Shipping goods internationally is a complex undertaking. However, working with a global forwarding company doesn’t have to be. Global Distributions and Logistics, a company within Rockfarm Supply Chain Solutions, is entirely full-service and in-house. We don’t outsource. Rockfarm employees conduct all of our operations, which means more transparency and efficiency for our clients.
We can help you manage all aspects of your international shipping from transportation to distribution to customs clearance. We’re a member of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America and have the experience and expertise to ensure your goods reach their destinations safely and on time, enabling you to reliably fulfill your customers’ orders. We provide friendly, helpful customer service and streamlined international shipping solutions. We’re the only partner you’ll need to get your products where they need to go, anywhere in the world.
At Global Distributions and Logistics, we provide a full range of international forwarding services. As a one-stop shop for all of your worldwide logistics services, we can save your company valuable time and money on all your international shipping, distribution, and sourcing. The global logistics management services we offer include global transportation, customs brokerage, distribution management, and product sourcing.
Global Transportation Company
Our global logistics network can help you get your goods where they need to go reliably, quickly, and safely. We’ll find the perfect solution for getting your products to your customers, whether that’s by sea, by air, or both. Doing so is becoming increasingly important, as imports and exports are expected to account for 30.9 percent of the value of freight moving throughout the United States by 2040.
We also operate a foreign trade zone, also often called a free trade zone, in Orlando, Fla. Goods can be imported into a foreign trade zone without being subject to duties and customs procedures. They can be exported without the need for any customs procedures or duties but will be subject to them if imported into the country where the zone is located.
At Global Distribution and Logistics, our comprehensive global logistics and transportation solutions include shipment planning, management, and execution. We’ll work with you to create global logistics services that are unique to your industry and your company. We provide a client-focused approach, not a canned one.
We’ll help determine the perfect shipment methods, times, destinations, and more for your projects. We know getting your products to your customers efficiently is integral to your business’ success. That’s why we’ll design a route that gets your items into the hands of customers in as little time — and with as little cost to you — as possible.
In many cases, a combination of various transportation modes will be the best way to meet your shipping needs. Our global freight forwarding service includes finding the right mix of air, ocean, rail, motor, and other modes to get your freight from its starting point to the end user. These modes include:
Inland Transportation
We can move items without crossing oceans via truck, rail, inland waterways such as rivers, or other means to get them to their final destination.
Drayage
This process involves moving freight a short distance on land, typically by truck, from one long-distance shipping method to another, such as from an airport to a rail port.
Intercontinental Shipping
We also, of course, help move freight across oceans as part of our international forwarding services. This service enables us to move goods to practically anywhere on the planet using air and ocean freight.
When you need to move products fast, air freight is a perfect solution. It enables you to move items quickly across oceans and offers quick access to other transport methods such as rail. We can help you find the perfect air freight solution for your business that makes your product a priority. We’ll make sure your product arrives on time and in excellent condition, even after long flights.
Shipping items by water is a crucial part of the world’s supply chains. This method allows you to ship large amounts of goods anywhere in the world. We’ll make sure your freight gets where it needs to go on time, whether you have a full-container or less-than-container load. We have the ocean freight expertise to find the most efficient ocean route for shipping needs.
Rail plays a critical role in getting goods to air and sea ports and to their final destinations. We can help you get your freight to the right global locations at the right times through the use of rail freight, in combination with other transport methods.
To make that final connection, you often need to use motor freight services. The flexibility offered by trucking allows you to get your products from the larger shipping ports to other ports, rail stations, warehouses, and customers. We can connect you with the motor freight solutions you need to fulfill your shipping requirements, no matter where you need your goods to end up.
We can manage your global freight shipments via various different shippers, or we can help provide you with dedicated fleet services, a set of resources devoted to shipping a company’s products. This process could encompass all their shipments, just certain types of goods or items from certain facilities. This option might be right for you if you have a relatively continuous flow of goods that requires a fairly constant amount of resources.
Even with the most perfectly laid-out plans, things can still go wrong when it comes to freight shipments. Items may get damaged, stolen, or lost. You could lose just a few items or everything if disaster strikes. You don’t want to leave yourself unprotected from such events, which is why all freight shippers need some insurance. We can help you obtain the protection you need in case the unexpected happens during the shipping process.
Customs Brokerage Service
When shipping freight across borders, you need to do more than just get your shipment to the port in your destination country. To get your goods into a different country, you need to adhere to a host of regulations and requirements.
Customs brokerage can be a time-consuming endeavor, especially since rules and conditions continuously change. You can navigate these requirements yourself, or employ the services of a licensed customs broker like Global Distributions and Logistics and reap the benefits of a customs broker.
We have the expertise to enable your goods to clear customs without a hitch, helping you avoid both delays and unnecessary expenses. We’re also approved for remote location filing, which allows us to submit entry data electronically from a location other than the port the shipment entered and clear entries to any U.S. port. Additionally, we’re a proud certified member of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism.
Clearing customs can be a complex task. To simplify things for you, we offer a full range of customs clearance services. As a licensed customs broker, we can help facilitate import customs clearance in the United States and Canada. We communicate and work with customs officials for you, allowing you to focus on your core business.
We’ll make sure that your shipments meet all necessary requirements and work with you on making changes if needed. We can help you compile all the required information, and we’ll ensure all documents and files are filled out correctly and accurately before submitting them to help you avoid delays. Our team keeps a finger on the pulse of the world’s regulations and trade conditions — which change constantly — so your shipments don’t face roadblocks.
Importing and exporting items also require payments of certain duties, taxes, and other fees, which depend on the nature of the goods and shipment. Calculating these costs can be complicated, and mistakes in the process can lead to penalties and increased expenses.
Working with Global Distribution and Logistics’ team of export and import customs clearance experts provides assurance that you’re accounting for the correct customs expenses in your budget. We’ll also take care of processing payments on your behalf. Our years of experience enable us to easily navigate these requirements and help our customers avoid penalties and fees related to incorrect payments and non-compliance.
Streamlining your customs clearance can save you time and money. Getting your shipments through customs more quickly can also help you to earn more and make your customers happier. We can help you manage your supply chain and shipping to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
Because of our experience and expertise in the field, we understand how to improve your processes to enable smoother customs clearance. We also know how to find ways to reduce your expenses and find refunds to improve your bottom line. Customs doesn’t have to be a sore spot. Let us make it a point of pride for your company that increases your efficiency and earnings.
Distribution Management
Distribution is an integral part of international logistics since it involves getting products directly to customers. Our distribution management services can help you streamline the processes, infrastructure, and technology that get your goods into the hands of the end user. And we do it all on a global scale.
To achieve the greatest possible efficiency in terms of shipping costs and times, you need to consolidate shipments at the right times and locations. We can help you reach this optimization by devising a consolidation and deconsolidation strategy for your freight.
When shipping goods from multiple locations in one country to another country, consolidation can help earn you significant savings in shipping costs. Rather than having to organize various smaller shipments, we can combine everything into one or several cost-effective larger shipments.
When those large shipments arrive in the destination country or region, they may need to be unconsolidated so they can reach customers across a broad area. Our logistics experts can also help you optimally separate a large freight shipment to enable customer access to your product across a wide area at maximum efficiency.
If you can move your goods from the port to the place where customers will purchase them or directly to customers with flow-through processes, you can save a substantial amount of money, resources, labor, and time. Rather than investing in warehousing and other services, flow-through facilities and processes enable you to move goods more directly to your customers.
Successful flow-through requires information about the shipments — and where they need to go — to arrive before the shipments themselves. That way, workers can move the goods through the facility right away and get them on their way to their final destinations more quickly. We can help you by organizing and managing this process to increase the efficiency of your flow-through and your entire distribution process.
Sometimes, flow-through is not the best or even a feasible option. For these situations, we offer extensive warehouse management services that enable you to receive, store and distribute your shipments when and where you need to. We can help organize and manage warehouse infrastructure, processes, technology, and labor that fit your needs perfectly.
Knowing how much of each item you have available, and exactly where that product is located within the facility, enables you to distribute it in a timely manner. Making sure inventory is stored properly is also critical for avoiding damaged goods. Our inventory control services can help you keep track of what’s in your warehouses and manage these facilities effectually.
We also offer comprehensive pick, pack, kitting, and labeling services that help ensure your products get to your customers quickly and without sustaining damage.
Pick and Pack
This service involves pulling items from your inventory and placing them into packages to fulfill customer orders.
Kitting
This process involves combining separate, but related, items into one kit to be shipped to customers, which can reduce shipping costs and be more convenient for customers. For example, if you sell football uniforms and gear, you might combine the uniform, helmet, and pads into one kit, instead of selling them all separately.
Labelling
Labelling is essential for organization, shipping, and safety. You may need to apply labels that identify a product, notate where it should be shipped, or provide safety information, such as a warning that an item is flammable or perishable. We can help optimize your labeling processes.
Some companies want to own and manage all their distribution channels, while others work with third parties that manage distribution, especially in countries outside of where the company has its headquarters. These third parties might purchase your products and then resell them. You might also contract with them to manage your distribution for you, but not sell them your products.
The right solution depends on the nature of your business, your products, the trade environment, and other factors. Our team at Global Distribution and Logistics will work with you to determine the best global distribution strategies for your unique situation and help manage them so that they operate reliably, efficiently, and cost-effectively.
Product Sourcing
To create a functional global supply chain, you need to have effective product-sourcing methods. These processes are complicated enough domestically, but when operating internationally, they can become even more complex and challenging. That’s why we offer product sourcing services to our customers that help them obtain quality products and services efficiently.
We’ll help you manage the suppliers you work with so you get the best value for your money. We believe supplier management should involve a constant review of supplier contracts and other opportunities to ensure your supply chain is cost-effective.
At times, this process may involve consolidating the vendors you work with. We can analyze opportunities for reducing the number of vendors you work with to save you money and reduce the complexity of your national or international supply chain.
The suppliers or vendors you work with are essential to your business, so it’s important to ensure they are qualified and will provide you with high-quality products in a timely manner. Our supplier qualifications help your company manage risk by gathering information on potential suppliers, evaluating their likely reliability, and ensuring their compliance with regulatory requirements.
We’ll also help you manage your relationships with your current suppliers, so you have open communication and transparency with them and be confident that you’ll get consistent results.
Our purchase order management services enhance visibility within your supply chain and lead to improved results. They give you more control over your purchasing and sales transactions, facilitate the processing of your transactions and keep them organized.
This improved organization alerts you to inconsistencies, late shipments, and other issues, allowing you to quickly correct the issue or alter your plans accordingly. Our P.O. management services help you continuously improve your purchase orders and vendor arrangements, which can lead to lower costs and improved reliability.
We also offer product testing services to help you ensure quality, improve customer satisfaction and avoid wasted time and money. Effective product testing procedures will catch any quality, safety, or compliance issues. The sooner you are aware of any issues, the sooner you can correct them, and the less damage they will cause to your reputation, products, shipments, and bottom line.
Other Global Supply Chain Services
Some of the services we offer are applicable throughout the global supply chain. We provide financial value analyses of your entire global supply chain as part of our comprehensive global supply chain and logistics management services. We’ll help you find savings and increase efficiency throughout your processes.
We also offer documentation and reporting services to help you keep track of all your operations and goods. Documentation is crucial for staying in compliance with laws, regulations, and standards, and provides you with the information you need to enable the improvement of your processes.
We also provide tracking services for your shipments throughout the freight forwarding process, so you always know exactly where your freight is. Not only will you be able to communicate accurate information to your customers, distributors, and employees, but you will also be able to keep detailed records of the progress of your shipments.
If you require a service that isn’t explicitly listed here, contact us to learn more about our capabilities and discuss a possible solution. You can also feel free to contact us via phone at 312-430-2477 or by filling out this online form with any general questions or information requests. Once you submit the form, our team will get back to you within 24 hours.
Our comprehensive, full-service in-house capabilities make us unique, and we’re dedicated to creating one-of-a-kind solutions that meet your company’s unique global logistics and transportation needs. No matter where in the world you need your shipments to go, we can help you get there efficiently, safely, economically and hassle-free.
