybe they will offer some alternate means of cargo transportation Saudi Arabia. Or give other pieces of advice. In other words, will never know if you don’t ask.
Another of the questions to ask logistics professionals is do they have operational and efficient order completion system
Above all, it would be good if your logistics company has established operational and efficient order completion system. However, maybe their system is already perfect for your business. And they don’t need to make any adjustments to meet your requirements. If that is the case.
Ask if they were willing to make certain modifications to meet your imminent needs. It would be good to find logistics professionals that have capabilities to meet all you current and possible upcoming needs. In other words, you don’t want to look for another shipper when your business grows. Be prepared in advance.
Who are your partners and suppliers? This is one of the questions to ask a logistics professional
Logistics professionals usually have a large network of partners and suppliers. And they use them in different parts of their work. Maybe they will be using the services of freight forwarder in Saudi Arabia. Or another transportation company in different stages of transportation to ensure your cargo arrives safely and securely.
So it would be good to find out what companies will be handling your shipment. And who is going to be responsible if it comes to a problem? Make sure that they have everything regulated and clear when it comes to responsibilities for your cargo. So, you can easily resolve any possible problems.
