Looking for a Global Logistics Partner? No Need to Search the World

The world’s supply chains are built on a sturdy foundation of planes, ships, railcars, and heavy-duty trucks — but they’re actually incredibly fragile. Across thousands of miles, entire oceans and multiple countries, there are millions of things that can go wrong. From bridge collapses and labor strikes to natural disasters, we’ve all seen the vulnerability of the world’s product supply recently.  

Ask Potential Partners These Five Questions 

At Redwood, we offer a full suite of freight forwarding services under our Global Distribution & Logistics (GDL) brand that are used every day by customers to move products around the world. We know a thing or two about what it takes to move products from Point A to Point B — even if those points are several continents apart.  

Before you trust a potential partner with your critical international shipments and customer promises, ask them these five important questions: 

The optimal partner will not have a vested interest in a single transportation mode, carrier, or route. Instead, they’ll bring deep expertise, strategic insights, and broad capabilities to bear on every global transportation challenge. They should be able to choose from air or ocean routes, and from a diverse range of partners. That enables them to achieve an optimal balance of cost, speed, service, and special handling requirements for every single shipment. Given the complexity of modern logistics, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for every international shipment. Beware of partners who lack options. As a full-service Modern 4PL, Redwood offers international freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and distribution services that are customized for every customer’s needs. Across ocean and air, we’ve established an extensive carrier and partner network, as well as local resources in key regions, to ensure your shipment reaches its destination in the fastest, most secure, and most cost-effective manner possible. 

Anyone who’s shipped products internationally knows it’s a complex process. Someone needs to understand and manage all the complexities and details, from required documentation and customs clearance to compliance issues, labor laws, packaging requirements, and sustainability. At a high level, your partner should understand and advise you on trade regulations, legal compliance, and reporting. At a more granular level, they should know how duties, taxes, tariffs, brokerage fees, and currency fluctuations will affect your costs and profit margins. Redwood’s GDL team has the specialized expertise you need, with multiple licensed customs brokers on staff. You can confidently turn your shipments over and go back to focusing on your core business challenges. 

It’s 2024 — we’re in the digital age. There’s absolutely no excuse for a partner to lose sight of your shipment or fail to share visibility with you in real time. Your logistics partner should leverage the most advanced digital tools to gather and analyze all your shipping data upfront, so they can recommend the best transportation and distribution solutions for your business. Once a shipment is in the air or on the water, they should continue to apply advanced technology to track and monitor your shipment in real time. As a modern 4PL, Redwood is known for its technological leadership. Redwood leverages leading solutions — including CargoWise, an industry-leading TMS — to see and orchestrate every customer shipment in real time. Redwood provides a variety of connectivity options customized to keep your internal stakeholders informed with real-time shipment status updates. 

Again, advanced technology plays a critical role here. Choose a partner that uses digital capabilities to not only identify a delay or disruption — but also quantify the risk, determine the probable impacts of various course corrections, and execute the best option. Your partner should have contingency plans and backup resources already in place. When there’s an exception to plan, Redwood’s GDL team can call on its extensive global network of carriers and partners, as well as on-the-ground, local resources. Your partner should have many resources and options on standby, given the frequency and severity of disruptions today. 

 This is a critical question. Don’t hesitate to ask for customer references and success stories. This isn’t the time to trust an amateur. A qualified global logistics partner will have hundreds of documented customer wins, spanning multiple industries, business models, countries and transportation modes. They should be able to demonstrate their proven ability to deliver on-time, reliably, and cost-effectively. And they should have long customer partnerships. Over 20 years, Redwood’s in-house Global Distribution and Logistics team has helped hundreds of customers optimize their global logistics operations. As just one example, the GDL team has managed global transportation and storage for IAP Enclosure Systems for 15 years, delivering 12% savings year-over-year on direct procurement. With results like those, it’s not surprising that the Redwood GDL team has achieved a 100% retention rate over the past five years with its top 10 customers.  

Look No Further Than Redwood 

Don’t take our word for it. Redwood’s GDL team checks all these boxes, and more — making Redwood the ideal partner for your worldwide logistics needs. Stop searching and start executing. Contact Redwood today to learn more.