Flexport

Flexport is Epic!

장점:

It brings a completely unique experience in managing a global supply chain. Their software is so easy to use, manage shipments, keep track of data to report KPIs, and most importantly they have a great customer support team that is always available.

단점:

With growth and improvement comes change. Not really a problem, but the UX has changed 2-3 times since we used it so we have to re-learn where some of the buttons are. But a small price to pay for continued improvement.

Flexport - What a great logistics partner!

주석: Overall, having Flexport as a partner has revolutionized how we do our business. There are so many value adds that they provide for us to continue to work towards becoming a world-class provider of our products.

장점:

We have been using Flexport for our freight forwarding (and many other things) for a few years now. We brought Flexport in at a time when we did not have a logistics manager on staff. We needed to have a way to have real-time insight into our shipments at all levels of the company from purchasing, to our Sales Ops team, to our VP of Supply Chain and eventually to me. Flexport allowed us to be able to see shipments down to the SKU level and see the landed cost. Whether the shipment is going air, ocean, rail, truck, we can see where our shipments are and when they will arrive at their final destination. It has been a huge help for our team.

단점:

The only issue I have with the software is being able to push the data directly into our ERP (NetSuite). The blame mostly lands on us as we have been told that Flexport has APIs for us to be able to hook NetSuite into their platform. We just need to get on it.

Excellent software, mediocre freight forwarder

주석: I am coming at this from a unique perspective, and I welcome the acknowledgment that my review can't help but be biased against Flexport. I run a company in China that manages the manufacturing for brands importing their products into the US and EU. I also operate a freight forwarding company where businesses use us to ship their cargo from China (queue the bias). Because we work with a lot of brands on the manufacturing side, many of them work with Flexport to move their cargo. Since we engrain ourselves closely within our customer's supply chain, frequently, it is my team interfacing with Flexport and managing their shipments. So I have a unique perspective as both a user and competitor. In short, Flexport is fantastic, and I am a fan of how they have been able to disrupt the antiquated logistics industry by introducing some well-needed competition focusing on adding technology and software to the otherwise old-school operations. My only genuine gripe with Flexport is that it is a software company and not a freight forwarder. I have worked with over a dozen companies who relied on Flexport to move their cargo, only for us to take a deep dive and see significant adjustments that importers could make to increase efficiency and decrease costs. Flexport is only as good as your ability to plan logistically. When comparing that with other forwarders, traditionally, the freight forwarder can offer suggestions that Flexport can't.

장점:

Suppose you are looking for a freight forwarder where your importance weighs higher on the technology of the application that manages your shipments and less on the flexibility, customer focus, and pricing. In that case, Flexport is an excellent option. I like the following analogy of Flexport. If you had a business where it was vital for you to be able to move around from point A to point Z, would you use Uber as your medium of transportation, or would you work with a company/driver that is more focused on your exact needs, but does not have a sexy application?

단점:

Flexport is expensive, and unless you are moving 20+ containers a month, you will not have a dedicated account person that will give you the time and effort to plan your shipments.

A year of great results

주석: Great service. They get the job done and will help you through all the freight process. If you have any questions or issues, the team will jump in very quickly to provide help.

장점:

I am most excited about the visibility and functionality of the Flexport Platform. It's very easy to use and I can check current shipments with a couple of clicks. When it comes to working on a specific shipment, you can use the shipment thread to discuss about ETAs, quotes, and any matter related to that order. If you need to go back and look at past communications, it's all there in the thread.

단점:

Flexport is still one of the newer freight forwarding companies out there and as they build their business, they will have more connections and partnerships with carriers that go all around the world. Some lanes are still new for Flexport, but they can still give you a rate for you to shop around.

It's great, once you get your foot in the door.

주석: Pretty good, great for learning the ropes, a little hard to get your foot in the door, but a fantastic place to start if your new to the scene.

장점:

Flexport is recommended from reputable sources, and is one of the cheaper options for freight forwarding. They also don't just give out quotes like some of it's competitors but try to have an expert actually contact you and talk you through the process, which is fantastic for first-timers. I haven't really explored a ton of options other than freightos and UPS for freight forwarding, but I'd say by far, Flexport has the best systems in place for people new to the scene. Honestly, if you are a first timer I'd recommend Flexport simply because of how helpful they can be to people new to freight forwarding. Freight forwarding is a complicated process and having someone help with that, especially with customs and what to do after it gets to your country's port, is a lifesaver. You possibly could get better rates elsewhere, but take it from me, just use Flexport first to learn the ropes, if you decide to switch to something else after, feel free, but learn with Flexport.

단점:

Their BEST feature, the one where you talk to an expert to help with your freight forwarding (which is why I went to them in the first place ENTIRELY) was HARD to get them to respond. They have a page that pops up basically as soon as you enter the website that says "speak with an expert! Enter you email and stuff here!". I had to enter my stuff in there 3 times after not receiving so much as a confirmation email from the first two, again, it's a great place for newbies, but Flexport needs to capitalize on it's best feature a little more because that was frustrating.

Flexport started as a visionary solution to an age old product but fails to execute

주석: I just can't work with them anymore. If every shipment is cancelled last minute or delayed by months, I simply can't run my business. 6 times in the last 6 months I have run out of inventory to sell due to Flexport's inability to deliver my goods on time. They kept using the traffic at the port and the supply chain issues as an excuse, but we needed up working with another freight forward to compare with no issues whatsoever. My suspicion is that our shipments were not valuable enough to their business, so they kept bumping us off or down to fill other orders. No more chances, we're moving on to other vendors.

장점:

Overseas freight shipping is an old industry. 70% of the industry still functions through fax, emails and phone calls. Flexport's solution of connecting the players into an overarching platform makes sense. The visibility and the point-to-point transparency of freight in transit were game-changing, at first. But that fell apart pretty quickly.

단점:

To execute their vision, Flexport needed to work with a set number of partners and that became the downfall because in an era where there's more demand than supply (i.e. container space), they couldn't execute on the one most important premise of freight forwarding - deliver goods to me on time at a competitive market price. Over the past year, every shipment has been canceled last minute or delayed by months.

WELCOME TO THE NEW AGE!

주석: We have been using Flexport for 3+ years now and amazing experience. The founder of Flexport also started Import Genius so only good things coming from this dev camp.

장점:

Flexport has changed the game in the logistics world - specifically in moving freight w/ forwarders They specialize in the software where most freight forwarders are managing spreadsheets and on the phones. The answer for big companies with millions of dollars to procure is software. No way in this day and age should any freight forwarders without this type of cutting edge software be competing in this industry.

단점:

I think they need to step up the CSR availability by phone and have more personal relationships. They point to use the software a lot but sometimes you need that phone convo to solve problems.

Reliable and Superb Interface for our Operations

주석: Apart from the software of Flexport, the team handling our account was very active and reliable. They even get out of their way to check on us for any issues and assist us on all matters pertaining to our shipments.

장점:

What I like the most on this software is the ability to prompt me each time there are milestones in our shipments and that it visually shows where our shipments are at any point in time in their dashboard. Apart from that, whatever information I need are there and available in just a click.

단점:

Well, for more than 3 years of using the software, I never had a problem with it. Really really good.

Great Technology Slow Service

주석: Overall it's a great platform with many features. Sadly the overall service is lacking which diminishes what they offer.

장점:

Flexport has a unique technology platform that has many great features. It is truly cutting edge and it is very easy to use as well as track orders. They also have good rates on certain lanes.

단점:

One of the biggest issues lately has been their service level. They have been very slow to respond with quotes and bookings. This likely delayed one our orders by almost two months. This is something they really need to improve other forwarders send quotes in a couple hours. Over a week is just not acceptable

Create and track international shipments

주석: coordinate international shipments easily

장점:

You can get quotes for shipments, book them, and track them all within the interface. They send e-mail notices with order information, invoice updates, and useful general shipping information (like if a customs policy has changed or rates are expected to go up soon).

단점:

Sometimes quotes can take a while but it isn't too much of an issue and it rarely takes more than 2 days.

Flexport is user friendly and aesthetically pleasing.

주석: Great experience. Would highly recommend.

장점:

User friendly and aesthetically pleasing

단점:

There isn't much to improve. I can navigate through it easily.

Terrible company - Low rates to get you and then CRAZY Fees

주석: Just terrible. I wish I would have listened to those who told me to stay away.

장점:

Very nice looking software that they claim is super techie and advanced.

단점:

Terrible communication. Completely inept employees - they do NOT know or understand freight, causing YOU to pay ridiculous charges for their incompetence.

Innovative and Breakthrough from Traditional Freight Forwarder

주석: Efficient, informative, reliable

장점:

Real-time shipment tracking with intuitive platform layouts

단점:

Still requires manual upload of documents, which no one has found a better solution to avoid necessary paper work

Saves time + money

장점:

Having all our supply chain management tasks in one central area helps us immensely. It is also cheaper than other freight options we have used.

단점:

Nothing, we are very happy with Flexport's service

Disaster

장점:

The website is good but that's all. You have everything through the interface. But as they don't answer...

단점:

A disaster, never a shipment on time, don't answer quickly, and it is never their fault. Very bad service. Minimum 1 week late, sometimes 1 month late or 2 for some containers.

Impressive International software for freight

주석: Looking to see if they can be competitive and save us money.

장점:

Seems to have many bells and whistles, not to disappoint.

단점:

don't like the option of having my vendors automatically book freight without my knowledge.

Flexport allows us to easily track international shipments with constant updates.

장점:

Besides the quality of the ability to actually track multiple shipments with ease, the program itself is presented in a clean, easy to understand layout that's often lacking in logistics software.

단점:

I have really enjoyed this software and don't have any major cons. It would be great to be able to integrate it into other programs we use for the whole team to view without adding them as a user.