There’s a lot of jargon that gets tossed around in conversation when discussing the transport and shipping of goods and cargo. As a business, it’s helpful for you to understand what these terms mean so that you know what you’re paying for when shipping products! A couple of these terms and phrases that folks outside of the supply chain industry often use interchangeably are freight management and logistics management. However, these pieces of the supply chain serve different purposes that are important to know if your business needs to use them. In this blog, we will go over what freight and logistics management are, the responsibilities of each, and discuss the major differences between the two.
Freight Management
The people who manage freight play an important role in the supply chain. Freight management is the process of controlling the transportation of freight as it makes its journey from the shipper to its destination. This management involves overseeing and managing a cost-efficient, safe operation and timely delivery of goods. Freight management is highly specialized and requires keen attention to detail for those that have this important responsibility.
Responsibilities
To get a better idea of what freight management looks like, let’s take a look at some of the responsibilities that are involved:
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- Select and make contact with carriers
- Negotiate rates, terms, and conditions for moving freight
- Manage the paperwork involved in cargo transportation
- Maintain a schedule of transporters
- Select transportation methods
- Oversee cargo movement
- Manage customs agreements
- Supervise insurance and claims involved with cargo
- Handle payments and invoices of cargo during transit
- Make the transportation process more efficient and cost-effective
If there’s a task involving cargo specifics in the supply chain process, there’s a freight management expert who likely knows exactly what to do.
Now that we are more familiar with freight management and their role in the shipping process, let’s take a closer look at logistics management.
Logistics Management
Logistics management, at its core, is part of supply chain management. It is more high-level and big-picture than freight management. Logistics management involves the oversight of how goods are stored, obtained, and transported to their destination. It looks at the supply chain as a whole, rather than just focusing on the freight aspects.
Responsibilities
Here are a few of the responsibilities that someone in logistics management might do on a daily basis:
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- Oversee customer and supplier order management
- Manage warehousing and distribution
- Manage packaging and transportation
- Maintain import and export logistics
- Plan supply chain and cargo movement
- Oversee the information stream including tracking and tracing of parcels
- Maintain relationships with suppliers
- Oversee the supply chain from beginning to end
Logistics includes a little of everything in the supply chain process from customer and client relations to strategic planning with regard to freight.
Freight Management vs. Logistics Management
Now that we understand what freight management and logistics management are, let’s take a look at how they are alike and different.
While both freight and logistics handle integral parts of the supply chain, logistics management takes on more broad tasks and refers to the entire, end-to-end process, while freight management is highly specialized specifically with the transport of cargo. Freight management, therefore, is a part of logistics management. These parties typically work together to keep the supply chain running smoothly so that products are delivered to the correct destination, on time, and undamaged.
The UCW Difference
UCW is committed to making sure that your logistics needs are taken care of so that all you need to focus on is running your business. We take the stress out of shipping your goods and services by strategically planning the journey of your freight so that it arrives on time and in good condition to your customers.
If your business is in need of a logistics solution, contact UCW today or visit our website. We would be honored to help you and offer solutions for your logistics needs!
