What is a freight forwarder?

A freight forwarder is a company that arranges the movement of your goods on your behalf. They do not own the ships or planes. Instead they buy space from carriers, handle export and import paperwork, arrange customs clearance, and book trucking on both ends. For a first-time publisher, a good forwarder turns an intimidating international logistics problem into a handful of emails and a couple of invoices.

The forwarder's work starts before your games are even finished. You send them your shipment details: number of cartons, dimensions, gross weight, the factory's address, and your destination warehouse. They quote you a door-to-door or port-to-door price, book vessel space, and coordinate pickup with your manufacturer. They also prepare or collect the documents customs requires, including the commercial invoice, packing list, and bill of lading (the legal document proving ownership of the cargo).

Several forwarders specialize in tabletop games and Kickstarter fulfillment, and using a games-savvy forwarder has real advantages. They already know the correct HS code for board games (9504.90 covers most tabletop games), they understand consolidating a single production run into multiple regional shipments, and they have relationships with the fulfillment centers you are likely to use. Generalist forwarders are fine too, but expect to explain more.

Get quotes from two or three forwarders before your games are ready, and share your realistic carton counts rather than guesses. Quotes are typically valid for only a few weeks because ocean rates move constantly, so treat early quotes as planning numbers and final quotes as the real cost.