"Two of the freight forwarders we have cooperated with this year have already left." An Amazon seller said with emotion.

This seller said that the freight forwarding industry is getting worse and worse. A freight forwarder that he cooperated with before had a thunderstorm, so he was very careful. Unexpectedly, the second freight forwarding company he cooperated with now also had a thunderstorm!

A salesperson from the above-mentioned freight forwarding company revealed to the seller that no more shipments would be made to him in the future because the company's warehouse has been closed and all office personnel have evacuated. The company did not make any notification. The salesman speculated that the company may want to take the opportunity to collect goods again. After a wave of freight charges, the salesperson reminded customers to stop losses and stop shipments in time. It is reported that some employees and supplier customers have already called the police, hoping to get back their arrears of wages and payment for goods. “It’s the end of the year, so foreign traders should choose freight forwarders carefully, and be careful if you encounter someone who cuts leeks and then runs away.”

This year can be said to be the first year of major rectification of the freight forwarding industry. Since the beginning of the year, freight forwarding thunderstorms have occurred frequently. By the middle of the year, the European inspections and fraudulent accounts have caused major industry shocks, resulting in multiple freight forwarders being investigated. During the year-end peak season, some freight forwarders stopped operations to receive goods. The logistics industry is constantly thundering, and every thunderstorm may involve a large number of sellers.

01

Many freight forwarders have "fancy style" thunderstorms

Recently, a document in which a freight company made a real-name complaint against the person in charge of another freight company has been circulated in major communities, triggering heated discussions in the industry.

Judging from this circulating complaint document, it is a dispute between two freight forwarding companies regarding the balance of payment. Freight forwarding company A entrusted freight forwarding company B to transport the goods. Freight forwarding company B issued invoices for a small amount of goods in the early stage, and then immediately refused to pay after defrauding the monthly settlement. As a result, freight forwarding company A was unable to collect the freight for two months. Freight forwarding company A began to discover that the monthly balance for May was not paid in early July this year, and immediately stopped receiving goods, but it was too late. The backlog of 650,000 freight for the two months from May to July has not been settled.

Freight forwarding company A said that its cooperation with this freight forwarding company was introduced by others and had never cooperated before. Now the freight has been backlogged for several months and has not been settled. We have communicated many times with no reply from the other party.

After investigation, it was found that the person in charge of B Freight Company used the identities of relatives and friends to constantly start new companies and deceive uninformed people in the market. Moreover, the personnel in the B Freight Company team were associated with multiple companies, and these companies were all There are certain risks. But now that we are aware of the risk, it is obviously too late.

People in the industry are talking a lot. The freight forwarding market is a mixed bag, and the old logistics companies will be in trouble, not to mention the newly registered logistics companies introduced by others. A lot of information can be found on websites such as Tianyancha and Qichacha. Remember not to be blind. When pursuing low prices, you must make a comprehensive judgment. Moreover, the routine of such companies is probably to change their vests and continue to receive goods. After another wave of harvests, they ran away directly, and then the same team chose another base to register a company and started the same routine again.

Finally, Freight Forwarding Company A also warned its peers in the industry to be aware of some new companies currently on the market, those added through some group chats or cooperation recommended by unfamiliar friends. They must receive goods carefully, keep an eye on the fund account period, and do a good job. Risk assessment, hoping to create a fair, just and purified environment for loan repayment.

Coincidentally, in addition to the above-mentioned freight forwarding company that was hit by thunderstorms, a freight forwarder in Yiwu was also hit by thunderstorms recently, and the person in charge is suspected to have taken away the money and ran away. Previously, a freight forwarding company in Guangzhou was involved in a scandal involving fraudulent accounts. The seller had 200,000 yuan worth of goods detained in an overseas warehouse. The freight forwarding company had no funds to redeem the goods and went bankrupt.

A number of freight forwarders have been hit hard, reflecting the plight of the cross-border logistics industry. Many people in the industry said that frequent thunderstorms in freight forwarding indicate that the industry has entered a stage of intense competition and the industry reshuffle has begun. Hugo Cross-Border's questionnaire survey shows that 50% of sellers are satisfied with their current cooperative freight forwarders and will cooperate with them for a long time. However, at the same time, 50% of sellers are not satisfied with their cooperative freight forwarders or only cooperate temporarily. In addition, Hugo's cross-border survey shows that 58% of sellers have changed their cooperative freight forwarders this year, of which 15% have changed their freight forwarders more than three times, and the frequency of freight forwarder changes is high.

02

Be wary of “vest” freight forwarding companies

The above-mentioned cases of payment disputes with freight forwarding companies are actually not uncommon in the freight forwarding circle. Insiders told Hugo Cross-border that since the second half of 2022, the logistics industry has been constantly thundering, and many downstream freight forwarders are also walking on thin ice, fearing that they will encounter this kind of situation. Use various headers to register new companies and run away as freight forwarding shell companies.

"Many freight forwarding companies refuse to take responsibility after an accident or after receiving payment, pretending to be fake and disappearing. After the incident subsides, they continue to return to their old business, change their hats, and use different companies to continue to solicit goods in the international logistics industry. This kind of trick I am not new to the freight forwarding industry, but there are still a large number of freight forwarders and sellers who have been tricked." said a freight forwarder in the industry.

Fundamentally, the myth of instant wealth in the cross-border e-commerce industry has faded, and sellers have begun to find ways to reduce transportation costs. Freight forwarders naturally have to reduce prices and profits, link by link. The lower the price, the greater the appeal.

"Previously, a certain freight forwarding company went bankrupt in April due to financial problems. Later, someone broke the news that the freight forwarding company had re-entered the market with new products, and the price was very low, trying to cut another wave of leeks." said the above-mentioned freight forwarding company.

"Logistics people all have their own difficulties. Sometimes it's either the low price or the bad freight forwarder. In order to obtain more cargo volume, the freight forwarder will not hesitate to reduce costs and play the low price card. But as far as the industry is concerned, low price is indeed the biggest thunder. District. Moreover, many sellers now require a longer account period for shipments, but we want to shorten the account period or even settle in cash to ensure funds. If we are not careful, we may step into the abyss."

Today's freight forwarding market is mixed, and if a freight forwarding company has problems, it often involves multiple sellers and cooperative freight forwarders. The cross-border logistics industry does not yet have a complete regulatory mechanism, and everything depends on self-screening by sellers and self-discipline by freight forwarders. Therefore, when choosing a freight forwarder, in addition to checking the scale and price advantages and the freight forwarding company's business license qualifications, it is best to conduct a door-to-door inspection and make a comprehensive judgment. Furthermore, as the end of the year approaches, more and more people are eager for quick success, and various routines will be staged in turn. How to avoid pitfalls? Welcome to leave a message and communicate.

Shenzhen Fly International Logistics, with many years of experience in air transport, sea transport, and express delivery channels, has maintained close long-term cooperation with various airlines, shipping companies, and the four major express delivery companies. It adheres to the principle of people-oriented and integrity. The company has experienced port Customer service at the front and back ports patiently solves professional shipping problems in international logistics, efficiently tracks cargo information, and strives to build the Xiangfeiyang brand with self-operated and self-controlled air and sea delivery routes in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Europe. It has more than 10,000 square meters of overseas warehouses in the United States. There are more than 3,000 square meters of overseas warehouses in the UK. Based on the type of goods, product attributes, and timeliness requirements, the country will customize the most suitable logistics plan for customers, so that customers' goods can arrive on time at the scheduled time, and successfully save logistics for customers. Cost, our expertise, your peace of mind!