Freight Forwarding Services in Kent
We move road freight between the UK and Europe and write the customs entries ourselves, and we clear air and sea consignments for the businesses moving those.
Everything We Put Our Name To
Forwarding is arranging a movement and then owning it until the goods are delivered. Here is what that covers with us, and where each piece is explained in more detail.
Road Freight, UK and Europe
The movements we arrange and control ourselves, mostly through the short straits.
Part and Full Loads
Shared trailer space or a dedicated vehicle, priced on loading metres and weight.
Customs Clearance
Import and export entries into CDS, written by our own team rather than bought in.
Air and Sea Clearance
Entries for consignments arriving by air or sea that somebody else is transporting.
Transit and Guarantees
T1 and T2 movements raised, guaranteed and discharged at the office of destination.
Safety and Security
Entry summary declarations for arrivals into the UK and into the EU.
Dover and Folkestone
Clearance built around the Kent crossings and the Sevington facility.
Z-Clear Portal
Where entries, references and documents for your jobs sit in one place.
What We Move, and What We Only Clear
Plenty of forwarding websites list road, air, sea and rail as though all four were the same size of business. Here is the actual shape of ours, so you can judge whether we are the right fit before you send an enquiry.
Road Is the Freight We Move
Our transport business is road, between the UK, Ireland and Europe, running as groupage or as dedicated vehicles. That is the mode where we book the equipment, control the schedule and take responsibility for the goods. If you want a forwarder to own a UK to Europe movement end to end, this is the one we do.
Air and Sea, Clearance Only
We are not an air or sea transport provider, and we will not pretend otherwise to win a job. What we do handle is the customs side of consignments arriving by air or sea, working alongside whichever carrier, agent or forwarder has the freight. It is about a twentieth of our customs volume and it is proper work, just not transport work.
Customs Is the Larger Half
Around two thirds of the business is customs and a third is freight. That ratio is the point of the company rather than an accident of it. Forwarding sold by people who file declarations every day looks different from forwarding sold by people who buy them in, particularly when something is queried at eleven at night.
Two Ways Clients Use Us
Some businesses want the whole movement handed over. Others already have the freight covered and want one leg of it done well. Both are normal here.
The Whole Movement, One Desk
Manufacturers, wholesalers and online sellers usually want a single number to call. We quote the transport and the customs together, collect, clear, cross and deliver, and give you one point of contact who can answer for all of it.
- Collection booked, equipment specified and the vehicle confirmed to your loading point
- Export entry, transit and safety and security filings raised in house and linked to the movement
- Delivery, proof of delivery and the customs records that back the entry, kept together
One Leg, Behind Your Own Brand
A good share of our customers are freight forwarders, hauliers and brokers. They have the client relationship and the freight, and they want the customs entries, the transit movements or a Kent trailer covered without hiring for it. We work in your name, deal with your driver, and do not approach the shipper behind you.
- Declarations filed under your instructions and referenced to your job numbers
- Overflow and out of hours cover when your own desk is at capacity
- A named contact who knows your account rather than a general inbox
What You Get Either Way
The same working method. Documents checked before anything is filed, entries submitted within minutes of the paperwork reaching us, references sent straight back to whoever needs them, and a straight answer when something is going to be late. We would rather tell you early than manage you through it.
From Enquiry to Delivered
A forwarding job is mostly a sequence of small deadlines. Miss one and the rest slide, which is why the useful question to ask a forwarder is not how fast they are but what they check and when.
We quote against the real load rather than an assumption, we raise the customs paperwork before the vehicle is anywhere near a port, and we keep the transport file and the customs file as one record so nothing has to be described twice.
- Scope the movement. Goods, value, origin, incoterms, dimensions, weight and the date it has to be there.
- Price the whole thing. Transport, clearance and any surcharges quoted line by line, not as one number.
- Check before filing. Commodity codes, valuation, origin, licences and preference claims looked at first.
- Book and file together. The vehicle and the declaration are arranged on the same job record.
- Hold the paperwork. Entries, proofs and supporting documents kept for the record keeping period, retrievable when a customer or HMRC asks.
What Stands Behind the Quote
Four things worth checking about any forwarder before you place freight with them.
Air and Sea Share of Customs
Real work, honestly small. Our transport is road, and we say so rather than padding the service list.
Authorised, Not Outsourced
AEOC authorisation sits with us, so the customs simplifications are ours to use on your job.
And FIATA Membership
Members of the UK and international forwarding trade bodies, with offices in Ashford and Dublin.
Answered Out of Hours
Freight arrives at inconvenient times. The phone is covered when it does.
Freight Forwarding FAQs
What does a freight forwarder actually do?
A forwarder organises the movement of goods on behalf of the shipper and takes responsibility for it. That means choosing the route and equipment, contracting the transport, preparing the customs and transport documents, and dealing with whatever goes wrong on the way. The shipper deals with one company rather than a haulier, a broker and a port agent separately.
Do you move air and sea freight?
We do not transport it. Our transport business is road, between the UK, Ireland and Europe. What we do for air and sea consignments is the customs side, filing the import or export entry alongside whoever is carrying the goods. If you need the freight itself flown or shipped, we will say so at enquiry stage rather than take the job and subcontract it blind.
Can you handle a movement door to door?
On road movements between the UK and Europe, yes. We arrange collection, carry the goods, raise the export entry and any transit paperwork, cover the safety and security filing and deliver to the consignee. Where an overseas leg beyond our network is needed we will tell you who is doing it and what that leg covers before you commit.
How long will my shipment take?
It depends on the mode, the lane and the load type, so treat any single figure with suspicion. A dedicated UK domestic run is typically same day or next day. Northern Europe on a dedicated trailer is frequently a next day delivery once the vehicle is loaded. Groupage adds time at both ends because the trailer works to a schedule. We give a window and tell you what could move it.
We are a forwarder ourselves. Will you work behind us?
Yes, and a lot of our work is exactly that. Forwarders, hauliers and brokers use us for customs clearance, transit movements and Kent trailer capacity under their own brand. We file to your instructions, use your references, speak to your driver and stay out of your client relationship. That arrangement is a large part of the business, not a favour.
How are forwarding charges made up?
Usually three parts. The linehaul, priced on loading metres and weight for road; the surcharges that actually apply, such as tail lift, timed delivery or temperature control; and the customs work, charged per entry rather than as a percentage of the goods. Duty and import VAT are separate and are yours, not ours. We quote the three separately so you can see what you are paying for.
Tell us what needs to move
Whether that is a full movement from a Kent loading bay or just the entries behind someone else's truck, we will tell you what we can genuinely cover.