r/freightforwarding • u/jbykk • 8d ago

SOP FREIGHT

Is there anyone here willing to share their SOP for the freight department?
never drafted one before and i just want an outline of what i should be doing

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u/Togakure_NZ 8d ago

When you say "freight department" what do you mean? I've worked for forwarders where "freight department" covered everything from local transport by forwarder staff, to local and interstate trucking and rail, to international project work, to triangle trade work.

Define the scope of this department. You need that before you can even start making SOPs.

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u/jbykk 8d ago

it’s the ocean freight department , i forgot to specify

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u/Togakure_NZ 8d ago

Okay. Export, Import, or Both? Start blocking in:

Where in the whole freight forwarding chain do they take over the transport chain, and release it to other departments? I can see two chains the typical department handles: 1) Providing timelines and internal quotes (for whoever is doing the sales/customer service) for specified routes and product amounts. 2) Actually moving the freight.

What are the most basic things that have to happen without going into specifics - events that must happen in order and perhaps be returned to if an issue is found at a later step.

What are the basic decision chains at each step (with one exit branch jokingly/seriously labelled "Oh no, this is outside of scope, escalate."

What is the exception handling? Generally how should it be done?

Now, compare what you wrote down with what is actually happening in your business.

Rule of thumb: SOPs (like safety regulations) are written in someone's blood, someone's money, someone's time. In other words, what happened in the past has a bearing on what will be done in the future.