Given the tight labour market and the challenges many companies face in finding suitable employees, investing in knowledge and training will be crucial in the coming years.
FORWARD Belgium has developed various best practices aimed at the profession of freight forwarder and customs representative.
In these toolkits, we consider the essential basic knowledge needed to get started and stay in our sector.
We focus on sector-specific recommendations, practical guidelines on how your operational staff can best deal with problems in the logistics chain, tips to increase compliance and limit your risks, use of model templates and standard contracts, etc.
FORWARD Belgium provides the sector with essential basic knowledge in the form of practical in-house toolkits.
In this toolkit, we and your employees will consider the current logistical and legal challenges in the relationship with your various logistical partners (shipping companies, terminals, transporters, etc.). We will discuss the most common problems and offer a number of practical recommendations that you can use every day.
We also focus on the importance of the legal capacity of the freight forwarder and the use of the general Belgian forwarding conditions. We go over some basic customs concepts; the points of attention regarding insurance, the increased non-fiscal obligations such as CBAM, EUDR, the FORWARD reporting centre for suspicious shipments, etc.
Shippers and logistics service providers who outsource their customs formalities are increasingly considered to be a ‘customs intermediary’ with their own responsibilities. The argument that customs formalities are outsourced to a professional customs representative no longer holds true to avoid all customs-technical responsibilities.
In this Toolkit, a practical expert discusses the necessary basic practical knowledge of customs and the risks associated with it. The way in which the forwarder and customs representative work together is also discussed in detail. Other topics include:
- The process of screening and accepting customers.
- Checks by the freight forwarder on his client's goods flows; value; origin.
- Control system for customs declarations made by customs representatives..
- Training and professional competence.
In this toolkit, we explain to the forwarder's client the role of the forwarder in the logistics chain, what can and cannot be expected of them, what the obligations of the client and the forwarder are, and how the forwarder ensures that the logistics chain runs optimally.
We will consider the current logistical and legal challenges (the relationship with the various logistical partners and the most common problems that arise; the legal capacity of the forwarding agent and what exactly he is responsible for; the general Belgian forwarding conditions; some basic customs concepts; the FORWARD reporting centre for suspicious shipments, etc.).
We will examine these elements from the point of view of the shipper, focussing on the freight forwarder. A better understanding will not only increase the efficiency of the logistical processes, but will also contribute to better customer service and higher customer satisfaction.
Target group Toolkit 1 and 2
Target group Toolkit 3
Member of FORWARD Belgium? Benefit from special rates:
For employees working under Joint Industrial Committee 226 (employees in international trade, transport and logistics), you can apply for a subsidy for this training course from the LOGOS training fund. Check the LOGOS website for the regulations. For more information, please contact us via:
The contribution amounts to 20 euros per person per effective training hour.
If you would like more information or to book in-house guidance, please contactthe FORWARD Belgium secretariat.
The online basic training course for freight forwarders – now available for your entire team!
In a sector where finding suitable employees is a challenge, you can make a real difference as a company by investing in knowledge and training. FORWARD Belgium has been offering in-house guidance for many years, based on various FORWARD Best Practices, focused on the profession of freight forwarder and customs representative.
You can now offer this basic knowledge online to every employee within your company, from new starters to experienced team leaders.
This online guidance is a product developed by FORWARD Belgium and can be consulted on the FORWARD Belgium page, which is supported by the e-learning platform of BDO Belgium.
As an associate member of FORWARD Belgium, BDO Belgium is strongly committed to competence management and compliance guidance in our sector. This first joint online tool is a great result of the partnership between FORWARD Belgium and BDO Belgium. BDO Belgium is an internationally active advisory organisation with a solid reputation in financial services (Audit & Assurance, Tax & Legal, Accounting & Reporting) and complementary, specialised advice to support clients towards future-proof digital and sustainable growth (Advisory).
If desired, participants will receive a FORWARD Belgium certificate upon completion – a clear added value for your employee's CV and your company's image!
Target group
This online guidance is the standard for:
The online training course is designed for individual use (one code per user): each participant follows the course at their own pace, works independently on the integrated exercises and receives a personal FORWARD certificate as proof of participation upon completion (if desired). As soon as someone completes the course, both the participant and/or the team lead will receive a notification. This notification serves as proof of completion for FORWARD, and a certificate can be requested on that basis. This certificate is valid for two years.
For employees working under Joint Committee 226 (international trade, transport and logistics), you can apply for a subsidy from the LOGOS training fund. For more info on the rules, check out:
If you would like more information or would like to book online guidance, please contact the FORWARD Belgium secretariat.
