How To Negotiate Freight Rates …
One quick point I’d like to bring up on negotiating rates.
If you are a purchaser or logistics coordinator for a company that imports or exports and part of your job is negotiating with freight forwarders or other logistics service providers … remember that I/We are on your side.
Whenever I quote on business and all the feedback someone gives me is “this isn’t the best rate I’ve seen, I hope you can do better”, I can’t properly go back and negotiate with the carriers on your behalf.
If a logistics service provider quotes on something for you and you really are interested in getting the cheapest rate you can – it’s in your best interest to provide a target figure for them to hit.
In the very recent past, I was able to negotiate some silly rates on behalf of a client because they gave me an actual dollar amount per container I had to beat. Armed with that information I was able to approach some different steamship lines and ask them if it was worth it for them to match or beat that rate. To my surprise, I was able to secure pricing that would have been totally inconceivable only 6 months ago.
All it took was a token amount of trust and respect between my client and I and I was able to come through.
Help me help you. 
