Comprehensive Freight Forwarding, Management and Customs Brokerage Services

The Vendor is required to provide for comprehensive freight forwarding, management and customs brokerage services.
- The university maintains a centralized Research Security and Export Controls program to oversee compliance, mitigate risk, and support researchers and administrative units
- Must be capable of operating in a highly regulated, compliance-driven environment, with demonstrated expertise in international shipping, customs brokerage, and trade compliance, including the ability to manage classification, documentation, and coordination with institutional compliance functions to ensure adherence to all applicable laws and regulations.
- International Freight Forwarding
• Air freight services
• Ocean freight services, including full container load (FCL) and less-than-container load (LCL) movements
• Ground and multimodal transportation coordination
• Import and export shipment movements
• Door-to-door, port-to-door, airport-to-door, and other origin-to-destination delivery services
• Expedited, priority, and emergency shipment services
• Shipment routing and carrier coordination
• Consolidation and deconsolidation services, if offered
• Cross-border transportation coordination, if offered
- Domestic Freight Forwarding
• Less-than-truckload (LTL) freight services
• Full truckload (FTL) freight services
• Ground and multimodal transportation coordination
• Domestic air freight services, if offered
• Expedited and emergency shipment services
• Door-to-door delivery services
• Pickup and delivery coordination
• Final mile delivery services, if offered
• Consolidation and distribution services, if offered
• Shipment routing and carrier management
• Proof of delivery documentation
• Claims coordination and support
- Customs Brokerage
• Customs entry preparation and filing
• Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classification support
• Duty, tax, and fee coordination estimates associated with customs entry processing
• Customs clearance management
• Coordination of delivery of imported goods if needed or requested
• Participating Government Agency (PGA) coordination, as applicable
• Resolution of shipment holds, examinations, and other clearance exceptions
• Recordkeeping, reporting and audit support
• Electronic Export Information (EEI) filing in the Automated Export System (AES)
- Export / Trade Compliance Support
• Review of commercial invoices and packing lists
• Country-of-origin support
• Restricted party screening support, if offered
• License and permit coordination, as applicable
• Incoterms guidance
• Trade documentation support
• Temporary import/export support, carnet support, or project cargo support, if offered
- Shipment Management / Visibility
• Booking and routing coordination
• Milestone tracking and shipment monitoring
• Exception management
• Shipment status notifications
• Proof of delivery documentation
• Claims coordination and support
• Escalation procedures for shipment delays, damage, loss, or customs-related issues
- Specialized Handling
• Transportation of laboratory and research equipment
• Handling of sensitive, fragile, or high-value cargo
• Temperature-controlled shipment services, if offered
• Hazardous materials and dangerous goods support, where properly qualified
• Capital equipment and oversized shipment coordination
• Time-critical academic or research shipment support
- Customer Service / Account Management
• Dedicated account management
• Customer support channels and service hours
• Defined issue escalation procedures
• User onboarding and training support
- Duty and Tariff Invoice Management
• Duty, tariff, tax, and related customs invoice administration
• Invoicing methods and payment support
• Reporting, dashboard, and visibility capabilities
• Alerts, discrepancy identification, and exception handling
• Consultative and advisory support related to invoice review and reconciliation
• Service levels and performance commitments
• Supporting documentation, record access, and audit support
• Additional tools, controls, or automation capabilities related to invoice management.