The BCR Blog

(7 min read)

Every year, the freightforwarding and logistics industry is impacted by a number of events, incidents, seasonal changes and other disruptions. While some are rather unpredictable, the Chinese New Year (CNY) celebrations and its extensive impact on the global logistics industry can be experienced every year.

With China's economic power constantly growing it is not hard to predict that this will only further increase in the years to come. And the shipping lines are even adding to the bottleneck by implementing blank sailings and GRIs.

Read on to learn about the Chinese New Year, its impact on the freight forwarding industry and how you can prepare yourself.

(6 min read)

As the CEO of an Australian organisation in Sydney, Jason is answerable for any losses the company incurs. This makes higher freight forwarding costs tipping operations into the red a real headache. Not only can this erode the company’s overall profits, it can also call into question the company’s logistics management skills.

Steve is well aware of what’s going wrong, but fixing it is a challenge. It’s a situation many Australian companies have faced, and have resolved through partnering with a professional freight forwarder. Freight experts are your ally, bringing a professional team and specific expertise that can assist to turn that profit-loss curve back in the right direction.

Read on to learn five ways they make this happen.

(3 min read)

Welcome to the first edition of the BCR Market Update for 2018.

2017 has seen the worst peak season since pre-GFC and we are still feeling the aftermath. With only 4 weeks to go until Chinese New Year (CNY), sea freight carriers are trying to maintain high rates and keep implementing GRIs resulting in record rates for this time of the year.

Read on to learn about the current condition of the International sea freight market. For this Market Update we put our focus on the North East Asia and South East Asia trade lane, as these will be severely impacted by CNY.

(4 min read) 

2017 had been a great year for the international air freight industry after its drought in 2016. The demand has grown more than expected. Airlines had to use the holiday weeks to clear up all the backlog of freight from the months before. And the forecast for 2018 looks just as bright.

At this point though, we want to see what our readers considered most important in 2017. What air freight topics were of interest, what headlines drew readers' attention?

Read on to get more insights into the best air freight articles of 2017.

(4 min read)

What happened in 2017? What had an impact on the sea freight forwarding industry and how did it change? 2017 only just came to an end, so we thought it is time for a recap of the articles our readers and customers had been most interested in.

The articles deal with major incidents in the sea freight industry, give detailed information on major events of the freight year like peak seasons, slack season and GRIs for trade lanes to Australia. Also, an article on common failures in sea freight processes is included in the top 5. 

Read on to get more insights into the top articles of the last year.

(4 min read)

Sea freight is an ideal transportation medium for companies needing to ship bulk cargo and products with non-standard dimensions. Not only does it offer ease of shipping, it also helps logistics managers to keep per product shipping cost low. The major concern logistics managers face with sea freight is the long transit time. The mismanagement of sea freight services can make the situation even more challenging, increasing transit time and delaying deliveries. So it is important to have an efficiently managed sea freight system. This assists in avoiding delaying factors such as incomplete documentation, cargo detention and unavailability of services. Melbourne sea freight providers offer efficient services as well as continuously refining their systems and processes so that logistics managers can experience smooth shipping and increase their productivity. 

Read on to know how sea freight companies in Melbourne are assisting hundreds of logistics managers to meet their delivery timelines.

(8 min read) 

Welcome to December and the final edition of the BCR Global Market Update for international freight forwarding to and from Australia in 2017.

With the worst peak season seen since pre-GFC, it is clear that space remains tight and rates are on a continual rise for many trade lanes.

In this update learn about the current conditions of the international freight forwarding market for major trade lanes including Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, the United States and Europe. Further, we will give more details about the Australian export market as well as local charges. In addition to the current situation, we will give you a detailed forecast on what to expect in 2018, which peaks you need to consider and how to prepare yourself for them.

International air freight is generally considered the most aligned, secure, fastest and reliable transportation mode. Both the practices of airlines and government rules and regulations streamline cargo operations, making it a preferred option for many operations managers.

Opting for international air freight can also be a better choice in terms of your customers’ priorities ensuring fast deliveries, secure carriage, real-time tracking and an ability to access most major global markets.

Keep reading and discover four ways in which international air freight is a better choice for your customers and can assist operations managers enhancing customer service.

(5 min read)

High-value goods are one of the most critical shipping items and require particular care in terms of handling. Any unforeseen circumstance can send your air freight schedule off-track, such as goods being moved between carriers, or loading bays. Cargo being detained during customs clearance or delayed in customs warehousing. It’s enough to give a logistics manager nightmares! The solution is having door-to-door visibility of your cargo’s movements and control throughout the shipping cycle, without adding unnecessary costs.

Read on to learn how to improve the security of shipping high-value and valuable goods, minimise the stress involved and ensure your customers are satisfied.

(6 min read)

There may be some operations managers for SMEs that wonder what it is Australian freight forwarding companies do differently and how they can add value to a company’s freight operations.

People may think freight forwarding is clearly defined and easy to manage in-house. However, diving a little deeper it can often be seen that there can be glitches in performance, deficiencies in operations, distorted landed costs and errors in management.

Realistically, getting shipping right requires extensive knowledge of the sector, a professional team, best available technology and industry experience.

This is exactly what freight forwarding companies possess, and provide as part of their service package on the basis of economical monthly charges.

Read on to discover how freight forwarding companies can change your approach to shipping and enhance it both financially and operationally.