Management Assistant in Freight Forwarding and Logistics Services

Michel Rothgaenger

May 15, 2020

When we take a look around, we see many things which have been imported from far away. Prior to their arrival, they cover small or large distances by plane, container ship (link), train and/or truck before we can consume the products. An almost endless network of transport routes and a small mosaic of activities and decisions are behind it. Forwarding and logistics merchants are right in the middle of these processes and are jointly responsible for the smooth running of processes so that the producer, transporter, seller and consumer are satisfied in the end. But what exactly does an assistant for freight forwarding and logistics services do in their everyday work?

The training they go through is intended to enable future forwarding and logistics service merchants to organize the transport, handling and storage of goods of all kinds.

At one end there is the consultation of customers and clients. The customer's needs must be recognized and analyzed in order to be able to make a tailor-made offer. For this purpose, the forwarding and logistics service employee must have a comprehensive overview of the individual transport options and routes, always taking into account speed and costs. Before preparing the offer, he usually determines and evaluates services on the logistics market in order to then calculate the prices for the customer offer. In addition to pure transport, further costs can arise, for example from interim storage or insurance, which the employee keeps in mind and includes in the customer service and quotation.

The next phase is the actual organization of the transport with all the players within the logistics chain. For this purpose, the assistants in forwarding and logistics negotiate with domestic and foreign transport partners in order to put together the individual steps in the transport chain. For international shipments, in addition to purely business economic aspects, foreign trade and customs regulations must also be taken into account and incorporated into processing. The employee prepares the shipping documents, which include freight bills, official permits, loading and loading lists and parts lists, and then the transport begins.

This does not mean, however, that the assistants for freight forwarding and logistics services have finished their job. They monitor the transports and routes until the goods are received by the customer. In the event of disruptions (e.g. thunderstorms, strikes at ports or airports), they intervene, find new routes if necessary, and rearrange their arrangements. If everything goes well and the goods have reached their destination unscathed, documentation and invoices must be prepared and sent to the customer. If there are complaints or damage reports from customers, the forwarding and logistics service employee also deals with them in order to settle the damage. All this is for the satisfaction of the customer, but of course also for the profit of the company he works for.

Day-to-day business is not limited to operational activities, though. Comprehensive, process-oriented topics can also be included. As they often have a good overview of the market situation due to their constant search for transport chains, they can also be consulted for long-term market observation and cooperate in the further development of a company's range of services. Through their existing contacts with business partners in the logistics sector, they can also further expand networks for transport, distribution and warehousing and provide impetus for new logistics concepts. With their knowledge and operational experience, they support the development of new transport routes in the emergence of new markets or the economic rise of certain regions.

Management assistants in freight forwarding and logistics services have a varied working day. No product, no customer order, no solution is the same as another. A job with a sense for detail, but also an eye for the big picture. Forwarding and logistics employees work like cogwheels within clockwork. And so every day they help to ensure that the flow of goods around the globe takes place in regulated.