How modern freight forwarding shields brands from geopolitical shocks 

When a client’s shipment heading through the Strait of Hormuz was halted this year, FM Logistic had to act fast. Waiting was not an option as that risked freezing the client’s supply chain. Instead, the company executed an immediate pivot: It unloaded the cargo from the stalled ship, transported it by truck from the United Arab Emirates to a Red Sea port and loaded it on another vessel. This rapid response illustrates how modern freight forwarding can help businesses maintain supply chain continuity when geopolitical disruptions threaten critical transport routes.

This level of multimodal operational agility is at the heart of a profound shift that has reshaped freight forwarding in recent years as geopolitical challenges have disrupted global supply chains – fundamentally changing what businesses need from logistics providers. 

This crucial service is no longer simply about moving goods from A to B, says Damien Perdereau, International Transport Department Director at FM Logistic; increasingly it demands the ability to orchestrate seamless, resilient networks that can weather global storms.

“Two key drivers are the Russia-Ukraine war and the war on Iran, which brought about a realisation by firms that they need far greater resilience in their logistics service,” D. Perdereau says. “That requires agility – the ability to switch rapidly from one mode of transportation to another.”

Delivering such a response, though, requires far more than physical assets; it demands accurate, real-time data as that is the only way a provider can coordinate a near-immediate pivot with total operational visibility.

“By aggregating data from Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), Transportation Management Systems (TMS) and incoming tenders, modern logistics can match round-trip flows,” he says. “By coupling this with AI, we can eliminate blind spots and adjust logistics accordingly.”

More than ever, then, securing supply chains requires a provider that can adapt on the fly to ensure shipments get through. That is where FM Logistic’s tailored land, sea and air solutions come in. By integrating all three in a customised way, clients can overcome the challenges of an unpredictable global environment.

D. Perdereau points out that this flexibility is vital in a world where airspace can suddenly close or new sanctions can disrupt routes – or, as with a recent example, when air freight rates from Europe to Dubai quadrupled.

“In response, we designed a temporary, highly tailored overland route that crossed Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to ensure our client’s products reached Dubai efficiently – which meant they enjoyed a competitive advantage and peace of mind.”

Modern freight forwarding requires a resilient multimodal network that can switch seamlessly between land, sea and air transport, adapting rapidly to changing operational conditions.

Take land transport: Not only do they need options of road and rail; they also need safe warehouse handling, secure storage on trains and trucks, and adaptable transport options. This is even more important when high-value goods must cross complex or high-risk territories – “and here, our security protocols leave nothing to chance”. 

“When we’re delivering luxury branded goods to Ukraine, for example, we have strict controls,” he says. “We know in advance which road corridor the truck will use, and we insist on using the highways as much as possible.”

In addition, trucks have mandatory stops at parking facilities certified by the Transport Asset Protection Association (TAPA) – whose standard is designed to prevent theft of cargo – and their trailers have remote-controlled locking mechanisms. Vehicles and their cargo are also tracked and monitored 24/7.

On the seas – a solution that FM Logistic is actively expanding – clients not only benefit from delivery at ports globally; they can start to take advantage of flexible capacity configurations including Full Container Load (FCL) and Less than Container Load (LCL) shipments, which the company is introducing.

Additionally, says D. Perdereau, FM Logistic is bringing its rigorous land transport tracking and consolidation expertise directly into its maritime logistics offerings. This includes strict adherence to verified gross mass (VGM) Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) regulations to ensure vessels are balanced and compliant when in port and at sea.

Finally, real-time tracking has significantly helped clients with air freight solutions, which depend on speed, reliability and visibility, which requires a robust digital layer that features electronic air waybills and real-time tracking.

“In this way, clients can accurately track their shipment,” he says. “Every hour they can see what’s happening, the status of their cargo, which means shipments are much more agile because they have end-to-end visibility.”

Armed with a combination of generative AI solutions, certified handling and the use of secure devices in transit, logistics teams can adapt warehouse pickups and customs requirements to better meet the strict performance needs of clients such as luxury brands, for whom door-to-door lead time is a critical KPI.

While standard logistics offerings are a major part of what is needed, some clients need solutions for out-of-the-ordinary cargo, such as oversized, heavy-lift or highly valuable goods – or even for entire production lines. This is where project forwarding comes in, “and it demands an exceptional level of engineering and foresight”. For complex industrial projects, specialised freight forwarding expertise helps coordinate technical planning, cargo handling and regulatory requirements across international transport networks.

“It’s very interesting, because each time we work on these kinds of project, our approach begins with a packing list – we have to check the dimensions and the gross weight of each unit,” he says. “Then, for critical cargoes, we need the technical drawings to see how we can handle it – for example, where are the lifting legs and where is the centre of gravity?”

Out-of-the-ordinary cargoes often require highly specialised handling solutions, including out of gauge (OOG) logistics and roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) maritime offerings. Yet even before these massive loads start to move, specialist teams must undertake comprehensive risk and feasibility assessments – including on-the-ground road surveys to calculate turn angles, calculate precise crane forces and even determine whether infrastructure must be temporarily dismantled.

“And that’s not the end of the risk management – providers must also be able to merge technical risk management skills with expertise around customs and regulatory requirements, and of course the insurance these complex cargoes need,” he says. “It’s a multifaceted set of requirements, and to be honest this is something that most cannot do.” 

As D. Perdereau puts it, a resilient supply chain requires connecting the physical transportation of goods with actionable operational intelligence, which means real-time transparent data. Here, proof of delivery (POD) is key and marks the transfer of responsibility from the shipper to the consignee. At FM Logistic, drivers use a proprietary system called My SCM to upload digitally signed documentation when goods arrive, and to which clients have instant access. Digital visibility is therefore becoming a core component of freight forwarding, enabling logistics providers to anticipate disruptions, maintain regulatory compliance and respond quickly to changing customer needs.

“Value-added services like these are central to giving clients peace of mind, and that’s often of greatest importance in areas like customs clearance and regulatory compliance,” he says.

To ensure shipments are secure, lawful and do not breach sanctions, all are screened through an EC compliance tool that cross-references origin, destination and transited countries. That, he says, has become increasingly important – as has the need to answer clients’ calls on sustainability. 

“Over the years, we’ve seen this increased need for green logistics and precise emissions reporting evolve from what was a fairly simple matter of data exchange into something that is far more of a collaborative, target-driven partnership,” he says.

To that end, FM Logistic’s strategy in Europe is to use rail far more extensively for long distances and to grow the use of electric transport options.

“Clients increasingly want to know how we can help them cut their carbon emissions – this has become a fundamental need, and so it’s part of what we offer” he says. “By integrating proactive carbon-reduction strategies, reliable compliance checks and real-time operational intelligence to craft tailored logistics solutions, we’re giving our clients not just what they want; we’re giving it when they need it.”