The internet is awesome. With it, the knowledge to everything is at your fingertip. Until now, we haven’t had such luxury of easily and quickly finding information, products or services. But the question is, does the company’s location really matters while you are searching the web to find customs brokerage services? Is your decision based on their office location? Is it relevant that they are situated in your city? Most times, proximity choices are simply because of an assumed comfort or favorable factor. The assumption that, a company close by is far better than a company that is miles, and will, to some extent, may be valid if you will need to meet personally more often.
But does this happens in reality today? How often do you have face-to-face meetings even if the vendor is local? The fact is the majority of our communication is through fax, phone, and thousands of electronic devices. Usually, to a greater extent, decisions are made based on rational purchasing evaluations. This means that it is less of where they are located, but more of who are they and what services can they really provide. A good customs broker such as Clearit USA does have the following factors to consider when looking for a customs broker.
Accessibility
- Can you speak to a person live when required?
- Are their operations done 24/7/365?
- Can they be accessed easily through a live receiving server?
Credibility
- Can they supply reference?
- What are some of their successes and achievements?
- What are some peculiar situations where they have assisted other companies.?
- How would other related service providers (such as truck companies), grade their company?
Experience
- For how long have they been in business?
- What is the average duration of their clients?
- What industry do they specialize in?
Knowledge
- What methods do they use in educating and training their employees?
- Are their employed employees experienced, and do they hold customs brokerage designations?
Let’s now go back to the misbelief of making choices based on their location or the customs broker’s number of services. There is need to debunk the belief that, that they need to have offices at every ocean, airport, etc. This was before now an important factor as the clearance needed a physical presence at all stages. Although the point of entrance in that control must be declared correctly to customs, the process of transmitting the data can occur anywhere. Now when looking for a good customs broker, you can widen your horizon and look into the best alternatives.