International freight forwarders are one of the most common forms of intermediaries and are a very important link in international trade. Without a system of international freight forwarding, international trade and international transport could not function optimally. International freight forwarding is very essential as it is incorporated in the delivery and exchange of goods thus connecting production and consumption, supply and demand. As there is a wide range of services, it is rather complex to fully define them. Freight forwarders are concerned with the organizing of goods movements and providing other related services along with a chain of transport and logistics operations. This reduces the time and costs for the clients by finding solutions to the biggest complexities in international shipments and combining many small shipments into one large shipment. They take care of everything; selection of the mode of transport, the route, the payments, international shipping requirements and documentation. International freight forwarders are the most known and common type of logistics intermediary or facilitator. They appear in day-to-day logistics and freight forwarding business and their importance is negligible.
FIATA (International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations) introduces several different functions related to freight forwarders. It defines freight, consolidation, storage, handling, packing or distribution of the Goods as well as ancillary and advisory services in connection therewith, including but not limited to customs and fiscal matters, declaring the Goods for official purposes, procuring insurance of the Forwarding Services also include logistical services with modern information and communication technology in connection with the carriage, handling or storage of the Goods, and the total supply chain management. These services can be tailored to meet the flexible application of services provided. The main task of the international freight forwarder is to release its client of the efforts and problems of shipping, transportation and delivery of goods in international trade. Many freight forwarders expand their volume of services and activities and turn into logistics operators or integrators. Some of the freight forwarders started with a small volume of business doing a handful of activities. An emerging segment of courier, express and parcel services and contract or third party logistics. The second seems to be a natural extension to existing transport, handling and warehousing operations of freight forwarders that lead to a contract.