Choosing a Freight Forwarder vs. Letting Your Supplier Arrange Shipping

Under FOB, freight arrangement is entirely on the buyer's side — you either use your own freight forwarder or appoint one at origin. Under CFR and CIF, the seller arranges freight, meaning you're effectively relying on your supplier's forwarder relationship rather than your own (see our Incoterms guide for the full breakdown of what each term includes).

• You import regularly enough to have negotiated freight rates that may beat what a supplier's default forwarder offers
• You want direct visibility and control over shipment tracking, rather than relying on updates relayed through the supplier
• You're consolidating cargo from multiple suppliers into one shipment, which requires your own forwarder to coordinate

• You're a first-time importer without an existing freight relationship, and want fewer parties to coordinate directly
• The supplier has an established, reliable forwarder relationship on the specific origin-to-destination route you need
• Your order size doesn't yet justify the effort of building your own freight relationship

• Who is responsible for booking space and confirming the sailing schedule, and by when?
• What visibility will I have into shipment status once it's loaded?
• If there's a delay or a booking issue, who is my point of contact — the forwarder directly, or the supplier relaying information?