BPO – SOP
Standard Operating Procedure
Please find below the list of Freight forwarding BPO roles and their respective Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Please note that we have given the generic functions of BPO and it may vary to different countries according to the local procedure and timelines.
- Sales Support
- Customer Service
- Sea Exports
- Sea Imports
- Air Exports
- Air Imports
- Tele sales – follow up with potential customers
- Receive enquiry from customers
- Check with multiple shipping line/airline and tariff options (minimum 3 options)
- Revert to customer with best possible quote (within 2 hours)
- Follow up for confirmation
- Monthly sea & air freight tariff
- Cross selling
Fresa BPO team receive enquiries either from front office or customers directly. Once received, BPO staff must acknowledge the mail within 1 hour.
Then, based on front office guideline, BPO staff to refer tariff or check with multiple carrier options and revert with a quote within agreed time line as per SLA (Service Line Agreement)
Keep a track of all quotes and follow up with customers for booking confirmation.
Coordinate with overseas agents / front office and collect their upcoming tariff and release on regular intervals like weekly/ fortnightly/ monthly based on requirement.
Once customer send the booking confirmation, Customer Service team takes care of all activities till it gets delivered to final consignee and job closing as agreed in SLA.
Booking confirmation (within 1 hour)
Upon receipt of booking confirmation from customer, BPO desk must send their acknowledgement along with reference number.
Vessel details update (within 4 hours)
Coordinate with respective shipping line for container booking and send vessel booking details back to customer within 4 hours.
Cargo collection
Based on the existing procedure, organize container pick up /stuffing
Customs clearance & cargo transfer
Communicate and collect all required information, process customs bill online and release to front/transport office for container submission at the port
Bill of Lading (BL) draft preparation (30 minutes)
Receive BL instruction from customer, send draft and follow till release
Vessel departure confirmation (8 hours)
Confirmation must be sent to all customers with ATD details.
Pre-alert (5 hours)
Send pre-alert to destination agent along with required copy documents
Departure confirmation (8 hours)
Track vessel/container status and send vessel departure confirmation to customer within 8 hours of departure
Costing, Invoicing & Job closing (within 2 working days)
Apply all costings and forward supplier invoice to finance. Similarly apply sell rates, generate invoice and mail a soft copy along with support documents to customer. This must be completed within 2 working days from the time of completion of export formalities.
Send nominations to overseas agents (within 2 hours)
Send nomination to origin agent within 2 hours with all required information like supplier contact details, shipment details (pieces / weight / volume), BL instruction and required documents etc.
Cargo collection from supplier
Ensure origin agent collects cargo from supplier within committed date & time
Container transfer, Stuffing and Vessel departure
Monitor container transfer from the port to desired location, stuffing details and vessel movement from origin port.
Pre-alert
Receive pre-alert, check all given details and revert to origin agent if further information required
Job creation (1 hour – for up to 10 HBLs)
Create a new job with MBL/HBL details in the operating system and update all required details as per agreement.
Booking confirmation (within 1 hour)
Upon receipt of booking confirmation from customer, BPO desk must send their acknowledgement along with reference number.
Cost/ Sell update (1 hour)
Update all jobs with respective origin agent costing and sell rates
Cargo Arrival Notification (CAN) – (30 minutes)
CAN to be sent to all local customers at least 2 days prior to vessel arrival
Customs clearance & cargo transfer
Communicate and collect all required information, process customs bill online and release to front/transport office for container release & delivery to consignee
Costing, Invoicing & Job closing (within 2 working days)
Apply all costings and forward supplier invoice to finance. Similarly apply sell rates, generate invoice and mail a soft copy along with support documents to customer. This must be completed within 2 working days from the time of completion of export formalities.
Booking confirmation (within 1 hour
Upon receipt of booking confirmation from customer, BPO desk must send their acknowledgement along with reference number
Flight details update (1 hour)
Coordinate with respective airline for cargo booking and send flight booking details to customer within 4 hours
Cargo collection
Based on the existing procedure, send cargo collection advice to the transport desk/company along with all required information in the specific format
Customs clearance & cargo transfer
Communicate and collect all required information, process customs bill online and release to front office for further action
AWB draft preparation (30 minutes)
Coordinate with customers for AWB instruction, send draft and follow till release
Pre-alert (2 hours)
Send pre-alert to destination agent along with required copy documents
Departure confirmation (within 4 hours)
Closely monitor with ground handling agent/airline and send flight departure confirmation to customer within 4 hours of departure
Costing, Invoicing & Job closing (within 2 working days)
Apply all costings and forward supplier invoice to finance. Similarly apply sell rates, generate invoice and mail a soft copy along with support documents to customer. This must be completed within 2 working days from the time of completion of export formalities
Booking confirmation (within 1 hour)
Upon receipt of booking confirmation from customer, BPO desk must send their acknowledgement along with reference number
Nomination filing with agents (30 minutes)
Upon receipt of booking confirmation from customer, BPO desk must send their acknowledgement along with reference number
Nomination filing with agents (30 minutes)
Send nomination to origin agent within 2 hours with all required information like supplier contact details, shipment details (pieces / weight / volume), AWB instruction and required documents details etc.
Cargo collection from supplier
Ensure origin agent collects cargo from supplier within committed date & time
Cargo transfer
Monitor cargo transfer – if there is any dispute, must escalate to customer immediately and sort it out proactively
Pre-alert
Receive pre-alert, check all given details and revert to origin agent if further information required
Customs clearance & cargo transfer
Communicate with customer and front office, collect all required information, process customs bill online and release to front/transport office for cargo collection from the airport & delivery to consignee
Costing, Invoicing & Job closing (within 2 working days)
Apply all costings and forward supplier invoice to finance. Similarly apply sell rates, generate invoice and mail a soft copy along with support documents to customer. This must be completed within 2 working days from the time of completion of export formalities.
Nomination filing with agents (30 minutes)
Send nomination to origin agent within 2 hours with all required information like supplier contact details, shipment details (pieces / weight / volume), AWB instruction and required documents details etc.
Track & Trace
Closely monitor overall movements of all shipments thru respective airline/shipping line websites to ensure it is being moved as booked. Escalate and communicate in case of delay / offloading
Milestone updates
Customer must be kept informed with status update of every stage from the time of booking confirmation till it gets delivered to final consignee
Our Key Products
designed for the Freight forwarders.
